Chowmein to meat to mannequins: 10 outlandish causes for rape in India

When it comes to rape in India, everybody has a comment to make. Was she drinking, was she wearing jeans, was she out late in the night, did she not have a toilet at home, was she talking on the mobile phone? It's really a free for all.

From calling rape victims as 'zinda laash' (a living corpse) to saying that 'boys will be boys, you can't hang them for a mistake like rape," to even arguing that rape victims should be stoned to death the list of insensitive remarks around this crime are endless.

And when PM Modi says "Let's stop pscyho-analysing rape," he does have a fair point. Because in India, be it politicians or khap panchayats, everyone is quick to offer their special theory about the causes and remedies of rape -- other than men and patriarchy, of course.

Most recently, Bihar Minister Vinay Bihari blamed rape on people who eat chicken and fish and other non-vegetarian food. Insult to women and non-veg lovers aside, he's not the first to offer such an irrational opinion. Here's our top ten list of the most outlandish theories of rape

Number One: Meat  Recently Bihar Minister, Vinay Bihari blamed rape on people who eat chicken and fish and other non-vegetarian food. He told Telegraph, "People who eat more non-vegetarian food like chicken and fish are inclined towards carrying out molestation and rape."

Image: Reuters

Number two: Phones Bihari had a smart comment to add here as well. He said, "“I believe that youths use the mobile to watch blue films. Youths don’t use the Internet service on their mobile phones to educate themselves but to watch pornography which encourage them to commit rape.” Nor is he alone. According to a Karnataka Assembly panel the State Government should ban mobile phones in schools and colleges as they are "root cause of rise in rape and molestation cases."

Image: Reuters

Number three: Kissing Satyapal Singh, the former Mumbai police commissioner, after the Shakti Mills gang-rape had said, "“We have to strike a balance. On the one hand you want to have a promiscuous culture and on the other hand you want a safe and secure environment for the people...Should couples be allowed to kiss in public?…Should they be allowed to indulge in all obscene things?" SHOULD THEY... (we added for effect)

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Number four: School uniforms School kids these days are too scantily clad for their own good these days, according to Puducherry's education minister who advocates redesigning school uniform and making it mandatory for girl students to wear overcoats would keep them safe.

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Number five: Astrology According to Chhattisgarh minister Nanki Ram Kanwar, "As the year 2012 was leaving, inauspicious phase emerged owing to the stars that seem to have led to the higher incidences of molestations and rape. I also believe that just like the stars are responsible for the outcome of good or bad events, the incidents of rape too are consequences of the bad phase controlled by stars."

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Number six: Television sets They have been spreading vulgarity in our nation for a long time and must be responsible for rape, or so says a Khap Panchayat in Haryana.

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Number seven: Jeans A village head in Bihar had said that women should avoid wearing jeans to prevent rape, as western clothing denoted sexual availability. The classic she-asked-for-it argument.

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Number eight: Mannequins Politicians in Mumbai insist that when men see a mannequins in lingerie, the urge to rape is so natural."Lingerie mannequins promote rapes. Skimpily clad mannequins can pollute young minds. After the Delhi rape case, I felt something had to be done," said Ritu Tawade, the BJP corporator who had put forth the proposal.

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Number nine: Chowmein The foreign hand is to blame again this time in the form of food. According to a khap panchayat leader in Haryana, eating chowmein and other chinese junk food leads to sexual urges and thus rape.

Image:Reuters

Number ten: The victim Enough said.

Image: Reuters