Kudos : Bopanna Qureshi

It was indeed a heroic effort on the part of the Indo – Pak pair in the finals of the US Open men’s doubles finals yesterday. The intensity of the finals was nothing short of breathtaking, with electric reflexes, booming serves, great anticipation and precise coordination. Bopanna – Qureshi were obviously not intimidated or over awed by their much more accomplished opponents. while the former were playing in their first grand slam finals, the latter were the holders of eight major titles. the hallmark of the match was the fact that none of the two teams could break their opponent’s serve even once. As it turned out, the outcome was decided in the Russian Roulette of tie breakers in both sets. However, as the match statistics would reveal, there was hardly anything to choose between the two teams.

The spinoff of the Indo – Pak duo’s partnership was that, at least for some time it made Indian and Pakstani fans in New York forget their animosity and join hands to cheer the team. Much as media and certain individuals, hail the partnership as a step towards improving relations between India and Pakistan, it is nothing more than a partnership of convenience. And in any event it would take much more than a tennis partnership to propel the two countries towards peace and friendship.

Notwithstanding the same, let us hope that Indo Pak express, as they are fondly called, continue to do well and give us that elusive opportunity to rejoice in sporting excellence by our countrymen, particularly in a sport other than cricket.

Wishing the Indo – Pak Express much greater success and glory in times to come.

Pak’s Tainted Trio: Tip of the Iceberg?

Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Test captain Salman Butt are in the dock in the spot fixing scandal. Mazhar Majeed is to blame for having been careless enough to let himself be filmed accepting loads of cash ………………. And thus Pakistan Cricket finds itself in the midst of a fresh controversy. Nothing new there.
However who is to say that others including Indian cricketers are not involved in match fixing. Leading Indian cricketers like Navjot Sidhu, Azharudding, Jadeja, Prabhakar ……………have been accused of it in the past and its difficult to imagine that the current lot would be any better. And so would be the case with cricketers of other countries. A leading Indian bookie has alleged that India Sri Lanka Rajkot ODI was fixed.
The fact of the matter is that match fixing accusations are extremely difficult to prove and in almost any sport, it is next to impossible to differentiate between the real and fake. Sports like Wrestling, the WWE variety are known to be rigged, but still are hugely popular. Davydenko, a tennis player who has been in the world top 10 for close to a decade was accused of fixing. Is Davydenko, who is a multimillionaire, short of money.
Was it not Gandhi who said, “There is enough in the world for everyone’s needs, but not enough in the world for one man’s greed.”

 
 Mohammad Amir (centre) and Mohammad Asif (back) arrive at the Pakistan High Commission.

Corrupt Way to Go(CWG 2010)

I just read Shobhaa De's take on the CWG controversy. I have to say, she can put things in the correct perspective in the most succinct and satirical manner.

The sheer scale of corruption is mind boggling. Lalu Yadav and Babu Lal Marandi must be green with envy, to see Mr Kalmadi and gang laughing all the way to the bank. And what's more, shamelessly on every other news channel, refusing to take moral responsibility and stepping down. They are probably looking at hosting the Asiad next, to fill up the coffers of those other distant relatives who got left out this time.

But what are Manmohan and Sonia doing? Looking the other way, or have they got cotton in their ears? Or have they, like Mr Mani Shankar Iyer, after stirring up the hornet's nest, decided to go the Gandhian way, "Bura mat dekho, Bura mat suno............?"

With cases of corruption, the likes of which have never been dreamt of, tumbling out of the woodwork every other day, it seems we are trying to showcase not our economic progress but our progress in promoting corruption in the most ingenuous of ways. Our phlegmatic Prime Minister is however, not weathered by ordinary storms. Despite a 'Leaky CWG stadia, Scourge of Naxalism, double digit inflation, Natural calamity in Leh, Kashmir valley on edge.......' our PM is invisible. Like they say in Hindi, "unke kaanon me joon tak nahi reng rahi." He is only seen in foreign capitals, meeting heads of other states or in Parliament, where his sleepy gaze is visible but his sing song, barely audible, hardly comprehensible voice is conspicuous by its absence.

Wake up Mr PM get a hold of things, lest History should blame you for showcasing our incompetence to the world.

