Thursday’s loss to Australia in the World Cup Cricket tournament has rubbed off some of the shine of India’s phenomenal rise in the sport. However, due credit must be given to Australia who looked a better team. But that won’t suffice the legions of fans who want India to succeed whatever the odds. There was something nasty going around in the world of social media which portrayed Indians who hate Modi also hate India. One must know that mixing sports and politics is bad but we have seen how this deadly mix has been the bane of India’s sport, more so in the BCCI which has been the hotbed of controversy in recent years.
A victory in the semis and a win in the final would have brought back the slogan, India Shinning, back into limelight. No doubt it was on the economic front that the slogan was based upon. It was, however, a different mix, because whatever development happened and was hoped to be coming was half-realty.
It was indeed the technical aspects of India that were ‘shining’, as Indian graduates in the IT sector stormed the West in vast numbers. One must take into account that it was just a small number that made India glitter in a technological world. What was ignored then and sort of pushed in the background now, is the social sector. The poor record then, despite the economic reforms, which began in 1991, didn’t reflect in the India that was shinning, at least it was shinning half-bright. The gap between the rich and the poor remained wide and it hasn’t significantly narrowed today.
But it did gladden our hearts that Indians were recognized and lured into jobs in one important and relevant sector during those days. It did make us beat our hearts in pride. The economic thrust was lauded and, today, the Make in India, no doubt a spirited and forceful plank, is a fine corollary to the promise of a new energy in economic activity. It would be a big boost to the government if India had come through to the cricket final and, ultimately, retained it as world champions.
One must realize that anything can happen on the field, and no amount of analysis will give India the cold comfort of losing to a superior team. Lack of fighting spirit? It has happened in the past and India has come knocking back into the top ranks. India will bounce back. A victory is always sweet, but we must accept defeat in all humility and grace. Pessimism shouldn’t be allowed to seep into the Indian fold. Firstly, the BCCI should be put in order. Too much negative publicity and public glare over the affairs of the association has made the fans angry and agitated with the game as such.
The shock in Australia was almost like the shock the BJP received in the Delhi election. A better team with a planned agenda suited to local needs won the day. Just as the BJP astounded the political pundits by romping home in the general election with a large haul of seats, and almost decimated the Congress. As in sports, so is in politics. It’s a topsy-turvy world.
Coming to our own state, we have seen how topsy-turvy it has been over the past few years. The BJP, as its mothership at the centre, has been not only doing U-Turn on vital public matters but also going zig-zag on many socio-economic issues. CM Laxmikant Parsekar’s has managed to bring in the budget which seems to be fairly balanced. But more has to be done to reduce the public debt so that the rising generations of Goans will be less-burdened by this financial overweight.
No doubt the budget without the mining revenue is looking good and the promised resumption of mining will further make the economy better. Yet, there are irritants in the mining policy that has to be eliminated and the mining must strictly follow the environmental guidelines to restore confidence in the people outside the mining-dependent people.
MLA Rohan Kaunte’s broadside that all legislators’ salaries are coming from the casinos is something to think about in the larger issue of tourism and its impact on Goa. Without mining, the government had to swim back to port, so to say, over its promise to ‘ship out’ the casinos vessels into the sea.
Parrikar danced around the issue and now it’s Parsekar’s turn to face the music. Kaunte is voicing the people’s grouse over the “casino culture” that has made Goa famous, though there are other negative or nefarious activities which have given Goa a place in the sun on the holiday map of India. Kaunte’s reminder to the BJP government is to rethink its promise and do the right thing in making the Mandovi eyesore-free and the waters free-flowing once again.
From ‘casino culture’ to ‘drug culture’ to ‘rape capital’ and, many other unpleasant tags in-between, Goa will move on, on broken wheels if not on greased rails. I dare say India is churning. The BJP is churning with social harangues brought about by its Parivar family; the AAP is churning with the party facing a revolt within; and the Congress is churning with Rahul Gandhi’s invisible hand playing his cards.
(Eugene Correia is a senior journalist who worked for the Free Press Journal, and The Hindu.)
