Going forward, the protest needs to get back to being a sports movement, rather than a political one. The wrestlers will need to do all they can to ensure the cause is not hijacked, so they don’t turn into pawns in a larger political game. Their fight is against the Wrestling Federation of India and its chief. Not against any political party.
In an important development, Bajrang Punia has appealed to everyone stating that it is not a political protest, and not about any political party. Rather, it is a sports protest, which concerns the rights of women wrestlers.
When the wrestlers first sat in dharna at Jantar Mantar in January earlier this year, this is something they had strictly maintained. One remembers they had not allowed Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) to join them, and even asked Vijender Singh, Olympic boxing medallist, to stay away. It was strictly a sports protest then, for a sporting cause.
Without going into the rights and wrongs, for nothing has been proved yet and an investigation is ongoing, it can indeed be said that the scenes at Jantar Mantar had moved India. How can international medallists be treated like this and not shown more respect?
This time round, the wrestlers have allowed political leaders from across the spectrum to come and join their protest. That too is okay, because you need the support of powerful men and women for your voice to be heard. But what needs to be asked is why they allowed their platform to be used by politicians for party ends? Why were political slogans, which had nothing to do with the protest, allowed to be aired from the protest site?
Also Read: We are not a rogue nation. Brutality at Jantar Mantar isn’t the India we stand for!
Why did Bajrang, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat not stop the politicians from shouting such slogans? Also, why did the wrestlers not condemn the heckling of PT Usha when she visited them? While Usha delayed her visit and could have acted much earlier, to see her being manhandled was as reprehensible as seeing the police brutality on the protesting wrestlers.
Going forward, the protest needs to get back to being a sports movement. The wrestlers will need to do all they can to ensure that the cause is not hijacked, with them as pawns in a larger political game. Their fight is against the WFI and its chief. Not against any political party.
So what’s the way forward? How long can the protesters sustain momentum? How long will India witness these scenes, which have shocked the global sports fraternity, and prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to keep a close vigil?
While there are no definitive answers to these questions just yet, it is important to state that the conduct of the wrestlers going forward could well define which way the protest goes. Will they stay true to their word and not allow the protest to turn political, which it already has, or will they cede control to more powerful men and women and just play on? The country, needless to say, will keep a close watch.