Musicians call for system to check sexual exploitation

With new #MeToo-style disclosures rocking Hindustani music, 90-plus musicians issue statement in support of victims

No less than 90 Hindustani musicians have expressed solidarity for survivors of sexual assault within their community.

With a student in Denmark accusing Dhrupad musicians Akhilesh Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha of sexual harassment, the world of Hindustani music is shaken up.

She has spoken of exploitation at Dhrupad Sansthan in Bhopal. Akhilesh has stepped down from his position since the controversy. Ramakant had passed away last year.

“A fear-driven culture of silence in the Hindustani music world has failed to protect survivors of sexual harassment and abuse during professional interactions, in both formal and informal spaces. Unethical behaviour, that have been knowingly or unknowingly normalised as part of the larger musical culture must be questioned and rejected,” the statement reads.

The signatories are from across India. Those from Karnataka include Aditi Upadhyaya, Vysamurthy Katti, Radhakrishna T, Omkarnath Havaldar and Kedarnanth Havaldar.

The statement calls for structural measures to combat the problem, and says every member of the community has a responsibility for positive change.

The calling out of the Gundecha brothers, which can be seen as the latest in the #MeToo movement, follows a ripple effect similar to what happened during the onset of the movement in 2017. One accusation has led to a domino of other accusations, both named and anonymous.

A Facebook post says that Akhilesh Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha were serial harassers, and sexually exploited students either through threat or praise.

The post says that many students had not spoken up until now because they feared how society would judge a student who betrays her ‘guru’.

“How will society judge us if we accuse our Guru? How will our parents look at us if we tell them that we have been psychologically and sexually abused by our Guru? Will even our fellow students believe us if we dare to say something? We have been prisoners of this silence for fear of reprisals, for fear of your judgments, for believing the threatening words Ramakant and Akhilesh Gundecha would say to keep us silent,” the post reads.

R V Raghavendra, who runs the Ananya Academy in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, has hosted hundreds of musical performances.

He says complaints are fewer in Carnatic music but admits the avenues are lacking for sexual assault survivors to seek help.

“In my 25 years in the industry, I have heard very few complaints. There are a few rumours here and there, but no substantial accusations have been made,” he says.

Raghavendra says the fact that there are a greater number of women Carnatic musicians than women Hindustani musicians may offer a solution. Dr T S Satyavathi, one of Karnataka’s leading musicologists, says there is often fault on both sides.

“There has to be proof of your claim. Cases should not be charged on the basis of accusation alone,” she says.

Proof is hard to come by because assault takes place in closed rooms without security cameras or witnesses.

“But we cannot convict someone without evidence being presented,” she says. Dr Satyavathi, however, sees today’s women as braver: “It’s not like before. They speak out immediately and leave the teacher.”