ANSWERING DMK MP Kanimozhi’s question on whether the Government of India planned to criminalise marital rape, the minister of state for home, Hirabhai Parathibhai Choudhary from Gujarat stated that “It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors eg, level of education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of the society to treat marriage as a sacrament, etc. (Rajya Sabha Question 656, April 29, 2015).