Devil’s Choice

India has been forced to walk on a diplomatic tightrope ever since Russia decided to invade Ukraine and till now we have been managing well. It takes strength to remain non-committal despite international pressure (from both sides) mounting by the day. We have not endorsed aggression, staying true to our age-old non-violence narrative, and yet have managed to keep friends with the aggressor.

India is seen as one of the potential mediators between Russia and Ukraine. It is proof enough that we are not as globally inconsequential as say 20 years ago. A testament to our successful growth story and the dynamism of our current PM. But of-course, we are far from being the ‘Vishwa Guru’ as Modi ji likes to hear.

Amongst most things good, there are a few that have not come out well:

1. The hard work done by our Army and bureaucrats for Operation Ganga being reduced to a shameless PR exercise by the government. It feels cheap and cringey at times. The confused looks on the faces of students who get welcomed as heroes by our ministers are hilarious. Worse they are made to hear motivational speeches when all they want is to desperately flee from a warzone.
2. It sometimes comes out that all India cares about is to evacuate its citizens and has no other national agenda. Although it is important to stress upon our priorities, but we should not look self-absorbed or selfish. A lot of Indians live abroad and if they want to garner acceptance and respect, we must not be seen as the kind of people who will run back at the first sight of a problem.
3. There is a lot of chest thumping going around by over-enthusiastic nationalists about how India has stood up to US and the west. That we are now capable of asserting ourselves. These people resort to childishly reminding them of past instances when they did not come to India’s support. If we are truly so secure, then it should seriously not matter what the west says or thinks. They are better dealt ignored.
4. The same nationalists also happen to contradict themselves when they say we stand with Russia only because it has supported us in the past. A truly capable and secure nation is never so afraid of losing out on a friend that they are ready to stand alongside rogues and enemies such as North Korea, Syria, Belarus, Pakistan, and China.

I really hope that our foreign policy is not governed just by virtues like gratitude and reciprocation. We are too big and complex for that. Russia’s support in the past does not guarantee the same in the future. Make no mistake, every country is governed by their own strategic interests which keep changing. One generous move by China to help a desperate and economically cornered Russia and the Kremlin might not think twice before switching sides to China if they decide to try any misadventures in Ladakh or Arunachal. There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics!

I am sure that the Indian government is taking a stand which best suites our own strategic narrative. It is not a choice between 2 camps, not a judgement on whether Russia is justified and certainly not about morality or principle. It is only about our own interests in the present and in the near future. When there is no black or white, it is all about managing the grey area well.

The other important thing that India should be doing while all this is happening is to prepare our own case studies and notes, seeing how events are getting unfolded. It is good to learn from our own mistakes but even better to learn from somebody else’s. This should serve as a reality check in terms of how equipped we are to manage without foreign oil, foreign investments, global payments system or worse without Facebook and Netflix.

After the 1962 Indo-China war; people who mattered then, did an unbiased and thorough study of where things stand and crafted a new defense vision and strategy that has served India well over the decades. I sincerely hope that behind all these ghar-wapsi shenanigans, real work is being done somewhere in a war room in south block.

Same Old! Same Old!

It is that time again. When we all come together to celebrate sports. When new heroes emerge, new stories shared. It is also the time when a nation of 1.4 billion people collectively travels from hope to despair, one day at a time. It is the time when there is so much un-due Nationalism attached to sports that we get more frustrated than feeling good, when the predictable results eventually unfold. We are in the middle of that same old routine. However, one wonders should we really have to go through all this?

Olympics are not as relevant to India as they are made out to be. Period.

There is a huge, huge gap between the games that are played in Olympics and the ones we play (well). Our expectations have to be set factoring this fundamental disparity. We are world leaders in sports like Chess, Billiards, Kabbadi, Kho-Kho and of-course Cricket, but sadly these are not played in the Olympics. I wonder how weird sports like 3-on-3 basketball got in this time around. Maybe Modiji can use his global influence to some use by getting a few of our sports included as well.

Even if it was to be done, the number of medals that we eventually get would still be very low. Certain games that we don’t play organically such as Swimming (35), Canoeing (16), Cycling (16), Gymnastics (18), Athletics (48), Fencing (12), Judo (15), Rowing (14), Sailing (10) are the most medal intensive. Here we have 11 hockey players toil for 8 games to get 1 medal, while a world leading swimmer can get his hands on as many as 16 medals during the time. Only looking at the count of medals is gigantically deceptive and cruelly unfair; until it is weighted either by the Olympic Committee or at least by the local media.

As Indians, let’s not start cursing ourselves when we see countries like Jamaica, Hungary, Slovenia, Kosovo, Tunisia, Cuba, Uganda, etc above us in the medal tally. Also there is no need to envy the number of medals that USA or China might get. Our sporting prowess and priorities lie somewhere else. We don’t have to excel in the sports that are part of the Olympics or earn a lot of medals, just so as the world can recognize us as a sporting nation. While it is always good to learn and try to master a foreign language, but let us judge ourselves by how well we speak our mother tongue.

