All The Celebrities Who Have Spoken Out So Far

Amidst the grand inauguration of the new Indian Parliament, another event has been unfolding in the capital that has sparked an online debate – the Indian wrestlers’ protest. Some of India’s top athletes have been protesting on the streets for over a few weeks now. The reason? Allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh – the head of India’s wrestling federation.

The protest, which in itself was in the headlines, generated further controversy when the Delhi Police started assaulting and arresting some of the wrestlers. Recently, the farmers too have sided with the protestors, demanding an immediate investigation of the WFI Chief.

If you want to catch up on all the developments related to the wrestlers’ protest, here’s everything you need to know.

The wrestlers protest: What is it?

Earlier in January, some of India’s top wrestlers levied serious allegations of sexual harassment against the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. After the government assured setting up an oversight committee to look into the allegations, the protests were waived off. At the same time, the Sports Ministry also stripped all senior WFI employees of their administrative powers.

However, the report of the committee was not made public. Sakshi Malik, one of the protesting wrestlers, also said in a statement to the media that she believe “the culprits got a clean chit”.

As such, the protest resumed, with more athletes joining the wrestlers to convey their support. In a letter to P. T. Usha, head of the Indian Olympics Association, the wrestlers stated that Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after she missed out on winning a medal in the 2021 Olympics.

When did the protest begin?

The protest was initially kicked off by Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia on January 18 in New Delhi, wherein they accused Singh and several other coaches of WFI of sexually harassing female wrestlers. Later, Vinesh Phogat also joined in, accusing Singh and other coaches of sexual harassment against women. As of now, some of India’s top wrestlers have joined the protest, whereas several celebrities have been vocally supporting the athletes in support of Singh.

How have the authorities responded to the wrestlers’ protest?

In the initial phase of the protest, the government had undertaken an enquiry into the matter by a dedicated committee. At the time, it was promised that the report would be released within four weeks. However, the committee submitted its report in April without making the findings public.

The protests were resumed after the Delhi Police was found to not file a case against Singh or carry out any enquiry. The protesting wrestlers eventually sought intervention from the Supreme Court of India, demanding an immediate arrest of Singh. The Supreme Court questioned the Delhi Police as to why it avoided such a serious allegation.

Eventually, the Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and is currently probing the case. On May 28, the Delhi Police arrested the protestor from their place while the inauguration of the parliament building was taking place.

On the sideline, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, ‘The matter is being investigated. The government will take action in the matter once the investigation is over.’

Additionally, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had urged the wrestlers to not go ahead with the immersion of their medals in the river Ganga. In a press statement, he said, ‘I urge the wrestlers to be patient till the outcome of the investigation. I also urge them not to take any step that could undermine sports or hurt any sportsperson.’

‘Medals in the Ganga’ controversy

The controversy emerged after reports emerged of the police manhandling the protestors at the inauguration of the new parliament building by the Indian PM Narendra Modi. In a later post on Twitter, Sakshi Malik, who won her Olympic Bronze medal in 2016, will go to Haridwar along with other protestors to immerse their medals in the Ganga River as a mark of the protest.

The protestors reached Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri and were seen sitting by the banks of the river. However, they cancelled their plans to immerse the medals after the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait reached out and asked them to defer their decision by five days. The wrestlers also said that they received a phone from the BJP, asking for some time to conclude the investigations.

Celebrities who have spoken out

Throughout the protest, several celebrities have come forward to voice their support for the wrestlers via social media.

Naseeruddin Shah expressed his views on the protest, telling PTI in an interview, ‘When has the Hindi film industry ever rolled up its sleeves and tackled a subject which is crying out to be tackled? Will anyone make a film on these girl wrestlers who brought us medals…? Will anyone dare make a film? Because they are scared of the repercussions. It is nothing new that the Hindi film industry is keeping mum on important issues, they always have.’

Other than Shah, here are a few tweets from popular celebrities.

(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy KABIR JHANGIANI/NurPhoto/NurPhoto via AFP)