The words most commonly used to describe ace shuttler and Arjuna awardee Jwala Gutta is ‘outspoken’ and ‘controversial’, the latter which she herself acknowledges. The reputation isn’t without cause. Unlike many sportspersons in the country, Jwala has consistently spoken up about multiple issues, not limited to sports. The most recent of them was the encounter of the four accused in the Disha gangrape and murder case in Hyderabad.
The sportsperson, who launched her sports academy in Hyderabad on Tuesday, has also spoken about being disturbed and disappointed by the celebrations following the encounter, amidst cheers that “justice had been served”. In a conversation with TNM, Jwala speaks about what justice would mean, a need for empathy, and why sportspersons are hesitant to voice their opinion.
The celebrations after the encounter point to the fact that a lot of people think justice has been served. What do you think justice in a case like this would be? Do you think the current system can be improved upon, and if so, how?
This is not the first encounter, we've had others. Has that stopped any crime? As a matter of fact, it hasn’t.
For us as a nation, instead of cheering and celebrating encounters, it’s now an incident where we have lost five lives (the four accused and Disha). People are also forgetting about the families of the accused. Let's not forget that. They are humans and these four people turned into animals — I am not denying it. I have no sympathy towards them. I would have loved to see them get punished accordingly and I wouldn't sympathise with it. These human beings chose to become animals, but I am still a human being, I can't think like an animal. Also, I think every life is precious -- whatever class of life someone belongs to. Why can't I empathise with lives lost?
As good citizens, if we want to make our society safe and a better place, why aren't we finding the root cause (or causes), of such kind of crimes, instead of celebrating this? Why are we not asking for solutions to the problems? Encounter is not the solution, so why should I celebrate? Is there any guarantee that this will stop rapes in future?
Even a 5-year-old knows that if you do something bad, you will go to jail. Anybody in their right sense will not commit any crime. What are we celebrating? Are we celebrating death? Are we that kind of a society that when there is some kind of death and we all rejoice?
I don’t think this is justice in the true sense. Justice for the victim would have been if we found a solution to future rapes. We have one of the strongest and most stringent punishments for rapes in the world. How are we celebrating this encounter? Without a trial, without any proof? They didn’t show us any proof. Who are we to judge? Judges are there for a reason. The saddest part is that we are not able to trust our judiciary. There is nothing to celebrate. This can become the new normal, when people get excited seeing blood. Even movies which are extremely violent are becoming hits, then we need to start thinking about what is wrong.
Does entertainment then carry a message?
I am a movie buff. A large chunk of our population is illiterate. When I watch a movie, I know it is not real. I know no hero will come and save me. Nobody dances in our real personal, romantic lives. I know this is not real. But a large number of people are illiterate - they might have gone to school in the early years, but they are not educated in the real sense. It affects them directly.
When Salman Khan had the haircut in Tere Naam or MS Dhoni did at the start of his career, then everyone wanted that haircut. Half of Hyderabad had that haircut. So people in the movies can’t say no, if people are messed up they will be messed up. When we are paying money, we expect quality. It should entertain me, but it’s affecting other people differently. Somewhere I think, maybe, it could be a cause for crime rates going up. Do you think sportspersons need to be opinion leaders? Is there a responsibility?
They need to be opinionated for sure. Sportspersons are the only people in the country who play for the country in the true sense. We don't play for a particular ruling government. When we go out we play for the country. We are the most neutral people.
It's a moral, ethical responsibility to speak up and understand what we are talking. We are the peace ambassadors to the world from our country. When there is an act of violence from the system or the society, we need to condemn it, not celebrate it. We need to understand why the particular incident happened, and what needs to be done so that it doesn't happen in future.
You were one of the few sportspersons who actually condemned the Hyderabad encounters. Why do you think more sportspersons are hesitant to speak out?
Because they are scared. Sometimes it's humara kya ja raha hai. Humein kya lena dena hai (How does it matter to us. What do we have to do with it?) That's it.
Now, it's a thing that if Jwala speaks, it becomes a controversy. And seeing how I have been treated by the administration in the past — I was supposed to get the Padma Shri, I have not received it in the past eight years. After the Arjuna award and the kind of wins I have had and the contribution I have had in Indian badminton, who would dare to speak? They have not celebrated women like me and we have allowed people on social media to troll and abuse people like me, and women like me. The police are doing nothing. They are not vigilant.
You are often trolled for your views on issues, and there have been a fair number of controversies as well. Is there an increased adverse reaction now?
I've grown a thick skin and it doesn't affect me. But my point is not every woman is like me.
When I tweeted, people did support me. But there were a few people who were also instigating that you should be raped, then you will understand. I was tagging the police, but they are not doing anything about it. The same police did the encounter, the same police have a lax attitude towards trolling, then why should I celebrate encounters? Don't you think they got away easily? Even the police got away with it easily.
The police are for the people, irrespective of social standing and they are answerable. If you have encountered, tell us that they are encountered. Out of the four accused, what if one of them was trying to stop those three? What if one of them is innocent? And just because they come from a specific background, belong to a poor family — if you see their families talking they all live in one room. Would you treat someone from a privileged background the same way? When the answer is no, then why should I celebrate this?
If this was not an encounter and was the punishment they deserved after being proven guilty. If every rapist from every social standing was punished in the same way, I would have celebrated. Why should I celebrate it now when I know this is one of the cases, it is not going to stop future rapes? I have a fear that it'll only increase future crime.
On her plans with the Jwala Gutta Academy of Excellence
The initial idea was to just have badminton, but I thought I could probably give more. The property - Sujatha High School - is a 55-acre property which has cricket and other sports. So, I decided to take everything under my wing and try and develop it with the school.
Initially, we will be taking care of badminton and then slowly include other sports. That will also be going on simultaneously. We have cricket too and I know many people will ask why cricket, but there's not much of women's cricket, and I would like to promote that.
We should inculcate sporting culture in our country and that's the idea. Any sport. When a child comes to our campus, they should have multiple choices. That's what my parents had given me. I started off with tennis, played table tennis, played cricket and then joined badminton. I think a child should have the choice.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
