Alumni of several prominent institutes, including IIT-Bombay, have written a strongly worded open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in solidarity with wrestlers who have been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since April. The letter, signed by 50-plus alumni, states that Modi’s “silence on several concerning issues gives credence to the perception that women don’t matter”. 

The letter reads, “In 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 free.”