German envoy raps academic for rape claims over Indian student

Germany's ambassador to India has sent a scathing letter to a professor at Leipzig University who refused to give a male Indian student an internship, citing India's "rape problem" and concern for her female students.

Ambassador Michael Steiner said he "strongly objected" to the reasoning of Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger, chair of biochemistry at the university, writing: "Let's be clear: India is not a country of rapists."

He added: "I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which - in my opinion - is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher."

In her emailed response to the request for an internship, Beck-Sickinger had written: "Unfortunately, I don't accept any Indian male students for internships. We hear a lot about the rape problem in India, which I cannot support. I have many female students in my group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support."

In a later email, Beck-Sickinger wrote that it was "unbelievable that Indian society is not able to solve this problem", adding that it "demonstrates the attitude of society towards women" and that "many female professors in Germany decided to no longer accept male Indian students". A colleague of the Indian student who applied for the internship posted Beck-Sickinger's emails on question-sharing platform Quora asking for advice on how to react to the response. The exchange then went viral.

The German professor has since apologised for her comments, saying they were taken out of context.