New Delhi: After two weeks of overnight protests at Jantar Mantar, the wrestlers’ protest in the heart of Delhi continues with no end in sight.
India’s leading wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Mallik are leading a movement against alleged sexual harassment in Indian wrestling, and seeking the ouster and arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
As things stand, Brij Bhushan, who is also a BJP MP, has been booked in two cases based on the complaints of seven wrestlers, including one minor. He has denied all allegations.
Vinesh Phogat, one of India’s top wrestlers, sat down with ThePrint’s Shubhangi Misra for an interview. Excerpts:
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Shubhangi: It’s been 2 weeks of protests, sleeping on the footpath. How are you feeling?
Vinesh: The support from the country keeps us going. Women from all walks of life, across ages, have shared their stories with us and expressed solidarity. We’re against a huge, dirty system. We don’t know what’s going to be the outcome. I consider myself fortunate enough to have the courage to speak up against this.
Shubhangi: Is Brij Bhushan still threatening you like you had claimed earlier?
Vinesh: Very much so. He sends death threats to us, our relatives, friends and family. They threaten us at our houses. They tell me, Sakshi and Bajrang that they’ll kill us, our family members, if we don’t call off the protest. They even use the mafia.
Shubhangi: Are you concerned about your career prospects, given that you’ve directly challenged the Centre?
Vinesh: We’ve left fear behind. We don’t know if we’ll lose or emerge victorious. But if we don’t speak up, who will? If our grievances are falling on deaf ears, imagine what happens to younger players.
Shubhangi: It’s difficult for women to get acceptance in the world of wrestling. Will these allegations scare young girls even more?
Vinesh: I won’t lie, there’s an atmosphere for fear currently. Even in my family. Even our family has only seen our medals. But if we leave this fight in the middle, a lot of women will lose. If he’s arrested, it will be empowering.
Shubhangi: How are things with (cousin, top wrestler and BJP youth wing member) Babita Phogat? She was angry earlier…
Vinesh: I don’t care who is angry and who isn’t. Whoever stands with me is my friend, whoever is against our struggle, even if they’re from family, are my enemy.
Shubhangi: Lots of players from other sports, like Sania Mirza, Bhaichung Butia and Irfan Pathan, have expressed solidarity with you, but their support is limited to Twitter. Why aren’t they coming to the protest site?
Vinesh: If you want change, you’ll have to come here and sit with us. I appreciate their words of support. But if they do come here, the protest will be that much more powerful. Nobody will be able to claim that we’re lying. It will change a lot for the nation. Every sport is the same. Harassment is not exclusive to wrestling. We need more voices. If we’re scattered, it’s easy to break us, but if we come together we’ll be like a strong fist, difficult to break.
Shubhangi: Does the social media trolling bother you?
Vinesh: Of course, it makes me feel terrible. If they (online trolls) didn’t spare us, those who brought glory to the nation… Call us terrorists… what [must] they do to others? Today, anyone asking for their rights, farmer, jawan, pehelwan… everyone’s a terrorist. Then who are the real patriots? Let me tell you, these online trolls are the real terrorists.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)