Kaya Elridge 23, a London School of Economics Graduate was assaulted by a plumber on August 24th in Ahemdabad Gujarat where she was staying under three months exchange programme under internship with women’s group Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan.

The charity worker had accused the plumber Sanjay Prajapati of grabbing her bottom, breast and waist when he came to fix her shower at the house where she was staying during a three-month exchange programme. Miss Eldridge, from Dulwich, London, says she fought off Prajapati and was left with brusies and scratches after the incident.

That was not all, when she went to the local court she was humiliated even more. The court was full of jeering men who seemed to enjoy her discomfiture when the defence lawyer asked her pretty demeaning questions as to did she bathe, did she drink or did she smoke.

Worse there were no females except her English friend present in the court. Also the Government prosecutor who was appointed to defend her was most indifferent and did the most unethical thing by walking out on her in the midway saying he had another appointment. The whole proceedings of the court took place in Gujrati despite her plea for having a translator, which fell on deaf ears.

The defence counsel, the Prosecuter and the accused were exchanging jokes , obviously demeaning her. She was unable to participate in the hearing. Naturally she is outraged at such behaviour and has written to the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court seeking a judicial review of her case.

Miss Eldridge was educated at Hampstead school and at Westminster-Kingsway college before graduating from the London School of Economics with a degree in international relations last year. She travelled to India last month on an exchange organised by London-based programme provider AIESEC. Her employer Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan is a non-governmental organisation supporting women in village councils.

Several foreign women visiting India have been raped or sexually assaulted in recent years. In February, 2008, British teenager, Scarlett Keeling, 17, was raped and murdered in Goa.

In December 2007, a 40 year old British freelance journalist staying at a guest house in Udaipur was raped by the owner after he entered her room to give her an extra blanket. During the trial, in a special ‘fast track’ court designed to expedite cases involving foreigners, the victim said that she was mocked, even by her own lawyer, manhandled, and threatened so that she would withdraw the charge.

The judge sentenced the guest house owner, Parvat Singh Rana, to life imprisonment but the local police have failed to arrest him. Some how some where on the way we have lost our ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. as we are a very fast developing country such incidents are a blot on the whole progressive image of India. Every human being is different with different characteristics all Westerners are not bad and all Indians are not good.