Wrestlers’ Protest at Jantar Mantar

While no one should ideally find themselves in situations where they must sit down in scorching heat for days to have the injustice done to oneself heard by everyone, protest tactics and collective mobilisation have always had a significant role to play in issues of gender justice.

In January 2023, some of the country’s celebrated wrestlers put up a protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. It was called off on the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ assurances to resolve the matter. However, the protest was resumed in April 2023 as there was no progress in this case, either with the five-member committee panel constituted to resolve this issue or with the registration of first information reports. The chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, who has been called out for sexual harassment by the wrestlers, continues to hold the post. The aggrieved wrestlers were also manhandled by the law-and-order personnel at the protest site. The images and videos where they seem to be weeping helplessly have created a lasting and alarming effect upon the public. Their demonstration of dissent has flagged some important and pending issues of the patriarchal tendencies within Indian sports administration.