Friday, August 31, 2012

Unmukt Chand and the Recalcitrant System !

Where is India ?
What we see is the Final Medals Tally of  London Olympics 2012. India's place in the list was a glorious 55th out of 204 nations that participated. If we take out the No. 2 placed China, India's population is larger than the total of all the other nations in this list put together.

The other 149 nations below India don't even count when it comes to economic and political muscle power India is capable of wielding. But we were happy and celebrating an all time best medals tally. India is the ONLY country that believes in the "Spirit of Olympics". Participation and not winning is important !

Suresh Kalmadis, All India Lawn Tennis Association, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati and all the corruption have played their role to perfection in undermining India on the international sports arena.


But have we ever realized the BIGGEST and WORST Culprits responsible for India's pathetic performances in sports ? Go nowhere, we just have to look into the mirror.

The Principal of St. Stephens College, Delhi is but one among us. He or she is not an exception, but the rule in this country. That person did what most of us do directly or indirectly. How many of us stand up and support our kid when the child shows inclination towards sports ?

He could beat Australia but not Indian Colleges !

Unmukt Chand is not your average Cricket crazy teenager who neglected his studies. He is an intelligent and hard-working boy with immaculate habits and heavy vocabulary. If he was short on attendance, he had extremely valid and respect-worthy reasons. He lost out to the college authorities even after taking legal recourse. 

Any college in a sensible world would have bent over backwards to accommodate his needs, but not St. Stephens. Never and not even for the U-19 Cricket World Cup winning Captain. Welcome to India, we are serious about manufacturing nerds, Doctors, Engineers, Accountants and people to serve the other countries. Sports is not on our agenda.

In a country ruled by Cricket and not the silent Prime Minister, the Under-19 World Cup winning Captain gets treated so shabbily. The same Principal would have allowed the Union leaders with political clout to write examinations.

If a Cricketer with such credentials has to suffer this, imagine the plight of other sports-persons. They probably would be rusticated for shortage of attendance. As long as such a system prevails, India will remain at 55 or slide further down south on the Olympic Medals tally.

So what do we call the system ? In Unmukt Chand's own style, "Recalcitrant Authoritarianism that has become Redundant for the Student Faculty and is Undermining Sports, thus making ourselves Superfluous on the International Sports arena" !

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans

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