Well.. they have to ask first, it'll be weird otherwise

If by 'we' you mean the Reddit diplomats, then perhaps you're right. If by 'we' you mean the western governments, then it's not accurate, as states don't have love-hate relationships like middle schoolers. The only factor that matters is whether their national interests are served through a relationship.

It's somewhat important, but not terribly, as most places don't carry out this test anyway. However, some places clearly still do, so it's important to end this practice to offer a modicum of dignity to the victims. It's easier said than done, as law enforcement is rather lax in rural areas where such tests might be common. At least, with government regulations coming in, such practices might be progressively eradicated at government-run hospitals, which, IIUC, rape victims are mandated to visit for clinical assessment.

Conservatives vs liberal isn't really the best way to describe politics in India. While a reasonably conservative party is in power at the moment, politics in India isn't really ideologically polarized. In any era, there's one party that sets the narrative of the day, while the others try to mould themselves to fit the trend in order to avoid being left out. However, fundamentally, none of them want to upset the apple cart and challenge the core beliefs held by Indian voters, so most parties are conservatives in that sense. In fact, one of the largest opposition parties at present, the Indian National Congress, had gone to the extent of retroactively modifying the Indian constitution to nullify a progressive supreme court judgement, in order to pander to vocal islamic voters. The BJP, although they hold hardline Hindu ideals, have almost always toed the line when the supreme court has recommended progressive steps.

While this corruption almost certainly did happen, it's also likely that the bridge was way overloaded due to poor crowd management

I never said that they're synonyms, just that the Catholic religion is a somewhat unusual phrasing, which seems to distance Catholics from the umbrella of Christianity. I'll be equally puzzled if people talk about the Sunni religion instead of Islam.

> the Catholic religion

Or, as it is otherwise known to the rest of the world, Christianity.

He can say whatever he wants as long as he doesn't sell military equipments to Pakistan