INDIA SEEMS TO be in mourning because of the dismal performance of the Indian cricket team. The nation seems to have been afflicted by a strange bizarre sense of deprivation and despondency. The resounding echoing of cricket woes in the hallowed walls of the Parliament by the Members of Parliament and their war of words with the Indian cricket team’s coach, Greg Chappell have unfortunately become the staple of media headlines.
The issue snowballed when following the drubbing of the Indian team in the One-day match at Durban, the MP’s expressed dissatisfaction over the team’s performance and directed their ire at the coach for turning the team in to a spineless unit. Up on persistent queries by the media, the legendary Aussie Greg Chappell is alleged to have said that MP’s have legitimate rights to criticize as they are paid to do the same. These comments made the MP’s fret and fume with the lead taken by the Left parties – the elite, educated and concerned politicians of the downtrodden.
The CPM leader Indrajit Gupta decried the comments of the coach and lamented that the Aussie doesn’t understand the nuances of democracy. Any little hope that people may have had about some sane heads prevailing and ensuring that Parliament indulges in roles and responsibilities entrusted by the Constitution, vanished when the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee issued a statement saying our MP’s need not know from others what they have to do and need not be lectured. As the speaker of the House, one would expect him to understand the framework and responsibilities reposed in him, but alas, instead of sternly warning the MP’s or taking disciplinary action against those who raised the non-issue in the Parliament, he took the lead to highlight the issue and allow it to get centre stage.
Inherent in this imprudent behaviour of our MP’s was however, the sign that our arrogant MP’s consider themselves to be above criticism and accountability besides thumping their iron hand as the unilateral and supreme guardians of democracy of this nation. With tongue in cheek one may add that all this agitation and upheaval raised by the Left has perhaps to do with the exclusion of Sourav Ganguly the ex-captain from the national team. That the ferocious Bengali pride was hurt due to the unceremonious dumping of Sourav Ganguly from the team, may be a subject of debate, but the Left parties fanned the issue with an eye to exploit the sentiments of the people. That this was the case can be understood when we recollect that there were media reports on the possibility of Ganguly contesting the elections in West Bengal with the support of the Left.
That cricket is a sacred passion for a large percentage of Indian public is an unsurprising assertion and to say that the same has been exploited by all and sundry to drive volumes of business will not be uncorking of a great marketing secret. However, what should raise eyebrows in this entire melee is the unapologetic behaviour of our honourable MP’s and their turning the precinct of Parliament in to a virtual battleground. What should have been purely a matter of concern and debate in the sports pages of the media has been converted into very serious issue demanding the attention of the highest law-making authority of the nation, the Parliament. It has been lost on our MP’s that in continuing with their arguments and debates on the effectiveness of a foreign coach for the cricket team, they have only violated and transgressed their position as lawmakers and desecrated the ethos of our Parliament.
It is not for the first time that the Indian cricket team has fared badly for the Parliamentarians to express their concern. Barring occasional successes, and that too mostly in contests at home pitches, the Indian cricket has rarely achieved consistency or glory despite some brilliant individual performances. In a nation bereft of success in other sports and dearth of sporting icons, cricket has served to draw millions of citizens to the game especially after they emerged world champions in 1983 world cup.
The game with its typical sombre leisurely attitude, perhaps typical of Indian nation mindset, overwhelmed and drove the other sports to almost non-existence including India’s national game, hockey. With the rising popularity, the administrators of the game did not take too long to add a whole new dimension to the sport by commercialising almost every aspect of the game and milking the holy-cow to fill their and the cricket board’s coffers. Though admittedly this brought the national players and the board host of contracts with giant global MNC’s for advertisements and TV rights, what it did not change though was the abysmal and abject state of infrastructure. The domestic cricket remained in its cocoons without blossoming to international levels and talented players got lost in the hugely politicised selection policies for the national team. Further, despite the cricket Board’s coffers spilling over with money earned from TV rights and such, any encouragement and recognition for talented cricketers from the remote corners of the country remained a far-fetched dream.
With doles of money ringing in due to the popularity of the game and its emergence as a symbol of the country’s hopes and aspirations, the politicians were too eager not to be left behind to reign in and usurp the control of the cricket control board. It is not surprising therefore to know that most state cricket boards have as their governing heads, successful and influential politicians. We may recollect the prolonged and often vitriolic campaign that was played out during the last round of election for the BCCI’s president, between the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and the then all too powerful president Jagmohan Dalmiya. In the intense battle that was played out bitterly in courts, the politicians had to win, given that they are the carriers of the soul of democracy of this nation.
Not strangely enough, many sports bodies in India are headed by politicians of all hues and colours, such as, Priyaranjan Das Munshi President of Indian Football Federation, Suresh Kalmadi, Indian Olympic Association etc. However, how these games have flourished and what laurels the country has won under these politicians’ leadership and reign can’t be a subject for discussion or debate in any forum, as there is no authority to question or criticize the politicians of this country. For more than two decades Mr. Das Munshi has been at the helm of affairs of the Indian Football Federation and did any politician or Parliament ever question or raise even a flutter about the penurious state of Indian football? The same can be said of all other sport bodies headed by our politicians.
There are a few daredevils who take up sports other than cricket as their career. A case in point is Indian women boxer Marikom winning the Women’s World Boxing Championship recently. That she managed to win this coveted title thrice in a row shows the grit and determination of the player despite insurmountable odds. However there was hardly any celebration of the success in the media or even among sports buffs. No one seemed to note this significant achievement perhaps because this sport isn’t a money-spinner and no MPs bother to debate either the success or the pathetic failures of other sports bodies of the country.
If politicians ensured that sports bodies under them ran according to their whims and fancies with the sport itself or its players never getting anything, even the very few bodies that were headed by professional authorities did no better. Corruption, self-promotion and nonchalant attitude of these authorities eroded even the bare minimum excellence that an Indian sports person may have achieved under better facilities and professional support and training.
That our politicians consider the fate that has befallen on the cricket team as the most outstanding problem facing the people of this country and one that needs to be addressed on a mission mode, in itself is symbolic of the abysmally low levels to which our Parliament and MP’s have stooped to. In a nation that faces so many serious matters concerning the common man, it is utterly disgusting to see the elected representatives indulging in rancour about a sporting issue and draining the precious law-making hours, which could have been better utilized.
That our Parliament is constantly in adjournments and uproar with an acrimonious war of words over insignificant issues is a news item that hardly surprises the common man. The reason for our MPs becoming so concerned about the state of affairs in cricket isn’t hard to unearth as it was a god-send opportunity for them to meddle in the affairs of the cricket board and vest control of the money-spinner and reign supreme. When they charged the coach with irresponsible behaviour and recklessness, it didn’t become apparent to them that they as the lawmakers of this country have fared utterly disastrously in the five decades since our Independence. Democracy and governance has been reduced to the extent of them becoming autocratic and unmindful of the progress of the nation and its people. Didn’t it appear to them that besides cricket, so many other sports in the country are facing the same pathetic woes and why is that those who govern them can’t be taken to task? All this speaks of double standards and the classic case of the kettle calling the pot black.
It now remains to be seen whether the parliamentarians unshackle themselves from narrow mindedness and start focusing in delivering results for which they have been elected. They can’t behave as if they are unaccountable and supreme with none to question or confront them. Pragmatism and prudence are the last things that can be expected in an Indian MP, but as common citizen our only hope will remain that they at least will realize their responsibilities and a better sense will prevail.
4.12 / 8 votes 
