Monsoon session washed away !

The monsoon session of Parliament this year has lived up to its name. Its been a wash out, and the rains which revived in the month of August has nothing to do with it. The coalgate scam, which has rocked the nation, has rocked the nation's top governing body as well. When the session started on August 8, there was some hope of major reforms coming through, such as a strong Lokpal, but what started with the violence in Assam just continued with the 1.86 lac crores coal scam, Sri Lankan Tamil's issue and ended up with SC/ST quota issue over promotions in government offices. As a result Parliament functioning continued to be stalled and never recovered from there.

 

The main issue of contention was the opposition's demand for the resignation of the ever silent prime minister. The PM had remarked that his silence was golden but the opposition demanded answers from him. The coal ministry which was under him when the coal block allocation was done for free , had cost the country's Exchequer thousands of crores, as alleged. Congress defended themselves saying there can be no loss when the coal still had not been mined out but it was very poorly received. They issued a challenge to the opposition to a debate in Parliament but all that people witnessed were shouting, huffing and puffing and even came to blows being exchanged. The government tried to wiggle out of a corner by introducing the SC/ST Quota Bill for job promotions and move the focus else where. This, however did not deter the opposition and they stood adamant at their earlier stand.

Out of the proposed 30 bills, only four bills where passed during this monsoon session, which included the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill and the AIIMS Amendment Bill. Of 15 bills listed for introduction, just five were actually inducted. The Lok Sabha functioned for just 24 hours out of the scheduled 108 hours and the Rajya Sabha was no better at 26 out of 90 hours. At a time when the country's economy is faltering and internal security has taken a beating, these types of actions by the country's MPs are completely uncalled for and shows their real intent of gaining political mileage. They do not seem to care for the nation and its people and have interest only in propagating their personal agenda. The general public must realise this and refrain from voting for these corrupt people in the next general elections.

Indian hockey - an topsy turvy ride

Indian hockey in recent times, has come no where near the golden run it enjoyed in the pre independence days. Most of us hear or read about the Indian hockey team's dismal performances of late but many of us do not know the extent of success which Indian hockey witnessed and their mind boggling achievements in the period from 1928 - 1956. As a tribute to that golden period, I would like to list down some facts regarding our national game which should bring a sense of pride for all sports loving Indians.

1. India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics in the period 1928-1956 which is considered as the golden era of Indian hockey.

2. In this period, India played 24 matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals against 7 goals conceded.

3. Indian has won a total of 8 Olympic gold medals for hockey, the other 2 being in 1964 at Tokyo and 1980 in Moscow.

4. India's goal keeper Richard James Allen did not concede a single goal at the 1928 Olympics. In 3 Olympic events from 1928 to 1936, he conceded only 3 goals.


5. The 24-1 drubbing of USA in the 1932 Olympics was and is the highest victory margin in international hockey history. Roop Singh scored 10 goals in that match, which is a record.

6. India defeated Germany 8-1 in the finals of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with Hitler in attendance. With India leading 6-0, Hitler stormed out of the arena midway in disgust and then some German players indulged in violent tactics to stop the Indian juggernaut. Dhyan Chand was injured in the process but still India managed to win the match comfortably 8-1 and claim their 3rd Olympic gold.

7. A statue has been erected at Vienna in honor of the great Dhyan Chand, which shows him with 4 hands and 4 bats, symbolizing that no one with 2 hands can play the way he did!

8. In 1948, India played with a new look team as the country went through a partition post independence and some of the star players migrated to the other side of the border and played for Pakistan. Nevertheless, the result was the same and India stormed into the finals and defeated England 4-0 to win yet another gold medal.

9. The medal haul did not stop and India won its 5th consecutive gold at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The win was special for Chinnadorai Desamuthu as he became the youngest gold medal winner at the age of 19.

10. The story was no different for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and India won its 6th gold medal. It was a sweet victory as it vanquished its arch rival, Pakistan in the final. However the Rome Olympics in 1960 saw a reverse in fortunes, as Pakistan defeated India and stopped the golden march of the Indian team.

11. The 2 arch rivals met for the 3rd consecutive time at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where India prevailed oer Pakistan and regained the championship.

12. India displayed a below par performance in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal and had to return empty  handed. It however managed to get into winning ways again and won the gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. 

After all these historic performances, India saw a big decline in performance and of late has been faring very poorly. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for the first time in history, India didnt even qualify for the tournament. In 2012 they managed to qualify but had a disastrous time in London as they lost all their matches and was left languishing at the bottom of the standings.

Rapid steps need to be taken to arrest this slide further and the entire hockey administration needs to be cleaned up from the roots. Ex players can fit into these roles which would augur well for the sport and improve the standards to what is required to compete at the international level. State of the art equipment must be brought in to instill supreme fitness to the players and this must start right at the domestic level. Above all, the players must be motivated enough to gather the will and determination to play to win and not play just to play.

