British tourist Lucy Hemmings received numerous apologies among 600 replies to her viral blog post describing sexual harassment she faced during a trip to India.
"If I'm honest, I was nervous to publish something that shows India in a negative light -- in no way did I want to suggest that India as a whole is like this. But I think that all of these messages just go to show what wonderful, humble and incredible people India has to be proud of," The Telegraph quoted her as saying.
Hemmings wrote a blog post about a man touching himself in front of her, which went viral prompting hundreds of replies, with dozens of apologies from innocent Indian men for the behaviour of "scumbags" and others defending their country.
At the time, she wrote: "I felt sick. As much as I hate to admit it, this isn't the first time it's happened to me. In fact, chances are, if you've ever been to India, you'll have bumped into at least one traveller who has experienced this sort of behaviour, or heard of someone else who it has happened to."
An Indian male, Roy, wrote: "I am an Indian and I am sorry for the behaviour of my countrymen. But I believe what has happened can happen anywhere in this world. I am not favouring the idiot who did it."
A number of other female travellers and Indian women also took to the blog to share their own experiences of sexual harassment.
"I'm an Indian and I had a similar experience when I was 13, and too young to understand what the man following me was doing," wrote one woman, Akanksha.
Hemmings told Telegraph: "In terms of how it feels to have received so many messages of support, it has been absolutely incredible."
She also thanked people who had messaged her, writing on Facebook: "I want to express that I know that it is a tiny minority who behave this way - I promise I am absolutely in love with India and know that there is so much more to see!
"Good and bad people most certainly exist in every country, and India has an absolutely astonishing amount of good people. You are wonderful, India! xxxx"
It wasn't the first time a man has performed a sex act in front of her in India, she wrote.
In 2012 she was wandering through Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Ashram with an Australian woman when she spotted a man in the bushes performing a sex act as he watched them.
She wrote on her blog that the paid screamed, laughed and threw rocks at the man to show him they weren’t intimidated.
It happened a second time as she was alone at a train station, and the man walked away after she laughed at him in an attempt to embarrass him.
Despite the incident Miss Hemmings said she still loves India, which has been slammed for a wave of sexual violence against women, including a number of tourists.
She told the Hindustan Times: ‘Other than this man, I’ve been treated so kindly by both men and women.
‘From people inviting me into their homes, to their weddings or even just for a chai in the street, Indian hospitality is one of the warmest and most genuine I’ve received throughout my travels.
‘It has been so heartening and refreshing to have received such an overwhelming response from Indian men apologising on behalf of this man.’
