Wrestlers’ Protest and the shrinking space for Dissent
Introduction:
- Public demonstrations have long been a driving force behind social and policy change in India, giving people of all backgrounds the chance to express their concerns and fight for their rights. Protests have exploded in recent years with astonishing speed. In the decade, protests created space for a new wave of social activism.
Nirbhaya to present day:
- Following the violent gang rape of Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, hundreds of people flocked to the streets in New Delhi’s Central Vista in December 2012. This was witnessed by millions of people worldwide. The UPA government was forced to address issues of sexual violence at the policy level with the enactment of the new Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 to bring stiffer punishments and extend the scope of offences as a result of the protests’ escalating intensity and the public’s fury over it.
- Let’s go to May 2023. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief has been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers and a kid, and medal-winning athletes who have upheld the nation’s honour have been calling for his arrest for nearly four months. But it took weeks for the authorities to act. For Delhi Police to submit two first information reports (FIRs), the Supreme Court of India’s intervention was necessary.
The protests:
- Undoubtedly, it is difficult to protest under the current government since they are quickly labelled “anti-national.”
- The fact that this dictatorship has been forced to respond to certain protests, even if it did so for political expediency, defies activists’ perceptions that protesting a government that does not listen is pointless.
- Two recent instances where the government had to back down are the withdrawal of the contentious farm laws and the backtracking over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Class politics:
- Indian culture has a long history of wrestling and it is imprinted strongly, especially in rural areas.
- Most of the protesting wrestlers come from low-income families; yet, athletics have allowed them to experience some social and economic mobility.
- The middle classes’ strong involvement in the Anna Hazare Andolan (2011) and Nirbhaya demonstrations paints a strikingly different picture that emphasises the value placed on social activity by this class.
- Their involvement in the two movements propelled them to the forefront of the political conversation.
- Due to the opportunities provided by the neo-liberal economy during the past three decades, the urban middle class is likewise quite sympathetic to neo-liberalism.
- Since economic reforms, the middle class has expanded thanks to the rise in the private sector, which is fueled by economic liberalisation. This is the group of students who were captivated by “India Shining.”
- However, despite their fluctuating political allegiances, the middle class’s combined adherence to neo-liberalism and Hindutva reflects an ideological continuity.
- Middle-class opposition to the UPA was instrumental in its downfall; today, these same classes firmly support the current regime and find no reason to oppose it, especially on matters of sexual violence.
Conclusion:
- Middle-class activism frequently ignores the demands and problems of the underprivileged classes and communities in favour of focusing on the issues and concerns that directly affect them. This self-centeredness can exacerbate inequality and make it more difficult to address larger social problems. A limited grasp of social realities and disadvantaged voices might emerge from failing to take into account the intersections of class, caste, gender, and other factors.
