By Shevlin Sebasian
Women wrestlers have
recently levelled sexual harassment allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan,
the Wrestling Federation of India President. When I read the news, I felt a
sense of déjà vu.
In December, 1992, I travelled from Kolkata to Bangalore. The plan was
to do a profile of retiring champion swimmer Loraine Verghese for Sportsworld
magazine
During the course of the interview, the conversation veered into a
different direction. Loraine alleged that she and the other swimmers faced
sexual harassment. The perpetrators: coaches and other officials.
It was the first time ever in India that a sportsperson was alleging
sexual harassment. In a sense, unwittingly, I got one of the biggest scoops in
Indian sports journalism.
Loraine decided to speak out, since her career was coming to an end. She
wanted to study to become a doctor.
Since I tended to do long stories, I began recording my conversations
from a very early stage of my career. Thus, this conversation with Loraine was
also recorded. Picture of the cassette is also shown.
When the interview was published, it created a furore.
Politicians raised the issue in Parliament. They brandished copies of
the magazine. There was talk of setting up an inquiry committee. But at that
time, and even now, politicians ran all the sporting associations. So, the
matter died down. They did not want to shoot themselves in the foot.
If you want to go to the subject directly, separate images of that
section is there. Look for a sub-heading titled, ‘On the sexual harassment that
she has faced’.
The article appeared in the issue dated December 16, 1992.
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