New Delhi: Hours after a group of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh reportedly broke through a police barricade to reach the ongoing wrestlers’ protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Monday, Abhimanyu Kohad, member of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farmers, told ThePrint that “They [the wrestlers] belong to families of farmers, so it is our moral responsibility to support them.”
He added: “It is a matter of social justice for women. If a bahubali [strongman] is misusing his power to sexually harass women, it is the responsibility of each Indian to take a stand.”
Kohad was referring to former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who stands accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers.
Kohad’s sentiments were echoed by 30-year-old Rashmi Dahiya, one among the farmers and members of farmers’ families present at the Jantar Mantar site Monday, who said she had come to join the agitation from Hisar in Haryana.
“We have seen them wrestle. The day I saw them cry [during the protest], I wondered, if this is the condition of wrestlers, where will other women go? This [sexual harassment allegations] discourages so many women, who will now be told by men that it should serve as a lesson [to them]. I want to tell them [the wrestlers] to keep fighting, for us, for the daughters of the country,” said Dahiya.
About 500 farmers, under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and carrying the organisation’s green flag, reached the site of the wrestlers’ protest Monday. The SKM had been formed in 2020 to lead the farmers’ protest against three controversial farm laws brought in by the Narendra Modi government that year. The laws were repealed in 2021, after a near-year-long agitation by the farmers.
Speaking to ThePrint about the farmers breaching the police barricade to reach the protesting wrestlers, Kohad said, “Thousands of farmers were present at the site. There was no coordination so the farmers broke it to move ahead. If you expect 700-800 farmers to walk one by one towards the site, it will be a dawn-to-dusk kind of task. The farmers were harassed in the name of checking. Are we criminals? The one who should be checked [a reference to Brij Bhushan] is roaming free.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Delhi, Pranav Tayal, however, played down the incident, insisting that there had been no clash between the farmers and the police.
“The farmers were in a hurry and many broke the barricades while trying to cross it. There were no injuries. In a hurry to reach the dharna site some of the farmers climbed the barricades which fell down and were removed by them. The Delhi Police ensured that the movement was smooth and no one was harmed,” Tayal said.
Last week, the protesting wrestlers had alleged harassment by the police after an argument over bringing in folding beds for sleeping at the protest site. Police had termed it a “minor altercation”.
Award-winning wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia have been leading the protest at Jantar Mantar since last month.
This is the second time this year that the wrestlers have gone on protest against Brij Bhushan. The first protest was in January and ended only when the Sports Authority of India (SAI), and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) stepped in to look into the allegations against Singh. The sports ministry constituted an oversight committee (OC) to probe the matter and also manage the day-to-day functioning of the WFI.
After the formation of the OC, Singh, who had held the position of WFI president since 2011, was asked to “step aside”. Following an intervention of the Supreme Court late last month, the Delhi Police has registered two cases against Brij Bhushan based on the sexual harassment allegations.
But the wrestlers are demanding Singh’s arrest and dismissal from WFI.
The BJP MP has denied the allegations against him and claimed them to be politically motivated. He had accused the protesters of being pawns of the Congress.
Support for the protesting wrestlers has come in from various quarters, including khap panchayats and many political parties.
Addressing a press conference Sunday, Punia said, “We’re not here to engage in politics; we’re here to seek justice. Those who wish to participate in the demonstration are welcome; no one has hijacked the demonstration”.
‘It’s a human rights issue’
While the SKM over the weekend issued the statement condemning Delhi police for allegedly denying the athletes “basic civil rights”, Vinesh Phogat told the media Sunday that they will take a call on 21 May if the WFI president is not arrested by then.
SKM member Darshan Pal Monday also announced a protest in support of the wrestlers between 11-18 May, demanding Brij Bhushan’s arrest.
Sudesh Goyat, a prominent face during the 2021 farmers’ protest, and an active participant in the ongoing wrestlers’ agitation, told ThePrint that he expected this to be larger than the farmers’ movement.
“When injustice occurs, it is an obligation to speak. We spoke for the farmers, we are speaking for the wrestlers. It is a human rights issue,” said Goyat.
The protesting wrestlers have also been visited by leaders from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiv Sena. The prolonged agitation has also drawn some leaders from the ruling BJP in Haryana to voice support for the wrestlers.
Speaking to ThePrint, Maimoona Mollah, president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association said that this issue is pertinent for every woman across the country who faces sexual harassment, so that they know that they are not alone in their fight.
Meanwhile, the security at the Delhi-Ghazipur frontier has been reportedly increased in anticipation of farmers from various states who continue to arrive in the national capital to support the protesting wrestlers.
On Monday, the farmers gathered at Delhi’s Bangla Sahib gurudwara, before marching towards Jantar Mantar.
The gathering included even the elderly, such as 70-year-old Gurcharan Singh from Patiala.
“If a man behaves in this manner [a reference to Brij Bhushan], he ought to be in jail. He has been roaming around proudly claiming he did no wrong. Our daughters belong in the akhadas [wrestling arenas]. Why would the wrestlers risk their health sitting here and their careers if they were lying? We are farmers, we know our daughters and we will support them until he is jailed,” he said.
While Punia has thanked the farmers for their support, Brij Bhushan in a video posted on Facebook Saturday, requested them to wait till the investigation against him is completed.
“Let these kids make their own mistakes,” he said. “My request with folded hands to those of you who are older is that you refrain from making this error.”
The former WFI chief has continued to visit akhadas across Haryana and attended public meetings even as the agitation against him intensifies.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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