The current generation of Indian wrestlers have earned Olympic medals, bringing pride to their nation, and won World Championships, raising their country's flag to the highest position.
However, on Tuesday they found themselves burdened with the dilemma of surrendering their hard-earned medals to the sacred waters of the Ganges. Despite their initial intention to do so, they ultimately refrained from the act, after receiving a promise from a farmer leader, Naresh Tikait, to find a solution to their problems in a five-day period.
Top Indian wrestlers have been protesting for weeks against the head of the country's wrestling federation, Brij Bhushan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing female wrestlers for years. Despite their persistent demands, the government has yet to address their concerns, leaving the wrestlers feeling marginalized and treated as "criminals."
Brij Bhushan, a former 'bahubali wrestler' himself, is a 5-time MP of the BJP (once with SP) from Uttar Pradesh. At least 7 current and former female wrestlers have filed the complaints of sexual harassment.
On Sunday, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new parliament for the world's largest democratic country, the protesting wrestlers voiced their dissent near the premises that also hosted the chief of the wrestling federation.
In response, Modi employed harsh police measures, resulting in the detention of Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and several other wrestlers who were held in police stations for hours. The wrestlers now harbor doubts that their demand for accountability from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the chief of the wrestling federation, will ever be met by the Indian authorities.
Expressing their emotional distress on Twitter, Bajrang announced their intention to cast their medals into the sacred waters of the Ganges.
Bajrang wrote on Twitter, "These medals are our life, our soul. Once they are washed away by the Ganges, our existence will lose all purpose. We will commence a hunger strike until death at India Gate.”
Since April 23rd, the wrestlers have remained steadfast in their protest. However, they have, including the top women wrestlers, repeatedly faced brutal police interventions.