Misery in the north east

When one heard of the news of mass exodus of North East Indian natives from the metropolitan cities such as Chennai, Bangalore, Pune etc in the wake of violence in Assam , it was hard to believe that it was happening right here, in secular India. People were literally fleeing from these places as if a natural calamity had befallen them and that such a situation arose in India for its own citizens is a matter of great shame. Saying the trains were overcrowded would be a understatement. Thousands of people flocked the stations and there was not an inch of space left on the platform. The most disheartening part of all this was that it was all merely hearsay and rumors which led to such a large scale panic resulting in the exodus. SMS'es and messages posted on social networking sites are said to be the key drivers of fear in the minds of the migrants. The impact of social networking has been tremendous and growing exponentially in recent times, but if misused, can lead to even deadlier consequences, such as this one. Bringing in strong regulations may rein in some of the impact of these sites but government must take equally strong steps to educate the masses on the evils of social networking. Students and workers formed a major chunk of the migrants and they didnt think twice about staying back and securing their jobs and future. The north eastern part of India has been the most under developed and neglected part of India and maybe this was the reason why people fled the cities without any trust or faith in the local law and order. The ethnic community of the north east has long been ignored by successive governments and they feel they are not safe anywhere except at home.

Back home, the employment opportunities are bleak and this might force them to come back soon. Coming back is a better option and in hindsight, the best option. It will reinforce a sense of unity in the country and will show the world that India stands united no matter what. There is  suspicion of a foreign hand in instigating this hate propaganda, but the government must first try to understand and find out why this exodus reached such epic proportions. Of course, foreign hands are always there to pull us down and vigil must be maintained  at all times to arrest it.  But whatever happens outside the border is not in our hands, and we must look at how secure and stable we are from the inside. The government, as a first step, has decided to ban bulk sms for a certain period of time, but this is certainly not enough. Tougher regulations needs to come up and ethnic/communal violence must be prevented at all costs. India has been a nation of strong sentiments and the mischief mongers always to look to stoke this flame to bring unrest in this country. Economic development and job creation in the north east must become a priority for the government. Law and order must take good shape in these areas, especially in the international border, where illegal immigration has been rampant and given rise to many violent conflicts and clashes with the locals, such as the one between the Bodos and the Muslims in Assam. The concept of national unity and integration will only remain a myth as long as the government sleeps on these issues.

Goodbye Laxman

The end was coming. Another era is over. When Rahul Dravid retired sometime back, there was a widespread sense of sadness and irreplaceable loss, but most of us took heart saying “We still have Laxman”. But with his retirement at the age of 37, the void in the Indian test team has only enlarged.

Laxman’s batting was one of a kind, and a exhilirating one, that we might never see again. His knack of playing big innings under pressure against the toughest of opposition under the roughest of conditions was what set him apart from his peers. Even though he played most of his cricket in the elite company of the famous trio of Indian cricket, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly, he carved a niche for himself and had his own legion of fans. The ground was his canvas and the bat was his brush. His shots and timing were pure poetry, and even the opposition was left to admire his array of strokes. He had the amazing ability to play these shots under pressure situations and keep the scoring rate going when other batsmen would be struggling to meet ball with bat. True, his footwork was limited but he overcame this with impressive hand eye coordination. His drives, flicks, glances and pulls were glorious to watch and he didnt break a sweat. You would hardly see Laxman play aggressive strokes and go for the big hits, and maybe thats one of the reasons why he didnt go places with the ODI and T20 teams, but he was just perfect for the test format. His exploits against Australia are unforgettable epics and etched in every Indian cricket fan’s memory, and more recently the match winning innings he played against the likes of Steyn and Morkel in the tough South African conditions was nothing short of a spectacle.

He was an excellent slip catcher too and among the finest in world cricket and it was a very assuring sight seeing him and Dravid in the slip cordon. Another hallmark of Laxman was his reputation to inspire tail enders to bat along with him. Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Praghyan Ojha etc have all benefited by batting along with him and it is said that some of them would even borrow Laxman’s bat when they go out to bat in the middle. Not only Laxman, even his bat was held in high regard!

With his departure, India has lost the last of its crisis saviours and match winners in Tests. Its time to say adieu to the last of the technicians and architects of Indian test history. Laxman has chosen to exit gracefully and we all hope he shows the same grace and aestheticism in whatever he has planned for his future. A Very Very Special person has left the sporting arena, and that has left us Very Very Sad.

India's knights in shining armor at the London Olympics

Yet another Olympic extravaganza has passed by, and this time, it has left an upbeat feeling in the Indian nation. Even though India won no gold medals out of the 6 it eventually won, the tally is the highest it has ever been in Indian Olympic history. And the fight displayed by its athletes in getting those medals was truly phenomenal. Shooting kick started the hopes for a medal as that was the event which won India a gold four years back. Great things were expected from Bindra and Gagan but it was Gagan who salvaged some pride by winning the bronze after Bindra fizzled out in the qualifying stages. Vijay Kumar was a surprise package and the way he started the finals was truly outstanding and he was going great guns but a couple of low scores in the middle rounds brought down his overall score and by the time it was all over, he was placed at a comfortable second position and silver was his for the taking. The man from the army who has never been promoted in the last 6 years despite numerous achievements in shooting, had delivered, and the much needed and the much deserved promotion should be rushing towards him anytime now.

