Mourning continues for rape victim

New Year’s events canceled amid outcry for reforms.

NEW DELHI — India’s army and navy canceled New Year’s celebrations on Monday out of respect for a New Delhi student whose gang-rape and murder has set off an impassioned debate about what the nation needs to do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Protesters and politicians have called for tougher rape laws, major police reforms and a transformation in the way the country treats its women.

The country remained in mourning Monday, two days after the 23-year-old physiotherapy student died from her internal wounds in the Singapore hospital where she had been sent for emergency treatment. Six men have been arrested and charged with murder in the Dec. 16 attack on a New Delhi bus. They face the death penalty if convicted, police said.

Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, also canceled holiday celebrations. Hotels and clubs across the capital also said they would forgo their usual parties.

“She has become the daughter of the entire nation,” said Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Hundreds of mourners continued their daily protests near Parliament demanding swift government action. There was hope the tragedy could mark a turning point for gender rights in a country where women often refuse to leave their homes at night out of fear and where sex-selective abortions have wildly skewed the gender ratio.

Politicians have called for a special session of Parliament.