Barring a couple of editions, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a roaring success thanks to established players, domestic and foreign, rubbing shoulders with Indian youngsters knocking at the doors of the country’s team. However, cricket in general, and IPL in particular, are favourite targets for social and political fringe groups who hope to encash the popularity of the game and the tournament.
The ongoing eleventh edition of the IPL fell prey to the violent ways of unheeding mob protesting at the Centre’s inaction on the Cauvery water dispute issue during the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the sport-loving city of Chennai.
The strikers created pandemonium in and out of the stadium. Shoes were hurled at the players on the ground during the match, and fans coming out of the stadium were chased and beaten up to shake the conscience of the city known for its immense love and admiration for cricket as well as a sporting spirit par excellence. Who can forget the standing ovation accorded to the Pakistan team by the Chennai crowd after the visitors beat the hosts in a 1999 Test match?
The IPL schedule was out well in advance and the Tamil Nadu (TN) government knew that there could be violent protests during the match. Why adequate precautions were not taken to ensure a smooth conduct of the match and how some violent demonstrators were allowed to enter the stadium beg for an answer.
What if the genuine fans had paid the protesters back in the same coin? The Chennai police did their best but they were clearly not in command on Tuesday. The IPL governing body shifting the rest of the matches featuring the CSK out of Chennai is a severe indictment of the TN government’s ability to maintain law and order. Obviously, for the agitators it did not matter whether the IPL was related to the Cauvery water sharing issue. But the predisposition of an elected government to abdicate its responsibility, and caving in to stray violence perpetrated by predetermined mob, is numbing.