Saina was a strong hope for a medal in the Olympics but it was never going to be easy getting past the Chinese. She lost in the semis but then luck smiled her way when her opponent in the bronze medal match, once again a Chinese, had to withdraw due to a injury. Saina has been really consistent with her play over the past few months and this was a good icing on the cake. But she really has to work hard to break the Chinese strangle hold in this sport and should target the gold medal next time around. Yet another lady to impress was Mary Kom, the short but fierce mother of twins, who took to Boxing to come out of poverty. She showed that whatever men can do, even women can do, if not better. The bronze was a tribute to her tenacity and dedication and she won the hearts of millions of Indians with her fighting spirit inside the squared ring.

Wrestling has been a very popular sport in India, especially in the northern states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab and 2 of its brightest stars representing India in the London Olympics were Sushil Kumar, the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and Yogeshwar Dutt, a cop in the state of Haryana. Both started wresting at a young age and have over the years created more than just a name for themselves. Sushil Kumar was the bronze medallist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics whereas Yogeshwar had narrowly lost the quarter final bout in the same tournament. So hopes were soaring high, especially with Sushil, but it was Yogeshwar who drew first blood. He lost the Q/F bout to the eventual finalist from Russia, but then entered the fray again through the repechage and won 3 consecutive fights to take the bronze medal with a dramatic display of determination and never-say-die spirit. In spite of an injury which left him with one eye almost blinded, he ripped through 3 opponents within a span of 45 mins to earn a place on the podium. That medal seemed to be made for him and destiny ensured it stayed the same way. Sushil on the other hand, didnt have much of a problem and soon found himself in the finals against the Asian gold medallist from Japan. The entire nation came to a stand still at 6.30 pm on 12th Aug 2012 when they both faced off for the ultimate prize in Olympics. Though the match was pretty evenly poised, the Japanese held his nerve better and displayed enormous strength and skills to win the match 3-1 and break a billion hearts back in India. Nevertheless, it was a scintillating performance from Sushil to win the silver and he kept up his promise of changing the color of the medal. Sushil reportedly suffered from dehydration and vomiting before the fight  and this may have impacted his performance but this is the Olympics and only the fittest survive.

In spite of these stupendous performances, there were some major disappointments too, the biggest one being the miserable journey of the hockey team which didn't win a single match in the entire tournament and finished last among the 12 teams. "Indian hockey is dead" remarked one former captain and its hard not to believe him. Bindra, the defending gold medalist was another medal hopeful this time too, but he failed to deliver. The pugilist, Vijendar Singh, too went down lamely and failed to make an impression. The fiasco among the Indian tennis players ensured that they were never going in with a positive frame of mind and the results weren't surprising. All of them were eliminated pretty quickly and this would be one episode which the sooner it is forgotten, the better it is for Indian tennis.

So, now it is off to Rio for the next Olympics in 2016 and seeing the various talk shows and public opinion, we are led to believe that the haul is going to be much more in Rio. Sure, there are great chances that it may very well happen but for that, the support from various quarters are needed and have to be sustained till the objectives are met. The government needs to build good infrastructure and provide state of the art training for all the promising athletes. Big corporate houses can also chip in with their sponsorship deals. The athletes need to believe in themselves and train hard. The public should keep voicing their support for these athletes at all events from time to time. Faith, hard work and unflinching support never fails.

Sushil's amazing feat

Sushil Kumar, the bronze medalist from the last Olympics in 2008 has gone a step ahead and won the silver at the 2012 London Olympics in the 66 kg freestyle wrestling event. In the process, he has become the first Indian to win 2 individual medals in the history of Olympics, and this is a remarkable achievement. He had promised a change in color of the medal this time and he kept his word. Though it was not gold, he has proved that he is a genuine fighter of international caliber and can give anyone a run for their money on his day. There were reports that he suffered from dehydration before the bout, but then, when it is comes to the Olympics, you have to put injuries behind you and give your best, and that is exactly what Sushil did. The final scoreline of 3-1 gives an indication of how much fight he gave to the eventual winner,Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu from Japan, in spite of not being 100%. "Golden era of wrestling is back", said Sushil soon after the event, and we would all like to believe the same. 

Kudos to Indian boxers

A 10-gun salute to Mary Kom for her incredible performance at the London olympics, despite all the odds. Getting a medal in womens boxing that too from a male dominated country like India is a tremendous achievement. Mary, being a 5 time world champion, carried a lot of hope and expectations of a billion people, which unfortunately is the bane of many a sportsmen and sportswomen in India. There is a tinge of dissapointment that she couldnt box her way to the finals which would have really been some achievement. However a place in the podium is always to be cherished and the 5 time world champion has given India that honor.
Like Mary, Devendroo too was a medal hopeful but it was not to be as he was outsmarted by a superior rival. Still age is on his side and this performance on a big stage should see many more laurels come his way in the future provided he is groomed and supported in the right way.