The average Indian desperately needs to get some context while the games are on. This is something which the media and the politicians need to understand, especially in India.

Here, it is either one or zero. It is almost cringe-worthy to see a large and proud nation like ours start praying and eventually almost begging for any medal to come our way. Why hype something so much where we are not good at and end up being mocked at. This doesn’t mean we should stop caring or stop supporting our hard-working athletes but let’s just do it with some realistic context.

The PMs, the CMs, the ministers all play their part in creating this nationalistic hype around the the games. They can rather first clear the ever-pending sports funds before promising hefty rewards for winning athletes.

The news channels and sports experts, especially have to do a better job in educating our people to form practical expectations. Mirabai Chanu came 4^th in the 2019 World Weightlifting Championship in her 49 KG category. The Chinese came 1^st and 2^nd while a North Korean came 3^rd. With only 1 participant from a Country allowed in Olympics and with North Korea banned, Mirabai had a real chance of a medal. Did any of us hear her name in the medal-hopeful lists of our so-called experts before the games began? This is the kind of data analysis that has to be done pro-actively. We need not keep focusing on the media darlings all the time. Let’s get the real names and numbers out, before and during the games. People who may not have got medals or good rankings but bettered their best in Olympics. Who challenged their limitations. Who did not fall for pressure.

However, the one good thing that our media honestly does well is effectively bringing people’s attention on such sports. They also motivate us with awe-inspiring stories such as Praveen Jadhav, Kamalpreet Kaur, Pooja Rani and of-course Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. The only issue is that these are mostly short-lived. However, the media is not to be blamed entirely for this.

We do not want to listen to the stories of people who do not have medals around their necks. Sad truth! Mirabai’s craving for pizza would not register in our heads, if not for her silver medal. Having said that, this is a basic human trait and not much can be done.

What we can do, is to try and sustain the momentum created after these games. Keep the attention intact. The athletes themselves have a role to play in it as well. They will have to keep coming back with better performances to have a lasting impact on fragile cricket-crazy minds. You have to be a Saina Nehwal, a PV Sindhu, a Mary Kom or a Sania Mirza who have proved their mettle time and again, even beyond the Olympics, to get superstar status. A Dipa Karmakar will get a spike in fame, but she has to keep coming back to etch her name. That rhymed!
(On a side-note, it is so heartening to observe that most of India’s champions are ladies.)

Having said all this, let us have a fair assessment of weather we are progressing in sports. That is the fundamental question we want to get answered by looking at the medal count, right. I believe we are doing better. There has been an increase in visibility, awareness, political support, and financial support over the last few decades. Slowly and steadily more of us are moving away from cricket to take up other professional sports, as well. Just like everything else, our speeds maybe slow but at-least the direction is right. Need to be patient till the results come.

With regards to Olympics, here are two things that we can do.

1. Create more medal chances by having a dedicated focus on fewer sports. We have been good for quite some time in a few Olympic sports such as wrestling, shooting and boxing. Let us strengthen our system and infrastructure for these on priority. It goes without saying that other associations need not stop working. We will keep getting surprises and stories from there too. However, let us try and go for excellence in a few handpicked sports, first. It is absolute crime to hear of internal conflicts and politics in sports such as shooting, ruining India’s bright medal prospects. Need to fix our houses, get them in order and try and build fortresses out of them.

2. Close out chances that we already have by being mentally strong. We keep faltering in the areas where we are good at. Take shooting for example. Maybe, too much expectations and excitement proves counter-productive for our athletes, but that is where the scope of improvement rests. It is utter nonsense when people say that we Indians are not natural fit for some of the sports. With India’s numbers, we will always get more physically fit people than required for any competition under the sun. It is the mental conditioning that is needed. What we lack is ruthlessness and a sense of domination.

Let us end with a comforting fact. Pakistan has not won a bloody medal in 25 years. See, we feel better already!

Why is a hung parliament in 2019, good for India.

It is very hard for any political party to govern a country like India, given its size and complexities. Having a nationwide recognition is tough to build. Neither is it is easy to construct an agenda for the nation as a whole; justifying the obligations of its central subjects while balancing it with regional demands. So when you are looking for a party to lead at the centre, you must ideally go with a national or must we say a nation-wide party. Sadly, the dismal performance of both such parties in India has pushed its people to a corner and forced them into exploring other options.

BJP, who came into power with such pomp and show in 2014, carried by a wave of unprecedented expectations; have somehow managed to make a mess of the opportunity, even when they have the most popular PM the country has seen in a very long time. Given how their promises have fell flat on their face, they must definitely be made to pay a price. You just cannot get away from making a fool out of people’s sentiments.

