Resolve the wrestling crisis

Ensure a transparent probe pierces the culture of impunity in Indian sporting federations

It has been nearly four months since some of the country’s top wrestlers shocked the nation by alleging that the powerful chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, had turned the national body into a fiefdom rife with mental, physical and sexual harassment. In an unprecedented sit-in in the National Capital, a string of senior players — some Olympic medalists included — said they faced an atmosphere of intimidation and abuse. Yet, despite the high-decibel protest, little moved after Mr Singh was asked to step away and an inquiry instituted by the government, and the wrestlers were forced to take to the streets again. It appeared as if the culture of impunity bred by a politically connected class of administrators who have ruled Indian sporting federations with their influence for decades, irrespective of the results and complaints from players.

The wrestlers addressing a press conference during their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India in New Delhi. (Hindustan Times)

It is this cloak of impunity that the Supreme Court sought to pierce with its Tuesday decision, issuing notice to the Delhi Police and to hear the matter on Friday. That a complaint by champion athletes had to rise to the level of the highest court in the country is a matter of concern and shines a light on just how much power is vested in the hands of an administrator. The players say they repeatedly tried to get the Delhi Police to file a first information report based on their complaint of April 21, but failed. If this is true, in a matter as serious as sexual harassment of women at the workplace, it warrants immediate attention and remedy.

It is up to the top court now to set the future course of this case and ensure that a thorough and transparent probe gets to the root of the allegation. But the authorities can do their bit by ensuring that a report by the oversight committee is finally made public and its conclusions acted upon expeditiously. Moreover, irrespective of the outcome of this particular set of allegations, the government will do well to take another look at implementing the national sports code and taking steps to end the culture of entrenched administrators calling the shots for years, if not decades. Most of all, it must ensure that once a politician or administrator is removed or retires from a particular position, they are not able to exert control by proxy.