India has #MeToo moment as claims of sexual misconduct reach government.

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Entertainment and media industries rocked by accusations against prominent men, including a minister.

Tanushree Dutta, an actor, has accused another actor of sexually harassing her on set 10 years ago. Her claims - which are denied - have prompted several other actors to speak out. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
▼ India’s media and entertainment industries have been rocked by accusations of sexual misconduct against prominent men that activists are hailing as the belated arrival of the country’s #MeToo moment.
Senior journalists are stepping aside, a film production studio has closed, and one of India’s bestselling authors has issued a public apology after a flood of women named men on social media whom they accused of behaving inappropriately.
On Monday the swell of accusations reached the Indian government, when several women alleged that the country’s junior foreign minister, MJ Akbar, had made unwelcome passes at them during his previous career as a journalist and editor.
Akbar is yet to respond to the accusations and the Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, appeared to ignore questions about them on Tuesday morning.
The endemic nature of sexual misconduct in Indian workplaces was an open secret, but the country had now reached “a certain sweet spot” where women felt their accounts would be heard, said Anoo Bhuyan, an Indian journalist who was among the first to name her alleged harasser on Twitter last week.
Accusations first started being aired on social media last Thursday when several women, along with a 17-year-old girl, accused a comedian, Utsav Chakraborty, of sending unsolicited pictures of his genitals.
He first denied the allegations, then issued an apology on  Twitteron Friday: “The past 24 hours were a crucible. I faced a very scary personal truth. I can’t think of myself as a victim anymore. Please tell me what to do now. How to make things right? I don’t want anyone to be hurt anymore.”
The days since have seen a torrent of allegations by women ranging from being the target of suggestive language to accusations of violent rape. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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