13.03.2015, 17:26
We only changed the URL, where the e-mail-correspondence between Prof. Dr. Annette Beck-Sickinger and the concerned Indian student was published, for better visibility; and added the phrase 'and threats to her "many female students"', as this was inadvertently left out from the original text... We believe Prof. Beck-Sickinger's reference to her "many female students" is downright derogatory and an implicit pre-emptive-action-necessitating assumption of a threat-perception to her female students from an Indian male student. Such a crass statement alone, reminiscent of the murderous prejudices against the Ku-Klux-Klan-stereotype of the African-American bogeyman/rapist in the antebellum American South, in MANY countries of the world, is ground enough for stern disciplinary action against someone who claims to be "not racist"!
Neue Begründung: We would like to record our deep appreciation of and laud H. E. Ambassador Herr Michael Steiner's prompt and clear letter (www.india.diplo.de/contentblob/4475784/Daten/5221636/Letter.pdf) to Prof. Dr. Beck-Sickinger, after this unfortunate incident was made public. We would, hereby, also like to clarify and assert that we, as Indians and/or friends of India, deplore and decry the deeply-disturbing recent spurt in rapes and other violent/aggressive crimes against women in India. We also understand and support Prof. Dr. Beck-Sickinger's declared disbelief "that the Indian society is not able to solve this problem for many years now" (tiny.cc/30eevx); (www.quora.com/What-should-an-Indian-male-student-do-if-he-is-denied-an-internship-opportunity-on-the-basis-of-India-being-projected-as-an-unsafe-country-for-women); and, also, agree that these crimes "demonstrate the attitude of a society towards women". We categorically disagree with those Indians and others who react to outrageous comments like those made by Prof. Dr. Beck-Sickinger with the insensitive and brusque suggestion that India's rape-statistics and the contested fact of there being less rapes and other sexual crimes, proportionately speaking, in India than in many other countries. We acknowledge and feel both embarrassed and sad about the way a large number of Indian women are still treated in their homes and workplaces; there is NO way we can deny or hide that fact! Rape and sexual violence IS a serious issue in India: we need to remember that more offences are reported in the 'West' than in India, even today, so statistics may be misleading. However, we would like to share our perception (and we would be happy to be proved wrong about this) that there seems to be an apparently-targeted campaign, in, largely, the 'western' media, which seems to be trying to brow-beat the Indian State and society by using the recent horrific incidents of rape and other sexual violence as a fodder for their cynical strategy of "showing India its place on the world-stage". This HAS to be fought and fought intelligently and with a great deal of sensitivity to women's rights and gender justice concerns; Indian feminists and women's rights activists, cutting across the political spectrum, are doing a great job: there is NO scope or justification for a return to the imperialist "white [wo]man's burden", which Prof. Dr. Beck-Sickinger seems to have taken up, in her admittedly-unbecoming paranoia! Our position, as we have tried to make crystal clear above and elsewhere, is that the horrific spurt in crimes against women in India, in the last few years, should not be exploited as a ploy to be used cynically by vested interests in global, especially 'western' media to drum up anti-India hysteria globally. That leads to unjust and ultimately counter-productive biases, as we see in the present most unfortunate incident; India already has robust and, when compared to MOST other countries, stringent legal and social provisions against rape... there are eminent and innumerable activists, both women and men, left- and right-wing, who are working tirelessly and WITH the support of the State, to raise awareness against gender inequality and sexual violence. Indians do NOT need moral policing from clueless and uninformed "telescopic philanthropists" ('cf.', the well-meaning but woefully-disorganised lady from Charles Dickens's novel 'Bleak House'). We find this affair a sad comment on the University of Leipzig's (REPEAT: let us not make this a Germany-vs.-India issue!) understanding of the gravity of 'ex cathedra' racial profiling: just a ham-handed apology, not even a reprimand from ANY statutory body, let alone demands for harsher action! We do hope that all concerned will work towards justice BOTH for the individual student concerned AND what is threatening to become a category of the "potentially rapist" Indian man; what is sad is that is no longer a matter of jest...