Just imagine if they were to come in power despite their under-performance; it will create overconfident monsters out of some of their people. Our country can still continue to live with their uninspired handling of the economy, growing unemployment, distressed small businesses, strangle-holding of the judiciary and those overnight fiascos but India just cannot afford to take the risk of getting its most popular religion maligned by saffron-clad goons seeking political gains. When they voted BJP into power, most Hindus didn’t want it to give them any sort of social leverage; they just wanted them to do some good work. But sadly it seems BJP is incapable of coming out of its narrow mindset. Their saffron is increasingly getting mixed with red. There are a few promising ministers in their wings, but most of them however are straying away from governance. I wish Vajpayee jee still had enough voice to remind such sinister leaders of their ‘Raaj-Dharma’.

Another grave problem with them is that they are perennially in election mode. Looking at every event, either as an opportunity or as a threat for the next election, or the one after that; all the while dragging down the standard of politics with each passing election. A lot of vanity and disdain has crept in the way their ministers govern and their spokespersons react. BJP showed promise for a while but fizzled out too soon. They have become a story of disappointment; yet another example of ‘what could have been’. Their falling can be an apt lesson for all parties to never take power for granted.

As far as Congress goes, the lesser said the better. They still don’t deserve to be in the centre. They don’t have the right leadership or an agenda or even a sense of direction. Their protests come out as bland and inept. They are just the biggest gainers of somebody else’s faults. They do not seem to have learnt enough from their own mistakes, and if they should come to power, they would prove worse than the last time. Congressmen are like evil landlords who have had their hands full until recently. There can be nothing more dangerous than giving a country to people who treat it as their personal property.

Now turning to the communist parties; they are still licking their own wounds. In any case, they have long ‘left’ the central stage.

That leaves us with the regional parties. They have done well to remain relevant despite the Modi juggernaut. Some like Chandrababu Naidu, Naveen Pattnaik and Mamta Banerjee, have over the years lived up to the expectations. But they don’t make good national leaders, owing to their myopic views and non-collaborative attitude. Some like Kejriwal have tried earlier but failed miserably. Having learnt their lessons, if they can display their hunger and seriousness towards their own states, they can secure their vote bases. And if they come together they can be the best bet to build a majority in the lower house next year.

However, too many cooks do spoil the broth. I am quite sure that they will not be able to solve India’s problems. Even if they were to come together, their government may not even last for more than a couple of years, especially with their greed and egos playing its part. The only good thing that can come out during that period is that it will send a strong and stern message to the other two parties. Hopefully they will mend their ways and get their house in order. It is too much of a price to pay for a lesson, but you got to play the cards you are dealt with. Nobody wants a hung parliament. It may sound like a lose-lose now, but in the long run it may be better for the country.

 

The Cape of Good Hope

How would you feel if you are living in the most beautiful place on the planet? Blessed, right! But what if I tell you there is this one problem. It has no water. How do you feel now eh?

Cape Town, the city of spectacular mountains and dreamy beaches, has been facing one of the most dreadful droughts in modern history. There is practically no water left. World is helplessly watching ‘The Mother City’ counting down to ‘Day Zero’; the day when they will be forced to turn off the taps.

Capetonians however have shown immense heart in dealing with this adversity. People have been living with less than 50 litres of water per day. From ‘2-minute’ showers to using water in cups for brushing teeth, instead of running taps; they have been collecting basin water and re-using it for flushing toilets. With insufficient water to keep households clean and safe from infections, they face a looming risk of disease outbreaks. And not to mention the gigantic financial loss to the massive tourism industry, they have had a lot to deal with.

However, they have managed to keep it together and in a display of exemplary control and collaboration, have finally saved enough water to shift Day Zero by a year! If there is some winter rain this year, the situation may even start improving. Anyways, it’s far from being a done deal. Water has only been saved from being used; there is no addition into the reserves. The restrictions will still be there. The prayers for rain, will continue.

Not just Cape Town, the whole World is running out of water. Next big fishes following closely are Sao Paulo, Lima, Bangalore, Doha and Los Angeles. Recent studies show that as early as 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will be deprived of clean drinking water and that half of world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. By 2050, the water demand is projected to grow by 55% while the already grim ground water levels are expected to further deplete two-thirds during the period. Do the math!

However, one leverage other cities have, is that they can witness and learn from what’s happening in Cape Town. They must start work immediately to try and prevent themselves from a similar fate, or at-least be prepared for such an event. Value water that’s still left in the glass; at-least its half full!

As far as Cape Town goes, challenges are nothing new. Just 50 miles from the city is the tip; a place which used to be hit by storms so frequently that it was known as the ‘Cape of Storms’. It is later that a Portuguese king, driven by the confidence the place gave to sailors searching for a sea route to the East, renamed it to ‘Cape of Good Hope’. From dread, the place became synonymous with positivity in one stroke. Time has come a full circle and the place is once again starting to get identified by a crisis. Just like the Portuguese king; the people need to come out with yet another story of perseverance and optimism. For the place is, and must always remain the Cape of ‘Good Hope’.

 

Pretty Women

Manushi Chhillar recently became the 6^th Indian to be Miss World. With this India has equaled Venezuela with the highest number of wins. A soon-to-be cardiac surgeon from Sonepat, Haryana, Manushi’s journey is yet another inspiring tale of an Indian girl wanting, believing, trying and ultimately achieving exemplary success.

