Naidu blames foreign rule for lack of respect for women

Chandigarh, April 19: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday blamed blamed colonial and foreign rule in India for the lack of respect towards women which was leading to crimes against them. Without mentioning the barbaric rape of an eight-year-old girl child in Kathua recently or the rape controversy involving a BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh, Naidu said that the Indian tradition had always given a lot of respect to women.

Addressing the 31st Convocation of the Kurukshetra University, in the historical town of Kurukshetra, around 100 km from here, he said that as per the Indian tradition, the country is called ‘Bharat Mata’ (Mother India) while major rivers were given female names and worshipped. The Vice President said that it was shameful that despite such traditions, women were not getting the respect they deserved and that foreign rule, over the centuries, was responsible for this. Urging the youth and students to shun violence, he said that issues could be resolved peacefully and without damaging public property. (IANS)