Shut out: males of 'rape-problem' India

TT, New Delhi, March 9: A professor at one of Germany's most prestigious universities has cited "the rape problem in India" to turn down a male Indian biochemistry student's application for internship.

The professor, Annette Beck-Sickinger, later engaged in an email exchange with a friend of the applicant, where she justified her decision as a "consequence" of India's "attitude" towards women, and suggested that other female European professors were also practising her policy.

By late evening, Beck-Sickinger had apologised while insisting that her comments had been twisted out of context.

Her institution, Leipzig University, defended her but German ambassador to India Michael Steiner wrote to Beck-Sickinger, criticising her.

The controversy comes days after India banned a documentary on the victim of the December 16 gang rape and murder, where one of the convicts makes repugnant statements.

"Unfortunately, I do not accept any Indian male students for internships," Beck-Sickinger, a respected researcher and the head of the biochemistry department at the university, wrote back to the applicant in an email response.

"We hear a lot about the rape problem in India which I cannot support. I have many female students in my group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support."

The applicant's friend posted Beck-Sickinger's emails on the social media platform Quora this morning, inviting comments that initially bordered on disbelief. Some wondered whether it was a hoax.

But late afternoon, Beck-Sickinger confirmed the emails to The Telegraph, even though her university suggested the applicant and his friend had led the professor into a conversation about Indian society. Both the applicant and his friend have requested anonymity.

"I made a mistake," Beck-Sickinger told this newspaper. "It was never my intention to discriminate against Indian society."

In a statement in German, Leipzig University said the professor had told them that the applicant had written to her a few days ago but that she had turned him down because the "labs are fully occupied".

"The young man did not accept this and engaged in a discussion about the social conditions in Germany and India," the statement said. "In this context, they discussed the problem of rape of women in India. Her statements were taken out of context. She is anything but racist and xenophobic."

To buttress her argument, Beck-Sickinger said she had two Indian students currently working in her laboratory. Of the 30 students studying in the master's programme in bio-organic chemistry at Leipzig University, four are Indians, the 600-year-old institution said in its statement.

But Beck-Sickinger's emails point to a conviction that she and "many female professors in Germany" were not comfortable working with any Indian male.

Replying to an email from the applicant's friend yesterday, Beck-Sickinger first acknowledged that her response was a "generalization, and may not apply to individuals."

But the professor next wrote that it was "unbelievable that Indian society is not able to solve this problem for many years now".

"Reports reach Germany on a weekly base, and especially these 'multi-rape crimes' are threatening, but also demonstrate the attitude of a society towards women," she wrote.

Beck-Sickinger wrote about foreign tourists kidnapped and raped in India - possibly referring to a series of crimes in recent years that have prompted several European nations, Japan and the US to issue advisories to visitors to India.

An 18-year-old German woman working at a non-profit organisation was raped on a Mangalore-Chennai train in January 2014, days before a Danish woman was gang-raped in New Delhi. In July 2013, a Swiss cyclist was raped by a group of men, and a month earlier, an American tourist was sexually assaulted by six men.

But the professor then suggested a response that punished all Indian men for these crimes.

"Many female professors in Germany decided to no longer accept male Indian students for these reasons, and currently other European female association are joining (sic)," she wrote to the applicant's colleague. "Of course, we cannot change or influence the Indian society, but only take our consequences here in Europe."

It is that sweeping indictment of all Indian men that is worrying, especially if it is not limited to Beck-Sickinger, as the professor suggests, said Preetam Khandelwal, a Delhi University associate professor who has studied gender stereotypes.

"The spate of incidents, and videos like the documentary that are available freely in Europe, could have contributed to this unfortunate reaction," Khandelwal told The Telegraph, adding that Beck-Sickinger's comments may be an "isolated reaction" and may not reflect broader academic sentiment in Germany or at Leipzig University. "This isn't good, but perhaps it's a wake-up call."

To ambassador Steiner, Beck-Sickinger's "simplistic image" of India, coupled with her assumptions about India alone being cursed with the scourge of rape, is a problem she needs to "correct".

"Let me make it clear at the outset that I strongly object to this," the German ambassador wrote in a letter to Beck-Sickinger. "I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the welcoming and open-minded people of India."

Rape, Steiner said, is "indeed" a serious issue in India - but it is equally so in "most countries, including Germany".

"Your oversimplifying and discriminating generalization is an offense," Steiner wrote. "It is an offense to millions of law-abiding, tolerant, open-minded and hard-working Indians.

"Let's be clear: India is not a country of rapists."