It’s nothing new though. Our girls routinely make us proud. Not just in being pretty and smart as suggested by the whole lot of crowns we have, but also in sports – Sania, Saina, Sindhu or say Hollywood – Priyanka, Deepika. Indian women have forced the whole world to stand-up and notice.

While most Indian men find themselves occupied making lame jokes on twitter or messing up with the legacy of ‘Padmavati’, (who ironically was another famous Indian lady renowned not just for the splendor of her beauty, but also the strength of her character) women are busy doing their thing, winning global pageants!

I just wonder, if a handful of Indian women who have the courage to think big and the resources to make it happen, can deliver to this extent, what great potential will we hold if more than half a billion of them are given the same opportunity and exposure.

With women proving more efficient than men, not only should we try and bridge the gap in our sex-ratio which stands today at 943 females to every 1000 males, we must pray it goes further north. The “Beti bachao, Beti padhao” becomes more of a necessity than just another welfare program. How else will you get another Sushma Swaraj to deal with the world or a Nirmala Sitharaman to defend us from their aggression?

One thing that works against Indian women is the hyper-feminism and jingoism of some social elites. They over-estimate the effect of their deliberations on the mind of an average Indian male. They are better off refraining from demanding respect. You are big enough already, and if some idiots are averse to logic, should they really matter?

Now that it has been firmly established that “Chhoriyan chhoron se kam nahi hai”, we are fast reaching a point where India’s “Chhore” will have to catch up.

 

The Honeymoon is over

Dear Prime Minister,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

I however, like many other Indians, have started experiencing painful pangs of discontent lately. It started somewhere around November last year and has only been increasing ever since. However, when Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Berkeley began to make sense in my head, that I realized that something’s really wrong. Suddenly Sir, it occurred to me that I don’t ‘feel good’ anymore.

Everybody seem to be behaving strange these days. I make it a point to read Chetan Bhagat’s fortnightly article in the Times of India so that I can re-instate my already firm faith in you. However curiously, he has been sounding quite critical of you lately, although understandably understated and measured, but still! People like Mohandas Pai aren’t able to come up with satisfactory face-savers even for easy questions such as economic slow-down and unemployment. Balaji Vishwanathan too sounds disgruntled. His answers on Quora were a lot more fun earlier. And it’s not just with the mortals, even Arnab Goswami is getting unbearable. Again!

It is getting hard to ignore the lots of memes going about on WhatsApp, like the one which said “Modiji, bure din wapas karo”. All of a sudden computers have started working in Congress’ offices as well.  However, I don’t worry too much about them, as most are anyways from disgruntled businessmen facing the repercussions of a sudden and ill-planned GST. These will die down as soon as the tremors of GST pass, just like it happened during demonetization and countless times before that. The middle-class and business-types who think as if they are bearing the burden of the country will never have faith in anyone else but you. They always come back, don’t they!

Easily my most disturbing problem is that I have started feeling pity and a bit of guilt every-time I joke about Rahul Gandhi these days. Maybe that is because its been a few years now, and I can’t remember why I hated him in the first place. Please excuse my short memory, Sir. I miss the days when I would unabashedly mock him, that time when we had an able alternative at our disposal.

Speaking of Mr. Gandhi, I remember a Kid asking you once, what must he do to become the Prime Minster of India. This was shortly after you assumed office and you had said that he may prepare for 2024 elections, as there is no chance for him before that. Everybody had guffawed. That day I was struck by your confidence. I have been sure, since then, that there are concrete plans in place, firstly to ensure that there is another term and secondly for what needs to be done in these 10 years. I understand that the major objective in the first few years was to build a positive perception. Having done that already Sir, you may please roll out others on the list.

Sincere thanks for your relentless personal effort. May the force remain with you!

Kashmir – A test of patience

Kashmir has been a headache for India ever since independence. All of us have our own opinions about the issue; who is right, who is at fault, what could have been, so on. However, we easily switch topics as soon as we get another juicy controversial issue to bicker about. The ones who cannot afford to do that, the ones who actually bear the brunt of past sins are the soldiers posted there. Once called the heaven on earth, ask them if there is a better hell.

This fact is demonstrated blatantly in a seriously disturbing video which has emerged where CRPF jawans are seen openly ridiculed, heckled, pushed and even slapped by a jeering mob chanting ‘Go India, Go Back’ slogans at a polling booth during a by-election in Srinagar. I was extremely infuriated looking at the heights of disdain of some Kashmiris and the humiliation meted out to our own forces. If not already, you can watch it on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wphe04tgfjg

The Indian Army works on pride and honour. So can you imagine how difficult it would have been for those jawans to keep restrain when their honour is being wrecked by their own people. Only a fool might think that the men did not have the balls to retaliate. They did not respond only because ours is thankfully a responsible and a disciplined army; not rogue like that of our neighbors’. This video also proves beyond any doubts that if the Army resorted to pellet guns some months back, then it must have been only because they were pushed to the wall.

