Atithi Devo Bhava? A Russian woman being harassed is one of many such cases in India recently

Indians have long been known for our welcoming nature, having coined the term 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (meaning 'the guest is equivalent to God').

However, in recent times, there have been disturbing instances of harassment directed towards female foreign vloggers visiting India.

Instead of returning home with cherished memories, these visitors often leave with trauma due to severe harassment by some Indians.

What happened 

• A recent viral video on Twitter once again raises several questions about how we treat our foreign guests, especially females.
• A Russian tourist, accompanied by her Indian friend, reported an incident of alleged inappropriate touching by a staff member at a filling station in Jaipur.
• The incident gained attention yesterday (December 20) following a viral video shared by a travel vlogger on social media on November 7.
• In the video, the vlogger, traveling with a friend on a bike, stopped at the filling station where the worker allegedly touched her three times.
• The woman can be heard speaking in English, claiming that the worker intentionally behaved inappropriately.
• The worker, who remains unidentified in the video, apologized to her after the vlogger confronted him.
• Later, both the vlogger and her friend informed the city police control room to ensure appropriate action was taken. The man was given a warning and released.

See the video here: 

Harrasment kalesh (Context in the Video) pic.twitter.com/hvI0qnRsfh

— Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) December 18, 2023

Not the first time

However, this is not the first time such incidents have occurred. There has been a rise in instances where foreign women are treated inappropriately and harassed on the street. In fact, over the past few months, there have been several similar instances.

The recent one

• A Korean vlogger known as Kely faced a similar incident while filming a video in the Ravet area of Pune's Pimpri Chinchwad.

• While filming, two men approached her and interrupted her, insisting on taking pictures with her.

• One of them even grabbed her and put his hand around her neck.

• She quickly left the area, saying, “I have to run away. Bye bye. Namaste.”

• After the video went viral, the crime branch of the Ravet area arrested them on Tuesday (December 19).

Check out the video here: 

🇮🇳Korean Vlogger Kelly Got Harassed In India pic.twitter.com/u1i7jCPhxu

— Anand Tate (@anandtatepajeet) December 15, 2023

'Manhandled'

Pedro Mota, a Dutch vlogger, apparently had a tough time in Bengaluru, Karnataka, where he was filming in the Chickpet area.
Someone bothered him and physically attacked him.

• The Karnataka police later apprehended the assailant.
• A viral video shows a person grabbing Pedro's hand and saying something to him, after which Pedro runs away from that person in the video.

• He uploaded the video on his YouTube channel captioned, "I got attacked by thieves in India."

Harrased on the street 

Two individuals, Mobeen Chand Mohammad Shaikh and Mohammad Naqeeb Sadrealam Ansari, were arrested by Mumbai Police on December 1 last year.

They were accused of harassing a Korean vlogger while she was live-streaming in Khar, Mumbai.

The incident occurred on November 29 when these individuals sexually harassed a Korean streamer known as 'Mhyochi'.

In a video shared online, one of the accused can be seen dragging Park by her hand as she shouts "no, no."

@MumbaiPolice A streamer from Korea was harassed by these boys in Khar last night while she was live streaming in front of a 1000+ people. This is disgusting and some action needs to be taken against them. This cannot go unpunished. pic.twitter.com/WuUEzfxTju

— Aditya (@Beaversama_) November 30, 2022

Later, two Indians helped her get away from the situation and report the incident to the police.

What measures do you think can be taken to prevent situations like this?