Foreigners Ask: Is India Safe?

A friend recently got in touch with me for travel advice on India. She is thinking of spending a few weeks here in the summer and wanted tips on must-sees and must-avoids. She also wanted to know if India is safe for women.
“I will have friends with me for some of the trip, but might be alone for bits too – is this safe? The news has not been very confidence-inspiring lately,” she said.
My friend was referring to the December gang rape and death of a young Indian woman in Delhi, an incident that drew global attention to women’s safety in the country.
There was more horrific news over the weekend. A Swiss woman told police she was gang-raped while camping with her husband near Orchha, a Mughal-era citadel that only now is starting to appear on the tourist circuit. Four men confessed to raping the woman, and were arrested on Sunday, say police.
Foreigners have been sexually assaulted in India before. A British teenager was raped and murdered in Goa in 2008, a high-profile case that was closely tracked in the United Kingdom. And in 2006, a man was convicted of raping a German tourist in a hotel room in Rajasthan. He fled on parole at the time. Police in Kerala on Friday said they found a man who matches his description and are holding him in custody, according to the Press Trust of India.
While tragic, these incidents are rare in India. Around 6.3 million foreign tourists visited India in 2011, the latest year for which government data is available. A large share of visitors are women, and many of them travel alone.
Control Risks, a global risk consultancy firm, in a travel briefing issued in response to the alleged rape of the Swiss woman, said that “although the incident is serious, violent crime against foreigners remains relatively rare in India.”
“India remains generally safe for female travelers and most women will experience, at worst, unwelcome attention from men,” it added, while cautioning tourists against traveling alone or in small groups.
High-profile rape cases have made foreign travelers more aware of women’s safety in the country.

“Even though the incident in Delhi didn’t make me change my plans, there is an increased sense of caution,” says 39-year-old Clare Skinner, a British citizen who is traveling by herself. “I have decided to stick to the main tourist spots and I am only flying between cities. I am not taking the train,” added Ms. Skinner, speaking in a café in Connaught Place, a popular tourist spot in New Delhi.
“After the incident in December, what surprised me was how badly women are treated here,” said Ms. Skinner, adding that the Delhi rape case has changed her perception of India, a country she has visited many times before.
Goelle Mathey, a 46-year-old Swiss national, said she was “shocked” to learn about the alleged gang-rape of a Swiss woman near Orchha in Madhya Pradesh. “But India is a lot more safe than other countries,” she added.
Megan Beard, a 27-year-old Australian, agrees. “There are always bad things happening everywhere. What is happening here is a little bit worrying but when you are travelling, irrespective of where you are travelling, it’s important to have your wits in place,” said Ms. Beard, who is traveling with a tour group.
Harkripal Singh, the Delhi representative of the Travel Agents Association of India, a lobby group, says that the December rape case has not affected the tourism industry in the country. “In every country of the globe, these kinds of incidents happen from time to time,” says Mr. Singh, adding that the industry is now more aware about the need to help prevent sexual crimes against tourists.
Ravneet Kler, director at the Delhi-based Sadhana Tours, says he hasn’t received any questions from clients on women’s safety in recent months. Still, “there are certain rules we follow,” says Mr. Kler. “Our drivers say things like, ‘Ma’am don’t go here, it’s not a good area.’ Simple things like that help,” he says.
Guide books and foreign governments have long warned women to be careful when traveling in India.
Tripadvisor, the travel Website, has a whole page on tips for women traveling on their own in Delhi. These include suggesting women dress more conservatively and avoid interacting with men.
Foreign governments have similar travel advice for their citizens in India.  “U.S. citizens, particularly women, are cautioned not to travel alone in India,” says a note from the U.S. Department of State. It adds that “women should observe stringent security precautions” like avoiding the use of public transport after dark.
“If you are a woman traveling in India you should respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day,” says a notice on the website of the British foreign office.