In any case the Kashmiri people have been given a very long rope. The harsh reality is that some Kashmiris constantly resort to such deplorable conduct for their so-called freedom struggle which is actually a hyper-politicized anti-establishment movement sustained due to vested interests from across the border, a malicious government in the state and a series of inept governments at the center. This long drawn conflict can to some extent explain the disenchantment of the Kashmiri people but it certainly does not absolve them from all their sins. There are a few boundaries which must not be crossed. Think about the Indian army who not only has to safeguard us from the external enemy but also from people within us working for them.

Apart from such miscreants they also have to deal with politicians across all parties who keep milking such issues. They cannot go to the Media too, which in any case is obsessed by their own convoluted definitions of society and would brutally strike down anything that doesn’t fall in their line. They will cover JNU in detail and give out specifics of everybody who lost an eye due to pellet guns. They will even point out the inefficiency of the Army to feed their people but they don’t have the same energy to explain the real plight of an Army-man posted in Kashmir. Despite them all, Army does a fantastic job and I am sure will keep on doing it.

In a way the pride for our army, translates from the pride for our country. Civilians must learn to at-least uphold the honor of the great institution. A father should not beat his son. But if the son slaps him then he should not hold back either. Discipline is very important in every aspect of life and that comes from fear. This fear is that of a punishment. If people there still don’t stop, I request the Army to please remind them of the punishment they can get. It is OK if you don’t get a perfect 100 out of 100 in your test of patience!

Takeaways from Elections, 2017

Indians are very politically indulgent and opinionated. The results for the recent assembly elections held in 5 states (including the big daddy) were highly awaited. It is delightful to see that the results have been very favorable for India’s political future. The reason being, there is something that every political party can learn from the results. I hope they do take note so that a fresh political narrative can quickly be formed.

BJP: They are obviously the biggest winners and deservedly so. The run-away victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand beat even their own expectations. They should however take time-out to remind themselves that the only reason they have won so comprehensively is their good work in the Centre and other BJP ruled states. A lot of credit does go to PM Modi or so to say the Modi wave which does not seem to die. It doesn’t die because it’s not just a surge of fondness for a personality, it is an expectation of development, decision making and leadership, which Modi has succeeded in personifying. Sure BJP started off on communal agenda but this party has metamorphosed into being more serious and inclusive with a broader outlook. This result should reinstate their understanding that though Ram Mandir has helped them gather votes in the 90’s, its impact is rather insignificant today. Only work counts for the new age voter. Going ahead they should try and keep away from any degree of polarization as it scarcely counts to much.

They should also not lose sight of their loss in Punjab. It goes to show that anti-incumbency will eventually catch up to anybody, no matter who is in power. The Akalis did not do a very bad job, but they sure had a few sore thumbs which they just could not heal. BJP could very well suffer a similar fate in other states as well, if they start acting callously. Look how an incumbent BJP performed well below expectations in Goa. There is no scope for relaxation in politics. The Modi brand will burn out eventually, and to be prepared for that scenario they will have to continue to work well. The Delhi throne cannot be taken for granted. If you don’t deliver, people will always manage to find one alternative or the other. Just like his poll promises, one should not take Omar Abdulla’s praises on face value too!

Congress: They would be quite happy with these results, considering they have been losing everything since 2014. They won Punjab by two-third’s majority and came out as the largest party in Goa and Manipur. No serious political observer took their UP claims seriously, however this level of decimation wasn’t expected either. Congress only got 7 seats in UP and if it wasn’t for Prashant Kishore’s move of getting them allied with SP, they would have been in graver shambles. The party however can take a lot of heart from results in Punjab. They were expected to win there but they did it handsomely. It goes to show that local leaders and issues are very important. Maybe next time you need not keep politicians such as Captain Singh waiting for too long at 10 Janpath. From Goa they can learn that they are still hanging in there as the 2nd alternative. They should not leave the spot easily for any other party given that they still have the most far-reaching and well-equipped ground-level organization. Even in Manipur they have stuck along. Maybe they can stop taking the North-East for granted and try and consolidate there to make it difficult for other parties specially BJP to build their organization.

The idea behind Congress and the support base is still there, it’s just that they need to get serious about their presentation. The party has to quickly shed its current image and change their discourse into something new. Bring in fresh, unblemished faces. The Gandhi factor has become obsolete in a fast changing India. The Gandhi’s however may not be gotten rid of as they are not a liability still. They bind the party together and are there to take most of the discredit. However, now is the right time for them to stay away from the limelight. Sadly everything starts going down just by the sight of Rahul Gandhi these days. For some time he can work in the background and let others face up. It will take a lot of patience from the Gandhi family to literally get their house in order first and then their party. Congress needs to get back the willingness to perform. They can start by shedding their ego and their snobbishness. If they can be a serious and constructive opposition, have faith and hang in there, you never know, maybe their time will come back again.

