One month of wrestlers’ protest: Despite apathy and intimidation, they are fighting for us all

This is the athletes' biggest bout so far, against very powerful people. It is for the dignity of millions of women who have faced sexual harassment and exploitation

The protests continue, day and night, with these decorated wrestlers sitting and sleeping on the pavement, in a makeshift tent. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

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The ongoing wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar completed one month on May 23. To mark the occasion, the protesters plan to hold a candlelight march at India Gate. I have been actively involved with the protests since day one and have seen its progress from close quarters. Celebrated women wrestlers who’ve won medals at various levels, including the Olympic games, are protesting in the heart of our capital, demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India Chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a strongman with several criminal cases against him and currently, BJP Lok Sabha MP. He has been accused of and charged with sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers, including a minor. The wrestlers also protested in January this year over the same issue. Then, they were persuaded to go home on the promise that there would be a swift resolution of their complaints and strict action would be taken against the culprits.

The government did not keep its promise and instead, formed a committee to look into the complaints. Sensing the direction in which the committee was moving, the women were forced to resort to another protest starting April 23. However, the police seemed to be taking a cue from its political masters and took its time filing an FIR, despite national and international attention on the issue. Finally, the complainants moved the Supreme Court, which directed the Delhi police to register FIRs in the cases. The police filed two FIRs — one under the stringent POCSO Act and another under other relevant sections of the IPC.

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Even after the FIR, the police kept dragging its feet — it took more than two weeks to record the statements of the complainants in front of a magistrate. The protests continue, day and night, with these decorated wrestlers sitting and sleeping on the pavement, in a makeshift tent. They are braving mosquitoes, the harsh summer, and the rains but the culprit has not been arrested so far. The wrestlers start their day early by freshening up in the morning, then proceed to train for a couple of hours in a nearby stadium to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games and for the Olympics next year. After a quick bath and breakfast, they’re back on the protest site by 11 am. There they meet a stream of visitors — politicians, farmer leaders, Khap Panchayat leaders, social activists, organisations fighting for women’s rights, and common men and women — who come to support their cause.

To restrict visitors, the police have turned the protest site into an open jail with several layers of barricades. This is at Jantar Mantar, which is supposed to be a designated place of protest in the heart of our capital. One day, the site and the bedding got wet due to rain and the protesters tried to bring some folding wooden boards to sleep on. They were not allowed to do so and the wrestlers, their supporters and some media persons were manhandled. The high-handedness of the police is such that sometimes, even a single person walking towards the protest site is redirected to this or that road to keep them away from visiting the wrestlers. The protest has been mostly blacked out by the national media, save for a few organisations like The Indian Express.

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The wrestlers attend to hundreds of phone calls from their supporters and well-wishers from across the country, talk to the media regularly and meet thousands of people who come to support them. They also keep an eye on social media and keep in touch with their lawyers. An informal committee that manages the protest meets as required under the tent and takes on-the-spot decisions on various issues.

The wrestlers are also fighting a propaganda war. The “media cell” and trolls that seem to be affiliated with a particular political party first tried to project the protest as a political issue with only one family, one caste and one state involved. The protestors, who mainly come from farming communities, broke this narrative when they were joined by various farmer organisations whose members come from “36 Biradaris”, as they say in rural areas. Leaders from different castes, states, organisations and political parties have been visiting them and also tweeting in their favour.

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The narrative was broken conclusively last week when Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Azad declared he would join the protest full-time. After that, it became a “kisan-mazdoor-common man brotherhood” fighting for justice. The government, seemingly perturbed by this expansion of the movement, did not allow Azad to rejoin the protest after he left for a short time last week. When he was going back to the protest site to sleep, he was stopped by hundreds of policemen and asked to go away. Such police actions have not been seen since the Emergency.

After 8-9 pm, the wrestlers go for a bath, have dinner and then come back to sleep on the pavement. They get very few hours of peaceful sleep. Their strict schedule of training, diet and sleep has been derailed for the last four months. The future of their international sporting career looks bleak. They are fighting their biggest bout so far — their “last dangal” perhaps — against very powerful people. They are doing so for the dignity of millions of women who have faced sexual harassment and exploitation. If they win it will be a gold medal for the country, if they lose it’ll be a dark day for us all.

One month of wrestlers’ protest: Despite apathy and intimidation, they are fighting for us all

This is the athletes' biggest bout so far, against very powerful people. It is for the dignity of millions of women who have faced sexual harassment and exploitation

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