To add to your comment: Even Indians who grow up in cities get the same kind of stares when they visit villages. As an young child every year when my siblings and I visit a tiny village where my parents grew up, there are always people who live around the neighborhood peeping through our doors to see who has arrived and what we were up to. Even when we walk in the muddy roads or ride in an ox-cart to visit the farms,we noticed everyone lines up on the road to watch us.

And of course, this is more pronounced for woman. This is also part of Indian culture(good or bad).

But, this part of mannerism does not discount the extreme harassment the OP has experienced.