After winning the inaugural World Championship of Legends (WCL) edition, former India cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh featured in and posted a video on Instagram. That video, now deleted, has faced flak from many, including World Championship medallist para shuttler Manasi Joshi. A police complaint has also been filed against the cricket trio. (More Cricket News)
Why are the cricketers being criticised for the video, and what is the 'disability' controversy that has since erupted? We explain it all below.
The Video
The Instagram video showed Harbhajan, Raina and Yuvraj limping and holding their backs, in an attempt to depict the physical toll their bodies had taken during WCL in England. All three are retired from professional cricket.
They were members of the victorious India Champions side, led by Yuvraj, that beat Pakistan Champions by five wickets in the final.
"Body ki Tauba Tauba ho Gayi in 15 days legends cricket... Every part of the body is sore. Straight competition to our brothers @vickykaushal09 @karanaujla our version of Tauba Tauba dance. What a SONG," the caption of the now deleted video had read.
Manasi Joshi's Backlash
Para shuttler Manasi criticised Harbhajan, Raina and Yuvraj for allegedly mocking people with disabilities, saying that the video set a bad precedent.
Manasi, who has bagged multiple medals at the World Championship and silver at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in doubles, posted an Instagram story saying, "You don't know how much harm your behaviour can do and the appreciation you are getting from the people around, it's appalling to see."
The 35-year-old added: "Wanted more responsibility from stars that you all are, please do not mock at the gait patterns of people with disabilities. This isn't funny."
Manasi, whose leg was amputated after a road accident in 2011, further said: "This reel of yours is going to encourage that it is ok to make fun of walking patterns of people with disabilities for a few laughs. More young children with disabilities will be bullied by using this reel."
"If any of you athletes would have done responsible community service in disability space area, you all would not have come up with this reel. I am scared how the PR agencies of these athletes approved this reel for public platform.
"I'm really disappointed in you @harbhajan3, @sureshraina3 and all the people in the comments section who are appropriating this reel," she added.
“This isn’t legendary if you’re mocking gait patterns of people with polio. This will enable bullying on young children with disabilities in India,” Manasi added in another comment on the video, which had garnered over 20 million views and 1.5 million likes before it was deleted.
Harbhajan Singh's Clarification
After all the uproar caused by the video, Harbhajan posted a clarification on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying there was no intention to insult anyone.
"Just wanted to clear to our people who are complaining about our recent videos of 'Tauba Tauba' on social media after winning the championship here in England. We didn't want to hurt anyone's sentiments. We respect every individual and community and this video was just to reflect to our bodies after playing continuous cricket for 15 days.
"SORE bodies.. we are not trying to insult or offend anyone... still if people think we have done something wrong.. all I can say from my side SORRY to everyone... please let's stop this here and move forward. Stay happy and healthy (sic)," the former India off-spinner wrote.
What Stakeholders Say
Ravi Chauhan, the head of Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI), told PTI that he had apprised Harbhajan about "possible consequences" of the video, and that the cricketers did the right thing by removing it.
"I had myself spoken to Bhajji paaji after the video was uploaded and told him about possible consequences," Chauhan a former cricketer with disability-turned-administrator was quoted as saying by PTI.
"Harbhajan understood the seriousness and kept his promise by deleting the video. I know him and understand that there was no intention to mock any physically challenged person but in this day and age of social media, it would always become sensitive issue," Chauhan added.
Disability activists have found the video to be in poor taste. The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled called the video "totally disgraceful".
The Police Complaint
Arman Ali, the executive director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), lodged a complaint regarding the video with the SHO of the Amar Colony police station in New Delhi.
In addition to the cricketers, the complaint was also filed against Sandhya Devanathan, the vice-president and managing director of Meta India.
In the plaint, social media platform Instagram, which is owned by Meta, was accused of violating the Information Technology Act, 2000, by allowing such content to be posted.
A police officer told PTI that the complaint was received at the Amar Colony police station and it will be shared with the cyber cell of the district for further investigation.
(With PTI inputs)
