Sports not to be mixed with politics: Roger Binny on 1983 WC team statement on wrestlers’ protest
Roger Binny, the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has chosen to dissociate himself from the joint statement made by the 1983 World Cup-winning squad respecting Indian wrestlers’ protest.
Star Indian wrestlers have been engaged in a protracted conflict with former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. These wrestlers include World Championship bronze medalist Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik.
The 1983 World Cup-winning team sent a united statement on Friday, June 2, to show their support for the wrestlers and to implore them not to throw away their medals.
The declaration said:
“We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into river Ganga.”
The statement further read:
“Those medals have involved years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit and are not only their own but the nation’s pride and joy. We urge them not to take any hasty decision in this matter and also fervently hope that their grievances are heard and resolved quickly. Let the law of the land prevail.”
Roger Binny disavows the 1983 World Cup team’s position on the Indian wrestlers’ protest
Binny, one of the 14 members of the 1983 India team coached by Kapil Dev, decided not to participate in the team’s stern advice to the Indian wrestlers.
He issued a statement:
“Contrary to some media reports, I would like to clarify that I have not issued any statement regarding the current situation of the wrestlers’ protest. I believe that the competent authorities are working to resolve the issue. As a former cricketer, I believe that sports should not be mixed with politics.”
What is the Indian wrestlers’ protest?
Indian wrestlers started protesting in January 2023 in support of a remand probe into claims that BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had sexually harassed female wrestlers while he was head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The female wrestler complainants charge Bhushan with grabbing, caressing breasts and the navel without permission, incidents of stalking and intimidation, and other behaviours that have caused a “shared sense of fear and trauma” among the female wrestlers. In front of a government-appointed commission, Bhushan has denied all accusations.
Read further: Protesting wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia detained ahead of march to Parliament
In January 2023, sit-in demonstrations were organised at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to bring the charges of sexual harassment against Bhushan to light. The demonstrations were put to an end in January 2023 after it was promised that a committee would be formed by the central government to investigate the claims. The committee’s report was sent in on April 5, 2023, but it wasn’t made public. On April 23, 2023, the demonstrators picked up where they left off, blaming the committee’s partiality in favour of the accused and the lack of action by the government.
Thank you for reading.
