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MeToo movement in India

Movement against sexual abuse and harassment

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Origins in India

Influence of Hollywood's " MeToo" Movement

MeToo movement was founded by Tarana Burke but began as a social phenomenon in October 2017 as a hashtag started by American actress Alyssa Milano who shared her story of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein. Shortly afterward, women from across the world began talking about their sex crime victim survivor stories. In India, however, the MeToo movement didn't gain much traction until actress Tanushree Dutta spoke up against actor Nana Patekar. Soon, the names of actor Alok Nath and journalist and politician MJ Akbar also began surfacing.

After allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the use of the #MeToo hashtag on social spread quickly in India, where sexual harassment is commonly referred to by the word 'eve-teasing', a term described as misleading, tame, and diluting the seriousness of the crime. In response to #MeToo, there have been attempts to teach Indian women about workplace rights and safe reporting, as well as educating men about the scope of the problem. Some have likened #MeToo to a 2012 social movement which followed a violent gang rape in New Delhi that later resulted in a woman's death, which caused the Indian government to institute harsher punishments for rape. Others have suggested there was underlying public anger over a Delhi rape conviction that was overturned by Judge Ashutosh Kumar a month before against filmmaker and writer Mahmood Farooqui, ruling that a "feeble no" was not enough to revoke consent because it was typical for one partner to be less willing. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal against the acquittal of the filmmaker by the High Court of Delhi, saying, "We will not interfere with the high court verdict. It is a well-written judgment." Activist Jasmeen Patheja, head of Blank Noise, stated #MeToo's power is in demonstrating India can no longer ignore the scope of the problem. Kaimini Jaiswal, a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, stressed the importance of teaching women how to read, especially in rural villages, because most women in these areas are illiterate and completely financially and emotionally dependent on a male relative.

Blogger Sheena Dabolkar's viral #MeToo tweet resulted in the boycott of Khodu Irani's popular Pune pub High Spirits, by several well-known performers. Several women mentioned Mahesh Murthy, which initiated a police case in January 2018. Trends Desk of The Indian Express wrote that many Indian men are speaking up as a part of #MeToo, including discussions about consent and how some men are also abused. Rina Chandran of Reuters said #MeToo is ignoring the 600,000 women in India who are currently sex workers against their will, and are typically poor without education or family.

There were reports of mass sexual assaults during the 2018 New Year's celebrations in Bengaluru, which have been associated with #MeToo. The incidents were initially dismissed by the police until someone uploaded CCTV footage of the assaults to social media. Home Minister G. Parameshwara, Abu Azmi, and other officials came under fire for stating "western" women's clothing and values were the cause of the rapes, and indicated women's families should not allow them to go to parties or major celebrations.

Several lists of alleged rapists and harassers started spreading on social media in India, including "The List", which initially included the names of about 60 highly respected academic men. The List was posted on 24 October 2017 by activist Inji Pennu and an Indian student in California named Raya Sarkar, who alleged they personally confirmed every incident. This list has resulted in criticism against #MeToo because the allegations were unverified before they started spreading on social media. Some of the victims from the list have come forward to explain they were ignored, mistreated, or retaliated against when they tried to pursue action. Sarkar has defended The List, saying that she posted it only to warn her friends about professors and academics to avoid (mostly upper-caste men), and had no idea it would become so popular. A second list came out a week later that was made by women from lower caste backgrounds and included more names, bringing the total up to around 70.

Twelve prominent Indian feminists dismissed The List in a formal letter, saying they understand that the justice system is typically tilted against victims, but unverified claims make things harder for the feminist movement. Writers Rhea Dangwal and Namrata Gupta responded that most victims from the list were poor students who tried to go through official channels without success or recourse, while every single man on the list has the ability to defend himself socially and legally.

Tanushree Dutta's allegations

On 26 September 2018, after having been out of the Bollywood spotlight for about a decade, actress Tanushree Dutta gave an interview to Zoom TV in which she publicly accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the set of the 2009 movie Horn 'Ok' Pleassss. This declaration would be seen as the catalyst of the MeToo movement in India, similar to one which happened in the U.S. a year earlier with Harvey Weinstein, in which more and more women in the entertainment industry would publicly expose high-profile individuals who had sexually exploited them. Dutta had first made the allegations against Patekar in 2008, filing a complaint with the 'CINTAA' (Cine & TV Artists Association), but no action was taken as the case was considered a criminal case. The allegation was repeated in 2013 in an interview, and again largely ignored. It was not until her September 2018 statements that the CINTAA apologized to Dutta, admitting that the "chief grievance of sexual harassment wasn't even addressed [in 2008]", but added that since the case was more than three years old, they could not reopen it.

Janice Sequeira, a journalist, backed her allegations, claiming to be an eyewitness to the incident. She also alleged that filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had told her to remove her clothes and dance with Irrfan Khan to act on the sets of Chocolate. She said Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty stood up for her during this episode. Vivek refuted all such allegations and shared that it is an attempt to get publicity by Tanushree Dutta and to malign his image in a legal notice sent to her. The assistant director of Chocolate, Sattyajit Gazmer, also denied Tanushree's claims.

In an interview, Tanushree said "He (Nana Patekar) called the MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) party to bash up my car. He was behind everything and was supported by choreographer Ganesh Acharya". In a video from 2008 that went viral on the internet, goons are seen thrashing Tanushree's car. A journalist named Pawan Bharadwaj, was seen thrashing the car's windshield with his camera, and later clarified that he attacked her car because earlier, he had a fight with Dutta's team. A defamation case was filed against her for her comments about the MNS party. She was also served with two legal notices from Nana Patekar and Vivek Agnihotri. On 6 October 2018, Dutta filed an FIR at Oshiwara police station against actor Nana Patekar, director Rakesh Sarang, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, and producer Sami Siddiqui.

In mid-October, Dutta sought the help of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission (MSWC) in order to conduct a full-scale investigation on the issue; they sent notices to Nana Patekar, director Rakesh Sarang and choreographer Ganesh Acharya, whom they directed to respond within 10 days. On 16 November, several weeks after the MSWC issued a warning to Patekar, his lawyer released a statement refuting the allegations, stating, "All allegations against him (Nana Patekar) are false and far from the truth". Vijaya Rahatkar, the chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Women, confirmed that the commission had received the reply from Patekar. She, however, did not disclose the contents of the letter. Patekar’s lawyer, Aniket Nikam, said, “All allegations against him are false and far from the truth.’’

In June 2019, the Mumbai Police closed the case after informing the courts that there was no evidence to prosecute Patekar.

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