Groundxero | 30th December, 2023
India’s ace wrestler, and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, on Saturday, also returned her Khel Ratna award and Arjuna Award in protest against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers.
A few days ago, on December 26, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Phogat had announced her decision to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, saying such honours have become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice.
On Saturday (December 30), Phogat attempted to reach the Prime Minister’s office to return her awards but the police stopped her. She left the awards on a pavement near the prime minister’s office as a mark of protest.
Fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia shared a video on X showing Phogat walking with the awards before returning them. Punia wrote: “May this day not come in the life of any player. The women wrestlers of the country are going through the worst phase.”
यह दिन किसी खिलाड़ी के जीवन में न आए। देश की महिला पहलवान सबसे बुरे दौर से गुज़र रही हैं। #vineshphogat pic.twitter.com/bT3pQngUuI
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 30, 2023
Phogat’s decision came just days after wrestler Bajrang Punia, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, also returned his Padma Shri award in protest. Punia had also left his medals on the footpath after he too was not allowed to hand it over in person to the PM. Phogat said she was “suffocating inside after seeing that photo of his.” She emphasised that awards “have no meaning in my life now” and “every woman wants to live life with respect”.
The series of protests began with the controversial election of Sanjay Singh, a dummy candidate put up by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Sakshi Malik, in a press conference, announced her decision to quit and hung up her boots following the election of Sanjay Singh and his panel in the new executive council of the WFI. “We fought from our heart but if a man like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling,” said a teary-eyed Sakshi Malik.
Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia decided to protest election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former WFI President and BJP Member of Parliament, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Brijbhushan Singh was accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers, including allegations involving minors. In January, the wrestling community, including nationally and internationally acclaimed Indian wrestlers, staged a sit-in for many days in Delhi, demanding his removal and arrest. Despite facing police brutality, they did not back down, continued with their protest, threatening to throw their medals in the river Ganga, at which point, the government was forced to step in and reach an informal agreement with the wrestlers. The protest was withdrawn at that time.
Despite the efforts of activists and peoples’ movements advocating for justice to the wrestlers, when legal steps were finally taken, they seemed futile. The family of the minor complainant allegedly withdrew the molestation charges under pressure at the last moment, the other female complainants were asked to provide evidence of their sexual harassment.
Brijbhushan was removed from the position of president of the wrestling federation, but the silence and lack of any concrete legal steps against him indicated that the government chose to stood by him, dismissing the allegations of sexual harassment by female athletes. The government’s response to the serious allegations against Brij Bhushan, who was not only the President of WFI but also a prominent leader of the ruling BJP party, made it clear that the whole system is standing by the side of the harassers, not the women athletes who have reported sexual harassment.
The Prime Minister may call young women ‘daughters of the nation’; his government may spend millions in advertising his pet slogan ‘Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter’; but when it comes to the question of delivering justice to women against the powerful men like Brijbhushan, his government chose to support the harassers, more so, if they belong to the ruling party. In her protest letter posted on X, Phogat had pointed out that their lives were not like “fancy government advertisements” that talk about women’s empowerment and upliftment.
Sanjay Singh has described Brij Bhushan as “an elder brother and guide” after being elected president. His election to the post shows how much influence and power Brijbhushan still holds. The system remains intact, no matter how many athletes come forward to protest, no matter how many medals they win for the country. The return of awards by the wrestlers serves as a poignant reminder of the need for accountability and systemic change within sports governance.