Karnataka ranked second for the highest number of crimes committed against foreigners after Delhi in 2022.
Dennis was enjoying his visit in India. It was almost seven months since he came to India from his hometown in Germany. He was sleeping in an AC sleeper bus. Through the curtain, he could feel a hand searching. Startled, he woke up and slapped on the hand. “It looked like they wanted to steal my backpack while people were sleeping,” Dennis said that since he was awake and attentive, nothing happened.
Bangalore witnessed a decline in crimes against foreigners in 2023, according to the data provided by Bangalore City Police. However, crimes against foreigners in Karnataka and India are increasing.
Recently, a Spanish tourist was allegedly gang-raped in Jharkhand. Originally from Brazil, she was touring India with her husband on their bikes. The couple has already travelled over 1.53 lakh kilometers across the world, covering 63 countries.
On March 2024, five foreign students were injured in Gujarat University, following a mob attack for offering namaz on the campus.
Numbers of cases reported under crimes against foreigners in Bangalore were 121 in 2023, a 34 per cent decrease from 184 cases in 2022. Number of cases reported in 2021 was 225 in Bangalore, a 14 per cent increase from 197 cases in 2020.
According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) statistics published in2022 by Ministry of Home Affairs, 192 crimes against foreigners were reported in India, including all States and Union Territories (UTs). This is a 28 per cent increase from the previous year (150 cases in 2021). The highest number of crimes registered was under theft (34), followed by rape (28 cases) and cheating (21 cases) in 2022.
Karnataka tops all Indian states, with 28 cases reported in 2022.
Delhi tops the Union Territories with 40 cases registered in 2022. This is a 48 per cent increase from 27 cases reported in 2021.
Dennis W, said that even though he didn’t face any serious threats yet, it is bad that white people seem to be treated differently. “Vendors want to sell things for way too high prices, beggars want money, people want selfies with us, the excessively high entry prices for foreigners at tourist places compared to locals!,” he said.
He said that his female friends have different story to say. “From what I have heard from friends travelling in India, it can be unsafe for women travelling alone. That’s why, for example, they dress modestly or don’t go out alone after dark as a precaution,” he said.
Savitha, sociology professor, Bangaluru City University (BCU) said that people are less tolerant to diverse point of views. “Each and every individual in the society has a notion that our religion, our culture, and whatever beliefs we follow are superiorand other people’s beliefs are inferior. In sociology, we call it ‘Ethnocentrism’,” she said.
Pritam Kumar Ghosh, assistant Professor at School of Law, RV University, said that stricter enforcement of laws at the ground level by police and other law enforcement agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is necessary to improve visiting experience in India. He said that the laws for protection of foreigners are not implemented properly in India. “Individual states and UTs are not implementing the laws properly as it’s a central law that needs state level implementation,” he said.
Citing the incident of Gujarat University, Savitha said that foreign students in Universities are being victims for hidden political agendas. “Now-a-days political parties are using religion as a weapon. Stricter rules must be implemented in practice, not just in theory,” she said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bangalore, said that while there is no separate law for crimes against foreigners, they are registering cases under Foreigners Act. He said that foreigners are involved in drug cases, which involves locals. So, cases committed by foreigners are registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) as well.