Let the Games Begin

With only two months left for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, preparations as reported by the media seem to suggest that we might be headed for a major embarrassment. News channels are replete with reports of poor venue preparations, sub standard work and most of all, corruption. And to our great horror, a senior political leader from the ruling party came out with a shocking statement recently, almost wishing for the games to go awry. Of course, the statement was a little tongue in cheek which the TV anchors conveniently chose to ignore.

Should it not be the bounden duty of all Indians to do their bit, for the success of the games? The way some of these news channels, 'Times Now' in particular, are going hell for leather after the Games Organising Committee, seems outrageous. Is this the right moment for such journalism, with only a few weeks left for the games to begin? I am all for accountability, rooting out corruption, transparency.............. But going after anyone and everyone who has got anything to do with CWG Delhi, at a time when the opening ceremony is just round the corner may not be such a great idea. By all means media is well within its rights to expose corruption, fraud, malpractice........................ but at times, for a change, 'discretion ought to be the better part of valour'.

News channels going berserk reporting a minor injury to a young diver in SP Mukherjee Aquatics stadium seemed weird. Oh come on guys, it was just a bruise. And the current war of words between Mr Kalmadi and the Indian High Commission in UK makes us the laughing stock for the world. At the end of the day, thanks to the media onslaught, an event that should have been a matter of pride for us, ........................, even if successful might inevitably leave us with a bad taste in the mouth.

So there is corruption, money laundering, sub standard work, leaky stadia................... etc. What was one to expect anyway? Corruption in India is all pervasive. So what does one do? Outsource preparations to China? Indian contractors have probably never seen quality. Forced to race against time due to political, procedural and bureaucratic delays all around, it is a wonder, that venues are nearing completion in the first place. Money laundering............... If media was to be believed, there was near credible evidence of money laundering against the likes of Rajiv Gandhi, a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So what can be expected out of lesser mortals?

A look at the time line of the preparations for the CWG makes one thing clear. The organisers did not seem to have the slightest idea of how to go about it. Nor did they have a sense of urgency. To that extent, one would have to agree with Mani Shankar Iyer, "Hosting these games is a huge mistake". But the clock cannot be turned back now. And we must put our best foot forward.

RISE IN SUPPORT OF CWG 2010. Jai Hind.

CBI A BUNCH OF FOOLS?

This was a question asked by Mr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the congress spokesman in response to Amit Shah's allegation that CBI had fabricated charges against him.

"Do you think CBI is full of bunch of fools who will risk their entire career by making false allegations, non-existing allegations which are going to be examined by the Supreme Court?" 

While in this particular case, CBI may or may not have acted like fools, but otherwise................................... they are not called the 'Cases Burial Institution' for no reason. Have they ever been able to convict anybody who is a somebody?

Wait and watch this case drag for years and finally Mr Shah getting acquitted.

Yet Again: Indo – Pak talks collapse

"But even more shocking to me is the fact that we have agreed to resume talks with our western neighbours. How many times do we need to be stabbed in the back to realise that it is futile to talk to Pakistan. Much as I would have liked to believe, there cannot be an 'Aman ki Asha.". 

                                                                         - Excerpted from earlier post Post Hiatus

This time though, it is not only a breach of etiquette, breach of diplomatic propriety,.......it is downright rude and a personal insult to SM Krishna, and thereby to the entire Indian establishment. The kind of comments that Mr Qureshi, who seems not to have heard of the word hospitality, made while his Indian counterpart was still on Pakistani soil, is nothing short of shocking. Was this a part of the script? Of course. It has always been Pakistan's design to thwart any and every Indian initiative towards improving relations...................Shimla accord, Lahore Bus Yatra, Agra summit.................. Peace with Pakistan has been given a shot by almost every prime minister -- and I don't think anyone walked extra miles for this than Vajpayee; all attempts however failed not because they lacked conviction but because the efforts were not reciprocated with same commitment from the other side. The humiliation of its dismemberment in 1971, is not to heal easily. And that lies at the bottom of the Pakistani psyche.

So, what next? Is there a way forward in Indo – Pak relations? Of course not. The Hindu in its editorial suggests, "Engagement must go forward". How can anyone suggest something like this, particularly after yesterday's humiliation? When are we going to learn our lessons?

Pakistan is a rogue state, as I have argued in an earlier post, and needs to be treated as such. It needs to be ostracised by the international community, being the fountainhead of terror in the world. And being the worst affected, we must lead the way.

Peace with Pakistan is a good thought and a great idea. Indians and Pakistanis can be friends, but India and Pakistan can never be friends.