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New Delhi: What began as a conversation about online misogyny has spiralled into one of India’s most polarising social media debates. A single word, Ra**i, has now become a hashtag. Across Instagram, teenage girls and even minor users were seen adding it to their bios, proudly declaring themselves “#ProudRa**i.” Many of them, critics argue, may not even understand the meaning or the weight of what they are writing.
The trend began after therapist and content creator Divija Bhasin posted a viral video reclaiming the word that has long been used to shame women. But as the video spread, garnering over 5.4 million views, so did the outrage. While some saw empowerment in reclaiming abuse, others viewed it as reckless, tone-deaf, and even legally problematic. Adding to the chaos, multiple social media creators, particularly men, accused Bhasin of doing it for the eyeballs.
The therapist who sparked #ProudRa**i row
“Ra**i, Ra**i, Ra**i! Did you also find it uncomfortable to hear?” asks Divija Bhasin in the opening of her viral reel, which she calls part of a “Ra**i Revolution.”
Bhasin, known for her videos on women’s issues and mental health, explained that the word no longer holds the power to insult her. “Men called me that word every single day in my comment section,” she said. “So I decided to own it.”
In the video, Bhasin stated her intention clearly: not to normalise abuse, but to reclaim a term weaponised against women who are “free, independent, and opinionated.”
“I am a proud Ra**i. Ra**i supremacy,” she declared in the now-viral clip.
She added, “Earlier, it referred to a sex worker and became an insult, which is ridiculous, because the insult should be directed at the men sleeping with sex workers, not at the workers themselves. But of course, there’s no insult like that.”
“A six-year-old as called ra**i by her father”
When Bhasin asked her 5.22 lakh Instagram followers to share experiences of being called Ra**i, she was stunned by what she received. One message claimed that a young girl’s own father had used the slur on her when she was just six years old.
She shared that such stories are not exceptions; they reveal how normalised verbal abuse against women and girls has become.
“This video is for all the girls who have been called Ra**i, prostitute, chh****l, whe, or any other regional word that means the same thing. My heart goes out to you,” she said. “I know how difficult it is to be called that. I have also been called this word.”
Her advice to followers? “Reclaim it.”
“If you’ve ever been called Ra**i, just accept it; you’re one. If you accept it, it will hurt less,” she added. “What’s the worst that can happen? They’ll call you Ra**i again? Okay.”
That’s when she put #ProudRa**i in her bio and encouraged others to do the same. The digital wildfire followed.
From reels to bios: the hashtag takes off
Soon after, Instagram and X were flooded with variations of the hashtag. What was meant to be an act of defiance became a symbol of division.
Bhasin’s followers, many of them young women and even minor girls, began adding the word to their bios and captions, likely unaware of its origin or implication. Several pages surfaced where school-aged users displayed “#ProudRa**i” in their profiles, sparking concern among parents, educators, and legal experts.
Legal backlash: FIRs and POCSO complaints
The controversy quickly moved from Instagram comments to police complaints. An X user named Anubhav Gupta, who identifies as a “trader, investor, political reformer, and Sanatani Hindu,” claimed to have filed a POCSO complaint against Bhasin, accusing her of “influencing minors to use inappropriate slurs.”
Another user, who goes by the handle @HindutvaNaari and identifies as an advocate at the Bombay High Court, warned Bhasin to issue a public apology or face legal action.
When no apology came, she tweeted that an FIR had been filed. Gupta later added that he had filed a separate complaint with the UP Police.
Dear @DivijaBhasin,
— Anubhav Gupta (@anubhavgupta_ji) November 11, 2025
If you would've used your tiny brain,
You will find that, POCSO FIR is not about you calling yourself that word, Idon't care what you call yourself.
POCSO is invoked when minors are involved you're definitely not a minor.
So stop victim blaming it wont work pic.twitter.com/M6GY1U6IiG
“I have filed a formal complaint for an FIR to UP Police against Divija Bhasin for influencing minors to use inappropriate slurs and provoking them to indulge in such professions, which are offences under POCSO and various sections of Indian law,” he wrote.
#ProudRa**i creator refuses to back down
Despite the mounting backlash, Bhasin has refused to back down. “If I go to jail for calling myself ra**i, then all the men who called me ra**i will have to go too,” she wrote. “I’ll happily go to jail if it means people will finally start taking verbal abuse against women seriously.”
Please do. The police has to take the word randi seriously.
— awkwardgoat3 🐐 (@DivijaBhasin) November 11, 2025
It is being thrown around casually on the internet for women.
And being used to control young girls by their parents.
If I go to jail for calling myself randi, all the men who called me randi will have to go too.… pic.twitter.com/Bc5qx8WvVc
Her defiance resonated with many women who said they were tired of being policed for how they choose to respond to misogyny. Others, however, questioned the tone and potential fallout of the movement. Not everyone in the feminist community was on board.
“I get where Bhasin is coming from with the 'Proud R' movement, but it is not her word to reclaim,” said content creator Sampada Kaul.
“It has been used against sex workers who have faced real violence because of it. When an upper-caste woman uses it on Instagram, it's not empowering; it erases the history behind the word.”
Kaul continued, “I've also been called Chai online, but I can't go around writing 'I'm a proud Chai' because it's a casteist slur, and I don't have the authority to reclaim it.”
Her comment reflected a growing discomfort among activists who believe that turning slurs into social media trends risks trivialising the lived trauma of those most affected by them.
The viral dilemma: visibility over sensitivity?
The “#ProudRa**i” trend has also reignited an uncomfortable question about the influencer economy: are we normalising shock for reach? Multiple male creators have accused Bhasin of courting controversy for visibility, arguing that digital activism has increasingly blurred the line between social change and personal branding.
What’s alarming, critics said, is how fast the content spread, not because of understanding, but because of virality. In the name of empowerment, the internet once again rewarded outrage, not nuance. For young users, especially minors, this trend has shown how dangerous it can be when provocative content becomes a cultural statement without adequate context or responsibility.
Reclaiming a slur is not new; marginalised communities have done it for decades, from Black Americans recontextualising the N-word to the LGBTQ+ community owning “queer.” But those movements emerged from shared oppression, not social media virality.
The #ProudRa**i row has taken the internet by storm, exposing just how blurred the lines between activism and algorithms have become. As minors join the trend without context, the question grows louder: who’s accountable when social platforms amplify such content? Instagram, Meta, creators, or the audience chasing virality over understanding—where does responsibility truly lie?