‘World is watching’: Indian police drag away protesting wrestlers
Two Olympic medalists were detained during a march to the new parliament over alleged sexual harassment by a BJP MP.
Several of India’s top wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, have been detained as they attempted to march towards the new parliament building in New Delhi.
The wrestlers detained on Sunday have been protesting for a month in the capital against the lack of action against Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party.
The protesting athletes have demanded his “immediate arrest” and have asked for the intervention of the Supreme Court, which has ordered police to register a case against the 66-year-old. The MP has been accused of harassing several female athletes while leading the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and has denied all allegations.
Protest during the inauguration of parliament
The wrestlers attempted to march towards India’s new parliament building as Modi inaugurated it, but were stopped by hundreds of police officers. Among those detained and taken away in buses were Olympic bronze medalists Malik and Punia.
The two wrestlers are national heroes in a country that has long craved largely elusive Olympic success. Modi congratulated them when Malik won her medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Punia won his medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Now the wrestlers accuse the Modi government of ignoring complaints that embarrass the prime minister, who himself has portrayed as a champion of women’s rights.
“They broke through the barricades and did not follow police directions,” senior Delhi police officer Dependra Pathak told local media, speaking of the wrestlers. “They broke the law and that’s why they were detained.”
Malik, who medaled in the women’s 58 kg freestyle event, shared photos and videos of the wrestlers being dragged away by police.
“This is how our champions are treated. The world is watching us,” she tweeted
This is how our champions are treated. The world is watching us! #WrestlersProtest pic.twitter.com/rjrZvgAlSO
— Sakshee Malikkh (@SakshiMalik) May 28, 2023
Security was tightened in the capital ahead of the inauguration of the new parliament, and personnel also stood guard on the outskirts of Delhi as a group of farmers tried to enter the city to support the protesting wrestlers.
This month dozens of farmers tore down police barricades in the city to join the protest.
‘This is the culture’
Olympian Vinesh Phogat, one of the athletes who led the protests, told Al Jazeera that several cases of sexual harassment have been reported in the past, but that Singh was able to get the charges dropped or get the complainant out of the fight.
Recently, Phogat said, she received a call from young female wrestlers from a state in eastern India. “They had written a complaint to the WFI about sexual harassment by a coach,” she said. “The coach was suspended for ten days, but returned as head coach after seven days. This is the culture [of the WFI]. If the head himself is like this, what action will he take against others?
The protesting wrestlers have refused to share the names of the women who have complained and will not allow them to come forward.
‘The biggest culprits are sports officials’
Wrestling is arguably India’s most successful Olympic sport. In the 76 years since India’s independence, it has won 21 medals in individual sports, seven by wrestlers.
Most of the wrestlers are from villages, many of them are from poor families and most of them are from Haryana, an agrarian and highly patriarchal area with high rates of female feticide and murders of women known as “honor killings”.
Women athletes have long complained about sexual harassment in their sport, though they have been reluctant to speak out publicly.
“Many athletes have told me that they are victims of various forms of exploitation, but they don’t want to come out when they are at their best,” sports lawyer and activist Saurabh Mishra told Al Jazeera.
“Seeking favors is not rare – financially, sexually,” Mishra added. “In my opinion, the biggest culprits are the sports federation officials who run their fiefdoms.”