Mumbai: IIT Bombay alumni throw their weight behind wrestlers

Alumni of several prominent institutes including IITBombay have written a strongly worded open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in solidarity with wrestlers who have been protesting at Delhirsquos Jantar Mantar since April The letter signed by 50plus alumni states that Modirsquos ldquosilence on several concerning issues gives credence to the perception that women donrsquot matterrdquoThe letter reads ldquoIn January 2023 it became public that many women wrestlers including a minor had been allegedly sexually harassed at the hands of the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India who is also a sitting Member of Parliament These athletes had brought national and international glory to Indian sports What followed is well known Today the women continue to be in protest in the full glare of international media and the alleged perpetrator of the crime remains freerdquoShekhar Phatak IITB alumnusIt further reads ldquoYour 100th episode of Mann ki Baat aired on April 30 2023 referred glowingly to the lsquoBeti Padhao Beti Bachaorsquo campaign You also talked about the importance of ldquohaving a daughter in onersquos liferdquo We sincerely appreciate this However what are we to tell our daughters That their issues are convenient ldquojumlasrdquo for electoral campaigns only That justice will not be served if the perpetrators are politically powerful That the victims will face vilification to save the accused That their safety will continue to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediencyrdquoAlso Read Legitimate demands of wrestlers should be met Sachin PilotThe letter will also be sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan with the aim to catch the attention of the President of India Droupadi MurmuApart from alumni of IITBombay the letter has been signed by those of the Institute of Rural Management Anand IRMA Mumbai University the University of Delhi Bhopal University IIMAhmedabad Osmania University Goa University Andhra University SBIM Pune and the University of Georgia Athens USChandru Chawla IITB alumnusAccusing Modi of remaining silent on serious issues pertaining to the safety of Indian women the letter states ldquoAre women secondclass citizens of this country It would certainly seem so given the spate of crimes against women and the way the law and justice deal with them The cases related to rapes in Hathras Unnao are still fresh in memory So is the glaring early release of rapists and murderers in the Bilkis Bano caseYour continued silence gives credence to the perception that women donrsquot matter This further perpetuates the stranglehold of patriarchy and misogyny in our society something that women must fight daily all through their lives just to exist with dignityrdquoCalling this move their way of taking part in the ongoing protest Chandru Chawla an IITB alumnus of the 1987 batch said ldquoThis is a joint cause by a few alumni of IIT Bombay and the Institute of Rural Management Anand IRMA It was then opened to alumni of other institutes too and people joined in positively It is sad to look at the ongoing wrestlersrsquo protest We have Beti Bachao Beti Padhao which is a good thing We respect that Yet they are struggling to get their voice heard Their pleas are falling on deaf ears They had to file a petition in the Supreme Court just to get an FIR registered We have laws Why are they not being enforced Why is the process not being followedrdquoHe added ldquoWe talk about womenrsquos empowerment but this is what is happening on the ground We are not talking about who is guilty and who is not But why should a woman struggle so much just to be heard Why is the person in power allowed to remain in power when an investigation is going on against him We donrsquot know how or what will happen after our letter to the prime minister However through this we want to show our support of the cause and stand by our champions who have brought glory to our countryrdquoAnother IITB alumnus from the 1980 batch Shekhar Phatak said ldquoWe wanted to take part in this protest in some way and show the protesting wrestlers they are not alone in their fight we are with them and wholeheartedly We hope more and more prominent people in the country come out and openly show their supportrdquoFiftyNo of signatories