New Delhi— In a bold move, prominent Indian wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, who won a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Bajrang Punia, a medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and Vinesh Phogat, a world championship medalist, have announced their intention to cast their hard-earned medals into the Ganges river in Haridwar on Tuesday evening and lembark on an indefinite hunger strike at India Gate soon afterwards.
The wrestlers have chosen this extreme form of protest to voice their grievances against the perceived heavy-handedness of the police following their recent detention by the Delhi Police, which resulted in the filing of First Information Reports (FIRs) against them.
"These medals represent our very existence. There would be nothing left for us to live for after we dropped it into the Ganges. Therefore, the wrestlers declared in a joint statement, "We will proceed to India Gate and sit on a fast there until death.'
During their journey to a women's "Mahapanchayat" held near the newly inaugurated Parliament, on Sunday, the wrestlers, who had been peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar, encountered obstruction from the Delhi Police. Consequently, formal complaints were lodged against them, and the Jantar Mantar protest site was forcibly cleared. The detention of the wrestlers was met with resistance, leading to striking images capturing their forcible removal and their being lifted onto buses by policewomen.
The wrestlers expressed their disappointment in how they have been treated, highlighting the contrast between their peaceful demonstration and the actions taken against them by the police.
They questioned whether female athletes, who have demanded justice for the sexual harassment they have experienced, should be subjected to criminalization.
"Everyone present witnessed the events of May 28. the manner in which the cops handled us and held us. Despite the fact that we were protesting peacefully, the police not only cleaned out our demonstration location at Jantar Mantar but also filed FIRs against us. By demanding redress for sexual harassment they have experienced, have female athletes committed a crime?", the statement read.
Moreover, the wrestlers expressed a sense of disillusionment with the state of the nation, pondering why their triumphant performances on the international stage, where they secured Olympic and world championship medals for the country, seem to hold little significance.
They contemplated the recipients of their potential medal returns, including the President, who is a woman, and the Prime Minister, who affectionately refers to them as his daughters.
"We believe the medals we wear have no significance.We thought carefully about who to return the medals to, the statement continued. Should we present the President, a woman herself, with our medals? She was just two km away from us, but she made no comment about our situation. Then we debated whether or not to give them back to the prime minister, who refers to us as his daughters. But no, not once has he inquired about our well-being since we began demonstrating. The person we are protesting against, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was in fact invited to the new Parliament's inauguration " the wrestlers wrote in utter pain.
They expressed disappointment at the lack of acknowledgement or concern for their well-being from these figures.
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