AAP: The results would have come as a rude shock to AAP who had made it a habit of punching above their weight. Their hopes of winning Punjab and venturing into Goa, giving them a leverage to eventually become a national alternative to challenge BJP have been reduced to a fantasy. It serves them right for flirting with separatists to gain power. I hope they treat this as a wake-up call, give themselves time for a few deep breaths and stop being perennial protesters. The new comer tag has expired now. All the promises they make nowadays, sound no different to people than their counterparts in BJP and Congress. To regain their differentiator they will have to work hard in Delhi and come up with tangible results to showcase in other elections. They also need to sort out their candidates. Nobody likes their elected MP to be drunk when he is in parliament. The constant scuffles with the center and name calling on Twitter have hit the law of diminishing returns too. Virat’s aggression looks good only till he is performing! The one good thing about this party is that they have shown hunger for power and some good intentions; it would be a shame if they lose out because of unforced errors.

SP, BSP: It is high time regional parties such as SP and BSP should understand that people are not just pieces on pie-charts made by political analysts. It is lot more than caste or religion that defines people. Elections are not won and lost by permutations of Muslim, Yadav or Dalit votes. People are changing, you need to catch up too. You can have the best slogans or the best campaigns just like SP, but it takes a lot more to convert crowds into votes. Akhilesh did a fair job in UP as compared to its predecessors but lost out the battle of development to Modi. If SP should set their house in order and be a responsible opposition they still have a chance in future elections. BSP however is the biggest loser along with AAP. At-least SP had anti-incumbency to deal with, but BSP, who should have gained due to it, got even lesser seats than the last assembly elections. Grace was never expected of them, but they have stooped to a new low after questioning EVM’s. I hope they come out of denial and smell the coffee. Maybe they can also hear the fat lady singing, not very far away.

I so wish political parties, psephologists and journalists acknowledge that elections today are won only due to work. The caste-centered politics does not give the same results as they used to 10-15 years back. Even in Bihar, the JDU-RJD combine won more due to the work of Nitish Kumar than the Yadav-Kurmi votes coming together. It will be wrong to say that caste is completely out of the equation yet; however it would be safe to say that all political parties would fare much better if they focus more on development than demographics. I hope all of them learn their lessons before the next elections.

Dealing with the mess, Post-Demonetization

“When a big tree falls, the earth shakes”. It is ironic how this infamous quote from an ex-PM belonging to the principal opposition party, aptly describes all the frenzy that we are witnessing currently. Demonetization is easily the boldest economic and political move taken by our PM as yet and it has had an unprecedented and largely adverse impact on every citizen. If the cards don’t play out well, Mr. Modi could be facing a huge political backlash. However, on face value this step seems to be in the right direction. The intention looks unquestionable, no matter how shrill the voices of the opposition maybe. It is a shame that in India we look at everything through our prejudiced political glasses.

Post-demonetization people have gone through a lot. From long queues to altercations over change, this has been a stern test of our patience. The only thing that drives us to tolerate is hope. Hope that something good would come out of it. There is bound to be discomfort if something drastic has to happen. We know that and we have shown exemplary endurance. However it doesn’t take long for it to run out and opinions to change. Hence, the primary task of the government is to keep the perception favorable. For that to happen, the execution should have been efficient, which sadly has missed its mark. Some disorganization due to a lack of experience or absence of a prior case study is understandable. But the frequent changes in directives and deadlines by finance ministry and the RBI’s policy revisions at the drop of a hat, only shows confusion and mismanagement. This is from where the mess has started.

The mess is then carried on by all of us. People with bags full of money were out on the streets to buy Gold, or anything they could lay their hands on. Gold became the new Black. We all saw it, and those who could make money from the situation did. Then there are people who are more than willing to put somebody else’s unaccounted cash in their personal accounts and convert black to white. Percentages are being bargained to get the deal done. All those ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts are finally being put to good use! Money stashed in ‘tijoris’ is now flying around and middlemen have cropped up to get a piece of the pie. Money launders and ‘hawala’ traders are surprisingly having a good time. Not just those, the biggest beneficiaries are the bankers. You hear lots of stories about mass corruption in banks, mostly private. It only goes to prove that deep down we are all corrupt. Any person, who is in any sort of position to exploit, will do it. Only thing that varies is the extent of exploitation. Barring a small fraction, we are a country of pseudo-honest people, honest only when we can’t be corrupt. The point is that it will take a lot of time for the society to change, hence all these workarounds should have been noted by the officials and prepared against. The government did try to close some loopholes, but in retrospect it’s clear that they could have managed better.

Black money and corruption have sunken very deep into our systems and psyche. There is a need to change a lot across the board, be it ‘benami’ properties, land deals, cash donations, you name it. Demonetization should be the first step of many others to follow. However, the after effects of the first step should not be a deterrent towards taking the next one. Just like the news hit the market like a Tsunami, government officials across all departments have started behaving like scavengers to get their share out from the panic stricken businessmen. The Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate officials are dishing out notices at will. Business has been low ever since the announcement and this sense of fright and anxiety is just adding insult to injury. Some of it though can be justified as being necessary but care should be taken that it doesn’t go out of hand. Nobody wants the dreaded ‘License Raj’ to come back.

