I like this piece. It has captured the core of what our Nation is about. -----Original Message----- From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of avinash shahi Sent: 06 January 2015 15:50 To: J L Kaul; jnuvision; worldopinion; accessindia; sayeverything Subject: [AI] Commentary by Garga on India's victory in the Blind Cricket World Cup published in the Dawn Newspaper Today
Sight unseeing http://www.dawn.com/news/1155091/sight-unseeing Rarely Does a team from India become the world champion in something. In December, India won the Blind Cricket World Cup 2014, defeating Pakistan by five wickets. The Indian team had no serious support in the government or sporting circles in the run-up to the World Cup held in South Africa. Apathy is something that comes easily to most of us. What distinguishes the apathetic from the sleazy is the way the latter changes stripes when it senses an opportunity at patronising something it was previously apathetic towards, for its own gain. The way politicians and the media courted the world champions, with photo-ops, interviews, cash prizes and promises galore was not for love of the sport, but an act of politically encashable pity, packaged as compassion. For the powerful, who never lose an opportunity to appear compassionate, this was a particularly low-hanging fruit. This public posturing with champions in front of cameras was too fake, too late. For the team, it was better late than never, even if they saw through the sudden love. Ironic is the patronisation that comes from folks who couldn't care less about disability and whose political ascendency has benefitted from maiming and killing of opponents, innocents and whistleblowers. Politicians both in and out of power wanted a piece of the action, some 'human-face' brownie points for cheap. This isn't too different from the parading of brave children on elephants on the Indian Union's Republic Day parade in New Delhi. In an age when stories of widespread malnutrition among children, savagery by armed forces, extra-judicial murders and other 'minor' details sometimes get out in the open, this warm stuff is good for PR externally and delusion internally. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- The public posturing with the blind cricket champions was too fake. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- This was also a chance for the media to absolve itself of its lack of focus on systemic issues -- the everyday hurdles and discrimination faced by the blind and the 'differently abled', or the fact that India is home to the world's largest number of blind people and also the largest number of blind people whose blindness is treatable but never will be treated. The media focus on Blind Cricket World Cup champions created an opportunity to discuss how we approach the 'differently abled'. For starters, we could have grappled with the question -- who gets to decide for the blind? Almost exclusively, the sighted decide the boundaries of what the blind can or cannot achieve. We are happy that the blind team, captained by Shekar Naik, is a world champion. What do we mean by 'world champion' though, and do we mean it? We must admit that we don't think this is 'real' cricket. 'Real' is the game that your Sachin Tendulkar and Mahender Singh Dhoni play very well and the one that Arun Jaitley and Narayanaswami Srinivasan play even better. Then there are what we consider 'feel-good' forms for the marginal -- women's cricket, blind cricket, etc. Which is why when TV anchors interviewed the blind cricket champs, they asked whether they want to meet Tendulkar. This 'god' of male cricket for the sighted was assumed to be the god of all cricket, certainly so to 'lesser' cricket like blind cricket. At the heart of this constant reference to the 'real' form is a profound lack of understanding about human abilities and the many forms it can take. Blind male cricket is a different game from sighted male cricket. The rules are different, the abilities that are required to excel are different. To be good in blind cricket requires superior performance in ways that Tendulkar cannot achieve in this lifetime just as Prakash Jayaramaiah, the blind cricket star, cannot achieve the set of skills that makes one excel in the sighted form of the game. When the sighted team physiotherapist talks about keeping the team fit, he means expensive food additives, avoidance of certain foods, multi-gyms, and what not. The blind team coach frankly admits, given the socio-economic background of most of his team, it is basic nutrition (a full stomach) that is a factor that limits his options in giving too much arduous training. While sighted crorepati champs get their millions for playing, some blind cricketers have to give up the wages of their daily wage earning jobs (like catering, etc) to train and play. Finally, the blind teams of India and Pakistan, being products of neglect in their respective homelands, are not effective media through which nationalists can wage war by other means. When India won the Blind T20 World Cup in 2012, the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) said 'Congratulations Team INDIA, Good show Team PAKISTAN'. That is 'soft' towards Pakistan and isn't worth sighted time. Only 'we' can 'see' the 'enemy' for what they really are. The writer is a Bengal-based commentator on subcontinental politics and culture. Twitter @gargac Published in Dawn, January 6th, -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Celebrating Louis Braille birthday Jan4th Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessin dia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Celebrating Louis Braille birthday Jan4th Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
