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How the spirit of 1983 World Cup-winning squad came together in letter of support for wrestlers
In a joint statement, the world champions said they were distressed after seeing the visuals of wrestlers but also hoped that the law of the land will prevail.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning squad extended its support to top wrestlers protesting against sexual harassment on Friday, the loudest endorsement of the ongoing stir and one that added to mounting pressure for action against six-time parliamentarian and former wrestling federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after grisly allegations against the strongman by the complainants became public.
In a joint statement, the world champions said they were distressed after seeing the visuals of wrestlers being manhandled but also hoped that the law of the land will prevail. The statement came on a day leaders from 170 khaps or clan-based bodies gave the government a week’s ultimatum to take action against Singh, and said they will march to Delhi and launch a fresh agitation.
“We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into river Ganga,” said the statement released by the players.
“We urge them not to take any hasty decision in this matter and also fervently hope that their grievances are heard and resolved quickly. Let the law of the land prevail,” it added.
The backing of the legendary team — led by Kapil Dev, and with Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, K Srikanth, Roger Binny, Syed Kirmani, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sandeep Patil, Kirti Azad, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Valson — is the most high-profile endorsement so far of the stir led by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, Rio Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, and double World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat.
“Wrestlers have done so much for the country. They deserve respect. We feel this issue should be resolved swiftly. Both parties should come together and resolve it amicably,” Roger Binny, a member of the iconic team who is also the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, told HT.
Madan Lal said the team decided to issue a statement after the dramatic developments on Tuesday, when the wrestlers made an emotional appeal and decided to immerse their medals in the Ganga. “Athletes should not be treated in such a manner. There has to be a better way to deal with this. To the wrestlers, I want to say, please continue your fight,” he added.
Despite growing demand for the arrest of Singh on charges of intimidation, sexual harassment and assault, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has remained defiant. But his options appeared to be narrowing after details of the two first information reports (FIRs) against him were made public on Friday. These FIRs, one filed by a 17-year-old girl and the other by six adults, detailed years of abuse and alleged that Singh offered to buy a wrestler supplements if she gave into his sexual advances, called a wrestler to his bed and hugged her, grabbed a minor girl’s breasts, slid his hand down a woman’s shirt, and goaded wrestlers to spend time alone with him during most tournaments. According to one of the complainants, most women wrestlers would avoid leaving their rooms alone during tournaments and would largely stick together to keep the BJP MP’s advances at bay.
The developments mark a fresh turn in the protracted stir as top sports personalities, community leaders and even some ruling party politicians have thrown their weight behind the stir. It underlines the urgency for the government to reach out to the protesters and for both sides to find a solution in what is a crucial year for Indian sport.
Pressure also came from a mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra, where khap representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttarakhand gave the government a seven-day deadline to act, failing which they, along with aggrieved wrestlers, will march to Jantar Mantar and resume their protest.
In a mahapanchayat that lasted about five-and-a-half hours and was attended by around 3,000 people, the farm leaders demanded that all charges against protesting wrestlers be dropped and Singh be arrested.
“The central government has time till June 9. We will not compromise on anything less than the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. If this does not happen, we will go to Jantar Mantar on June 9 and hold panchayats across the nation. Cases against wrestlers should be withdrawn and the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh must happen,” Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said.
Murmurs of support came from even within the ruling BJP with at least three BJP lawmakers spoken in support of the women wrestlers
Some voices in the party are demanding swifter action on the complaints of the women wrestlers who levelled charges against the MP from Kaiserganj, the people added.
Delhi Police officers pointed out that the probe is still on.
“The investigation is still on, so we cannot comment on the time-frame in this case. This is an open-ended case. We’ll not make any remark on the evidence also till the probe is over, said Delhi Police public relations officer Suman Nalwa.
The wrestlers want the arrest of Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kaiserganj who has ruled Indian wrestling for 12 years, over allegations of sexual harassment of athletes, including at least one minor. Singh has denied the charges, hit back at the wrestlers, and even said that their medals are worth ₹15 each. Though he has been removed from WFI, which stands suspended, and two FIRs have been filed against him, the wrestlers have demanded that he be arrested immediately.
Meanwhile, the Union government has maintained that it has taking note of the wrestlers’ grievances, a probe in the matter is ongoing, and has urged the athletes for patience so that law can take its course.
The protests took a dramatic turn last Sunday, when police blocked a planned march to the new Parliament building by wrestlers and removed them from Jantar Mantar. Two days later, the three wrestlers announced that they had decided to throw all their medals in the Ganga in an act of protest. Later that evening, unprecedented scenes unfolded on the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar where wrestlers broke down in a huddle that played out on live television. After nearly 30 minutes, BKU chief Naresh Tikait convinced them to hold off on immersing the medals, and asked for five days to help fulfil their demands.
