I am beginning to believe that, we Indians are an unfit society. In the many doing so; it will help us see our frailties better - the extent to which we turn a blind eye on most measures of sanity, our wanton hubrises, as also, the lackadaisical concerns to be treated as human beings!
-venantius j pinto On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 5:59 AM V M <vmin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2021/08/06/op-ed-the-true-face-of-india-at-its-best > > Every four years in predictable rotation, the Olympic Games become another > pearl-clutching moment for India’s chattering classes. > > As every day passes, the nation of 1.3 billion continues to fall far down > the medal standings. At the time of writing, it’s ranked 64th in Tokyo, > behind the four-way tie of Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Colombia and > Armenia, whose combined population is less than that of Rajasthan. > > Zoom into those athletes who do win, and it’s apparent that genuinely > world-class India is far removed from the images that are usually projected > by its triumphalist majoritarians. > > This is the boxing champion Lovlina Borghoain from Golaghat in Assam, whose > rural home is reached by a road that was only begun to be paved after she > was guaranteed a medal. > > It is Saikhom Mirabai Chanu of Imphal in Manipur, whose weightlifting > heroics have made her celebrated as “India’s daughter” by the same > constituencies that usually treat her people with suspicion for being > allegedly insufficiently patriotic. > > Most compelling is the relentlessly resilient women’s hockey team that > pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the sport’s history, by holding > off overwhelmingly favoured Australia to make it into the semi-finals. > > Here is the true face of India at its best: former child labourer Neha > Goyal, Nikki Pradhan whose hometown in Jharkhand is controlled by Maoist > militias, 21-year-old Lalremsiami of Mizoram, who didn’t speak Hindi or > English at all when first selected. Their captain Rani Rampal’s father > pulled handcarts to feed his family. > > All these are invisible Indians from the vast silent majority that serves > the whims and fancies of the urban affluent (who comprise at best one-fifth > of the country’s population). Once the Olympic Games are over, they will go > back to being “the servant class.” > > In his Mint column this week, Manu Joseph (his 2010 *Serious Men* is one of > the best novels of the 21st century) struck bullseye by pointing out “the > very existence of Indian athletes of global calibre is not because of > India, but in spite of India.” > > Joseph says “to be young in India and be talented in any sport other than > cricket is among the great human misfortunes. The whole nation seems > designed to treat every Indian as a poor person. Any comfort, even > air-conditioning, is wrongly perceived by administrators as a luxury. If > you have ever been on a school or college team, and participated in > government-run competitions, you will know how gloomy the sports scene is.” > > Those responsible for this extraordinarily shabby state of affairs > constantly make excuses for their incompetence and mismanagement. > > As Joseph says, “the talented poor do not know that they deserve better; > that it is very easy for their nation to organize meets that start on time, > provide bottled water for every athlete, offer hotel accommodation instead > of lodging contestants in unused railway compartments, offer shelters so > that athletes don’t wait for their events in the hot sun, ensure that girls > are not harassed and no one has to endure the petty politics of sports > administrators who use sporting federations as spring-boards to low-rung > politics.” > > “Indian nationalism is chiefly about the rich recruiting the poor to do the > difficult job of making India proud,” concludes Joseph. This leads to a > grotesque situation, where “one of the most unfit societies in the world, > with a majority who cannot sprint 50 metres [is] filled with strong > opinions about athletes who have reached the global stage despite the > mediocrity of their politicians and administrators.” > > That precise scenario has been playing out at length on social media all > through these Olympics. One set of exchanges on Twitter involved the > outstanding cricket all-rounder Shikha Pandey (she is the first Air Force > officer to play for India), who has been posting infectiously enthusiastic > messages of support to the Olympians. > > On July 31, she posted a meme that means “I’ve got my eyes on you” with the > message: “Indian #olympics women athletes to patriarchy right now…and > forever.” > > Amongst some messages of support came the predictable hate: “Stupid > westernised bullshit thought process... Get well soon in your head... We > are children of Aadhi Shakthi.... Don't mix sports with your Feminazi > crap...” > > I am a huge fan of Pandey – who belongs to my home state of Goa – and her > entire Indian women’s cricket team, which plays with the verve and élan > that was long ago sapped from the game of their male counterparts. > > When I asked her what it takes for Indian women to play sports at the > highest level, Pandey responded, “The single most difficult thing about > being a sportswoman from and in India is overcoming the social taboos and > the cultural baggage that come along.” > > She said, “Patriarchy is such a vast subject, and its roots are so deep > into our system and society. A simple example is - a boy growing up is > always expected to play with a bat, a football or a car, and a girl is > gifted a doll. We don’t even realise it’s wrong at every basic level. We > need to have a society where the kids can just be and choose what and who > they want to become. > > Pandey told me that she felt lucky to come from a state with high literacy, > but even then, “there were still those odd remarks of why a girl needed to > play or pursue sport [but] my family was very good at ignoring them.” > > Like everyone else in the country, Pandey is inspired by the women’s field > hockey team: “Every member of that team has a story worth being told.” > > She says: “I have always been proud to be donning the India jersey, and > consider it to be an absolute privilege to be representing my country. > Every time I step onto the field, I want to contribute towards a win and do > well, yes, but I also look to inspire those little five-year-olds who watch > us play, because that is what matters the most.” > > Those little girls will make the difference for the future of Indian sport. >