Mohan Bhagwat

Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the right-wing RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), believes that rapes are an urban crime shaped by westernisation, and are not a matter of concern in rural India where traditional values are upheld.
Mr Bhagwat said, “Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. It is a dangerous trend. But such crimes won’t happen in ‘Bharat’ or the rural areas of the country. You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang-rape or sex crimes.”
He added, “Where ’Bharat’ becomes 'India’ with the influence of western culture, these type of incidents happen. The actual Indian values and culture should be established at every stratum of society where women are treated as 'mother’.”
Mr Bhagwat’s comments come at a time when the death of a young medical student, who was gang-raped in Delhi, has impelled introspection on attitudes towards women in a country where a rape is reported nearly every 20 minutes.
This statement was made on January 4, 2013