False domestic violence claims mobilise India’s men’s rights movement

Men’s rights activists in Mumbai on Dec 15 at a sit-in demanding justice for Atul Subhash, whom they claim died by suicide because of alleged false cases of domestic violence filed by his wife. - Photo: Courtesy of Vaastav Foundation

BENGALURU, (India): A Bengaluru man’s dying allegation on social media that he had been falsely accused of domestic violence by his wife has gone viral, and cases like his are now being championed by a small group of men’s rights activists (MRAs) in India.

On Dec 8, Atul Subhash, 34, a deputy manager in an Indian conglomerate in Bengaluru, uploaded an 80-minute video accusing his estranged wife, Nikita Singhania, and her family of filing false reports of cruelty and dowry harassment against him to extort money.