Dear Signers, 

Thank you so much for your support. As per the police complaint filed by the protesting wrestlers, including a minor, against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the latter would touch them inappropriately on the pretext of checking their breath during tournaments. As per other alleged instances of sexual harassment, Singh would grope female wrestlers after calling them to his MP residence in New Delhi, which doubled up as the WFI office. 

Click here to share this petition on WhatsApp. Help this petition get to 20,000 signatures, so that no other Indian athlete has to suffer sexual harassment at the workplace. Click here to share this petition on Twitter. 

In TV interviews, Singh has been claiming credit for the successful careers of Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Malikkh and Bajrang Punia, their various accomplishments including medals at the Olympics, and for the rise of Indian wrestling over the years. But this video shot by Change.org at Jantar Mantar in January this year when the wrestlers’ had first started protesting, busts that myth being built up by Singh and his supporters. Here, Anshu Malik, who protested alongside Phogat, Punia and Malikkh in January, explains thoroughly how the WFI administration under Singh has been responsible for mismanagement of athletes’ careers, training regimen, and tournament schedules. 

‘Koi plan nahi hain (they don’t have any plan),’ she says in this video about the WFI. 

The protesters have now been joined by farmers unions from Haryana at the protest site in Jantar Mantar, which has led many to denounce the protest as political. But I strongly feel that in India, the personal is political, and politicians and other groups who’re joining the wrestlers in Delhi, are only doing so as a mark of solidarity. There’s no reason why we must doubt the intentions of politicians who’re meeting the protesting wrestlers. They’re also our elected leaders and have the right to demand justice on behalf of common citizens.

What we must question is the fact that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is still going about his life as a fatherly figure within wrestling circles, distributing awards and attending tournaments, even though the Indian Olympic Association has formed a two-member ad-hoc committee to run the office of WFI. 

Three of the offences that Singh allegedly committed, are non-bailable and ‘serious’ in nature. Legal experts say that in cases involving sexual assault of a minor, arrest of the accused is “the norm” due to the seriousness of the offence. Yet, Delhi Police have still not arrested Singh. 

Let’s continue spreading the word about this petition to express our solidarity for protesting wrestlers and their demands.