GUWAHATI: The para-badminton star Manasi Joshi has expressed her disappointment and criticism towards cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina for their actions in an Instagram reel that she and others in the disabled community have found offensive.
Following the India Champions' victory over the Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends final, Harbhajan posted a celebratory video on his Instagram account.
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The reel featured Harbhajan, Raina, and other players putting a humorous spin on Vicky Kaushal's popular track, 'Tauba Tauba.'
In the caption, Harbhajan tagged Vicky Kaushal and mentioned the physical toll of the intense cricketing schedule over the past two weeks, stating, "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."
However, Manasi Joshi found the reel's content to be deeply insensitive, particularly towards individuals with physical disabilities. She criticised the cricketers for mocking the walking patterns of those with disabilities, emphasising the potential harm such behaviour could cause.
In her comment on Harbhajan's post, Manasi stated, "Wanted more responsibility from the stars that you all are, please do not mock at the gait patterns of people with disabilities. This isn't funny. You don't know how much harm your behaviour can do. The appreciation you're getting from people around is appalling to see. This reel of yours is going to encourage that it is ok to make fun of the walking patterns of people with disabilities for a few laughs. More young children with disabilities will be bullied by using this reel."
She further expressed her disappointment by questioning the cricketers’ PR team, "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'm 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 who in comments section who are appropriating this reel. 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," she added in another comment.
The video which was uploaded on Harbhajan Singh’s Instagram account earlier has now been taken down. Singh has also apologised for posting the video