Government should ensure a smooth transition towards a cash-less (read less-cash) economy. Creating a cloud of distrust and confusion will only result in reducing production and efficiency. The ecological balance of commerce in the country should not shift disproportionately towards the government. Small and medium scale businessmen are the backbone of the economy. Remember, how they lobbied for Modi in the last election and got him into power. They should not be left scared. Let’s not chop their wings with all this churning. Black money is with almost everybody, be it a small trader, a government official or a big industrialist. Government should go after the bigger, obvious and famous offenders first. Gradually then it will be in a comfortable position to target the medium and small players, all the while maintaining sanity and approval of the masses.

Mr. Modi has started on a treacherous path, and we hope he successfully manages to tread past with his credibility intact. We don’t want him to buckle under pressure and be contend with just a face saver. It is a hard task to change such a huge nation, so hope he goes full on. I am sure if he and his team is pragmatic and efficient they can pull it off. We want him to come out successful so that it paves the way for other such bold measures in future. Modiji, you owe it to the nation who voted you for change, as we owe it to you for the exact same reason.

India at Olympics

INDIA has under-performed in Rio carrying forward a dubious tradition at the Olympics. It is a matter of concern that our largest ever contingent (117 members) came home with just two medals. To frame a perspective we ranked 67th among the 87 countries who managed to win medals out of the 207 that competed. We were sadly the lowest ranked country (among ones who got medals) in terms of medals by population (0.001 per million people) and medals by GDP (0.086 for every $100bn). With respect to medals per athletes we came 84th faring only above Austria, Nigeria and Portugal. It sounds cruel when put up like this but this is the reality and we desperately need to recognize it and change it. This show on a global stage is not becoming for such a large and multi-faceted country like ours. It is detrimental for India’s image and our national ego.

What is appalling is that we have gone south from our previous show. The worrisome part is that a majority of our players did not reach their personal best in the games. The results weren’t even close to national records, so that a case can be made that others were better than us.

The silver lining to this dark cloud though has been the inspiring performances by athletes such as Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics), Kidambi Shrikant (Badminton) and of course medal winners PV Sindhu (Badminton) and Sakshi Malik (Wrestling) who played out of their skins and competed with everything they got. A few athletes did perform well but were genuinely unlucky to miss out on medals. Abhinav Bindra (Shooting), Sania Mirza – Rohan Bopanna (Tennis) and Jitu Rai (Shooting) are notable mentions here. Also Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling) who despairingly missed out due to an injury in the second round, was a major medal contender. While Dattu Bhokanal (Rowing), Atanu Das (Archery), Heena Sindhu (Shooting) and Aditi Ashok (Golf) showed promise for the future, others such as the Men’s Hockey team displayed good improvement. The high number of athletes qualifying for Track and Field events is also a positive step going forward.

However, there have been several major disappointments coming from Leander Paes-Rohan Bopanna (Tennis), Vikas Gowda (Discuss Throw), Manavjit Singh Sandhu (Trap Shooting), Deepika Kumari (Archery), Sandeep Tomar (Wrestling), Babita Kumari (Wrestling) and Sathish Sivalingam (Weightlifting) who performed well below their capacities. Others such as Gagan Narang (Shooting), Jwala Gutta – Ashwini Ponnappa (Badminton) and the entire Table Tennis contingent were purely dismal. It was also disheartening to see a few athletes notably Saina Nehwal and Yogeshwar Dutt participating even when they were clearly carrying an injury. In a way they undermined the flag under which they played as they did not even have an outside chance given their condition and the competition. Also, they ate into the chances of other fledgling players, who (if qualified) may not have gone all the way but the exposure would have surely helped them in future.

The games are over now and now is the most opportune time to introspect. We Indians rarely give a thought about sports other than Cricket and it is only during the Olympics that ideas and emotions reach a high. So, we should cash in on this attention and plan for the future. Only thing we should take care is being genuine and practical in our assessment and not be disrespectful like that despicable attention seeking prick of a columnist who was in news a few days back.

One thing that was very evident that most of the Indians did not perform under pressure. There are two reasons for this, lack of confidence and lack of attitude to soak up the pressure. Confidence comes from preparation and experience while attitude is developed by positivity. So the solution in a nutshell will be to provide facilities to take care of preparation, increase international exposure to enhance experience and instill a sense of pride to generate positivity. In fact one thing that surely needs to be done just before the athletes leave again in 2020 is to have a mental conditioning camp for every athlete so that they are not over-awed with the occasion and the expectations. No Indian athlete was seen smiling while he/she performed; this is never a good sign.

The problem of not performing under pressure arises at the last stage. However, there are other more deep-rooted causes for our under-performance. Some of them are enlisted below followed by the solutions that can be implemented.

PROBLEMS

1. There is limited talent by means of number of people taking up sports as there is no financial assurance or framework for most of the sports.

