What does it say about us?

Recently, during the manhandling of the protesting women wrestlers, allegedly by Delhi Police personnel, in the dead of night, the humiliated wrestlers broke into tears. These wrestlers of international fame have been protesting demanding action against Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, the Chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), whom they have charged with sexual harassment of women wrestlers. This is the second round of protests by the wrestlers in the past few months, after the first round of protest did not result in any action against Brij Bhushan, who is also a BJP MP. Indeed, the police would not even lodge an FIR against him, until the Supreme Court ordered them to. Notably, despite the accused being booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he has not been arrested, and he continues to head the WFI. The wrestlers’ tears, humiliation, and deep sense of despair leaves nothing but a sickening, feeling about where our beloved country is headed.

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The ruling elites and their supporters conveniently overlook the perils of their partisan politics. This is precisely why when sexual crimes like brutal rapes, as in the case of Hathras (Uttar Pradesh), involve victims of the socially distanced ‘other’, i.e., the Dalit community, there is little emotion and fury that erupt. Likewise, on August 15, 2022, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was exhorting the country to show more respect towards women, we watched as his government set free the culprits convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape and mass murder case, defying well-established norms, including his own government’s note against granting remission of sentences to those convicted of heinous crimes like gang rape and murder. Perhaps even in this matter, we can to some extent understand the lack of public outrage, considering that the rising communal divide has blinkered people’s conscience.

In these aforementioned cases, the apathy and the complicity of the powers that be in the denial of justice can be explained by the persistent, deep fault-lines informing this country. Further, a recurring unholy alliance of corporate media, politicians and the State machinery continually works to protect the accused and malign the complainants.

Though we have seen many tragic cover-ups of sexual violence, this time, our country is confronted by the ugly truth in an inescapable way – this time, the complainants are no ordinary women, but those who have won the country many laurels and fame. The same wrestlers who have earlier been proclaimed to be “daughters of the nation” from the highest pulpit are now being harassed and humiliated, and compelled to fight for justice. We are enveloped by a strong sense of déjà vu. Such distressing situations have caused many people to become increasingly cynical regarding the possibility of the regime’s supporters awaking from their moral stupor.

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Here, the great epic Mahabharata resonates with the moral indeterminacy of our troubling times. As the legend goes, the Kauravas and Pandavas of the Kuru clan waged a fierce war. It could have been simply remembered as a family feud over property, but the retribution for Draupadi’s humiliation made it a war of dharma and nyaya. When Draupadi was disrobed in front of the whole court, king Dhritarashtra remained a mute spectator, and so did the revered elders of the Kuru clan -- Bhishma and Vidhur.

However, there were two characters from among the Kauravas who abhorred the wrongdoings of their brethren: Vikaran and Yuyutsu. Yuyutsu was the son of Dhritarashtra from his wife Gandhari’s maid. By the very status of being a son of the king, he moved up in station and became part of the ruling establishment. He is celebrated as a moral warrior. Importantly, before the onset of the battle of Kurukshetra, when the armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas were facing each other and the battle was about to commence, Yudhishtira exhorted all the warriors to again consider choosing their side if they felt that righteous is on the other side. While Vikaran (the self-righteous son of Dhritarashtra) stayed back, Yuyutsu forewent his family bonds to side with dharma.

In contemporary times, there are definitely Dhritarashtras amongst us, who are solely power-minded. There are also Bhishmas and Vidhurs whose loyalty is split between the regime they are tied to and doing the right thing. There are many like Vikaran, who despite being aware about the morally repugnant ways in which the regime is working, continue to close ranks behind it. However, there must be many Yuyutsus as well, who would choose the righteous path, and whose conscience would propel them to stand with India’s struggling women wrestlers and speak out against the culture of impunity against sexual crimes. Where are these Yuyutsus in India today?

The image of two weeping women wrestlers should haunt the conscience of the nation. In the popular discourse, complainants in sexual crimes are mostly always suspected of ‘inviting trouble’, ‘lacking discipline’ and being ‘weak-willed’. Victim-blaming, including attributing ulterior motives to complainants, is commonplace. In such discourse, women are also ‘advised’ to learn martial arts to defend themselves. However, these wrestlers are women who are trained in discipline and grit, and who are mentally and bodily strong. And yet they are reduced to vulnerability by a complicit system hell-bent on protecting predators. Can we be mute spectators to their plight and indifferently watch the crushing of their spirit as well as the self-worth of the nation? This struggle is an inspiring beacon of hope for the average woman of this country. In the ensuing battle of dharma, our contemporary Mahabharata awaits many Yuyutsus who will ensure that the light of truth is not swallowed by the darkness of nepotism.

(The writer teaches at the University of Delhi, and has been associated with the women’s movement for nearly two decades)