NEW DELHI: India’s variant of the MeToo movement looked headed for the law courts on Sunday after a movie actor and a government minister threatened legal action against women who accused them of sexual harassment.

Indian women and men seem strongly ranged on both sides of the divide, splitting the US-style surge of charge and denial, shame and brazenness, down the middle.

“The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice,” said junior foreign minister M.J. Akbar in a statement after a flurry of accusations from former women colleagues. They say he harassed them when he was editor and they worked with him in various newspapers.

Indian MeToo surge headed for law courts

“Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections. Whatever be the case, now that I have returned (from a foreign tour), my lawyers will look into these wild and baseless allegations in order to decide our future course of legal action.”

The wife of movie and TV star Alok Nath filed a legal complaint in Mumbai against a woman who worked with him years ago and who has accused him of rape.

Mr Akbar named two of several Indian women journalists in his response, apparently picking holes in their equally vehement charges, but a US-based journalist with CNN has also accused him of assault.

Majlie de Puy Kamp has revealed that she was sexually harassed by Mr Akbar in 2007 when she was an 18-year-old intern at Asian Age newspaper.

“I extended my hand to him in gratitude, [but] he shoved his 55-year-old tongue down my 18-year-old throat,” she wrote on Twitter. She later reaffirmed the charge in an interview with India Today.

Names have surfaced of several other senior journalists who stand accused of harassing women at work. In Mumbai, the story began with movie star Nana Patekar being named by a former woman colleague for harassment. He has threatened legal action.

Analysts say the political climate in the country doesn’t appear to be conducive for the alleged victims.

They cite the fact that only last week a spiritual guru convicted of rape was released on bail.

The man has political connections as revealed from his videos in which he is seen dancing into a trance with several top Hindutva politicians.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2018