2. There is genuinely less talent in terms of quality. This is essentially an extension of the previous point.

3. There is not enough infrastructure. Firstly, there are very few stadiums given the size and population of India. Secondly, the ones present do not match up to world standards. Thirdly, they are managed by lousy unprofessionals, and end up being grossly underutilized and sometimes misutilized. Not just stadiums there are not enough equipment, goods or other facilities which are necessary for an athlete to practice. Even the number of coaches and academies is low.

4. The governing bodies and sports organizations are miserable in their attitude and approach. There is a reason why corrupt and unstable nations don’t do well at the world stage.

5. There is a lot of infighting and corruption within the sports authorities. This sometimes spills over on to the players too. Our Tennis hopes have been marred due to this for two Olympics in a row now.

6. Most of our athletes do not have the attitude and the mental strength to perform at big events.

7. Even though we have lots of people and a diverse gene pool, still the effect of our geography and food habits cannot be ignored when we try and analyze the root cause for our inefficiency. Although in this modern connected age, this problem is fast rectifying itself.

SOLUTIONS

1. The basic solution to all the problems is getting more money into the sports system. The money can be used to build world class facilities. Look at how many champion shuttlers have come out from one first-rate academy at Hyderabad. Just think how many more such gems can be unearthed if there are similar academies all over the country. There is a lot of untapped talent in India which needs guidance and a proper channel.

2. More serious participation from the government. It should not wake up once in 4 years to oversee the state of affairs. There should be a considerable increase in the budget for sports. The spending per capita on sports in India is very low as compared to other countries. Government should invest themselves and also encourage other entrepreneurs to invest in sports. Not just financially, but the government should also streamline the sports bodies and oversee their proper functioning. Political influence should be minimized.

3. Efficiently managed boards run by professionals. A constant appraisal of their efforts and performance is required.

4. Just like Cuba, Hungary or Fiji we should ideally focus on a few sports and try and excel in them. But, the issue is that India is a purely democratic country and not a banana republic where any sport can be hand-picked and fed to the people to follow. So, the way-out can be that each state should own up a game based on their cultural and historical preferences to try and produce world beating champions. Haryana has shown the way in Wrestling. It is for others to follow suit.

5. Building a strong sporting ecosystem, a culture starting right from schools. This requires a serious change in the academic and social set-up.

6. Athletes should not be content with mediocrity and constrict their targets. They should go beyond the rhetoric that participation is the key and strive for excellence and perfection. The high performing athletes should make good role models to inspire youth, and they should be handsomely rewarded to inspire their peers.

7. Athletes should give back to sports. The retired players should be imbibed into the system to spot and develop more talent in their area of expertise. People who have already been doing it such as Pullela Gopichand (Badminton) should be acknowledged and their efforts enhanced.

All of the above has to be done in a top-down approach. The sports ministry has to own up and get the ball rolling. Maybe it can start with a change at the very top by getting a more dynamic person (like Smriti Irani) in-charge of the ministry.

We as citizens also need to change our psyche towards sports. We should encourage kids to take sports seriously in their schools. Besides making them fit it will enrich their attitude. However the results might have been all of us should not cease our unflinching support for the athletes. We should respect them for having reached this far despite the rotten administration, some battling against all possible odds. Many Indians derive sadistic pleasure in ridiculing the poor performances of our people at such events. This comes from ignorance and a petty mindset. They must understand that it is very easy to sit on the fence and smirk but very hard to excel.

It must be added here that the role of media has for once been very positive. They have been doing their bit by focusing on all kinds of sports. One thing that they can change though is being more selective while declaring medal prospects. Their over-enthusiasm and over-optimism invites undue pressure for the player and unwarranted hopes for the viewers.

It can be debated that the medal tally at Olympics is not the most accurate representation of the state of sports in a country which in fact is true at some level. Most of the sports such as Chess, Billiards and Kabaddi where Indians have dominated are not included. Also, historically India has had no credible participation in the most Medal-intensive events such as Gymnastics, Swimming, etc. Also cricket which is the most dominant sport in India is not included in the Olympic scheme of things.

Cricket is undoubtedly another factor as to why other sports lag behind in India as it takes away most of the bandwidth of the Indian sportsmen. However, it also serves as a very good case study as to how a nation can be made to internalize a sport. Other sportsmen and their associations have been envying about its popularity, but they should rather understand that it has reached this stage due to consistent performances, efficient management (yes!), brilliant marketing and because of some great players who have been brilliant role models. Something they should try and replicate.

It may be harsh to say that India is bad at sports as a country, but the truth is we are very far from being a sporting nation. Yes, we are not the best in most of the sports and we have a long way to go. We need to stop comparing our performances with SAARC nations and look beyond at China, Korea and UK to try and copy their success story. For a country as big as India which harbors dreams of becoming a global leader, we will have to solve the Olympic riddle fast. If we focus on the solutions from now on, we will surely have many more happy and successful faces returning home from Tokyo in four years time.