Delhi gang rape case draws attention of American media

Washington, Dec 23: The large-scale protests in India over the gang rape of a girl in a moving bus has attracted the attention of American media which blamed it on poor law and order and a lacklustre criminal justice system.

At a time when the mainstream American media itself is battling over the issue of fiscal cliff, debating the relevance of gun-control laws in the aftermath of shootout inside a school that killed 20 children, newspapers and news channels have been taking a serious note of outburst of the peoples' anger against the rape on the young girl who is battling for her life at a hospital in New Delhi.

"These are unprecedented demonstrations," National Public Radio reported. "They want justice for this young woman, and they want women in this country generally to feel safer on the streets, at work, in subways, and on public transportation," it said.

"Clashes Break Out in India at a Protest Over a Rape Case," headlined The New York Times, stating that thousands of protesters streamed into the heart of New Delhi to demand justice and better policing in the wake of the brutal rape.

"The roots of the problem run deep in a conservative society that is having trouble adjusting to educational and economic advances by women, long confined to the home. Demographics also play a role, with half of India's population under 25 and female infanticide and the neglect of girls creating a growing gender imbalance," the daily said.

"But India's criminal justice system, riddled with incompetence, corruption and political meddling, seems unable to respond effectively," The New York Times said.

"A young woman was gang-raped and beaten to near death on a moving bus in New Delhi, police say. She is in intensive care at a city hospital, battling for her life," CNN reported.

Official data show that rape cases have jumped almost 875 per cent over the past 40 years -- from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011, it said. New Delhi police fired water cannon at protesters, it said in another news report.

"Thousands of people demonstrated outside the Indian president’s residence in New Delhi on Saturday, breaching barricades and clashing with police over the brutal rape of a 23-year-old girl before authorities drove them back with sticks, tear gas and water cannons," The Los Angeles Times reported.

PTI