CANCELED: Gods Rape, Kings Rape and Demons Rape: History of Sexual Assault in Ancient India

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs 

South Asia Centers 

presents 

Anisha Saxena, Assistant Professor of History, Onondaga Community College

Gods Rape, Kings Rape and Demons Rape: History of Sexual Assault in Ancient India

Presently in India a popular argument about the safety of women calls for ‘going back to the ethos of ancient India culture’. This argument assumes that women were ‘safer’ in ancient India and that rape and sexual assault of women did not exist in the past and were introduced in the subcontinent after the Islamic invasions of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Contrary to this popular belief, my talk through detailed and systematic examining of accounts of rape from ancient Hindu-Brahmanical texts demonstrates that women were raped in ancient India, although many of these men writing in Sanskrit considered rape a criminal offense.

Contact Emera Bridger Wilson at elbridge@syr.edu with any questions or concerns.