The controversy over the claim that the former Indian trio of Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh made fun of disabled people in a video that went viral on social media is still going strong. The World Cup champions have been accused of “insulting” and “making fun of” “more than 10 crore” disabled persons in India, according to a complaint submitted by Arman Ali, the Executive Director of the National Council for Promotion of Employment for Disabled persons (NCPEDP).
For violating the Information Technology Act, Instagram (owned by Meta) has been the subject of a complaint lodged with the Amar Colony police station in New Delhi.
In an apparent attempt to illustrate the effects of playing competitive cricket on aging bodies, Harbhajan, Yuvraj, and Raina appeared in a video after defeating Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends final, an exhibition T20 tournament held in the UK. The song, “Tauba Tauba,” was playing as they pretended to limp.
Yet according to Ali, “I think it’s an insult to more than 10 crore disabled people of India when I saw the video of Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina where they were pretending like disabled, kind of mockery on a viral song.”
He added that a member of parliament like Harbhajan ought to be speaking out about impairments in order to raise public awareness.
“As an MP, Harbhajan Singh ought to speak up in support of the disabled, but what kind of video is he making? One major problem with disability in India is a severe lack of awareness. He added, “I have filed a complaint because you are spreading myths and making fun of them.”
But Ali states, “…after watching the Harbhajan Singh film, Yuvraj After receiving criticism, Harbhajan took down the contentious video and issued an apology on social media, clarifying that the joke was meant to make fun of people and illustrate how their bodies behaved after “playing cricket for 15 days.”He went on to say that a member of parliament like Harbhajan ought to be speaking out on favor of disability awareness.
Harbhajan Singh is a Member of Parliament and ought to speak up for the disabled, but what kind of video is he producing? In India, there is a severe dearth of knowledge about impairments.
You are disseminating false information and mocking them, which is why I have lodged a complaint,” he declared.
In response to the criticism, Harbhajan took down the contentious video and issued an apology on social media. He clarified, however, that the film was made in jest to illustrate how people’s bodies reacted to “playing cricket for 15 days,” not to offend anyone.
