IPL – Boon or Bane

One of the most important topics of discussion in India and in the cricketing world elsewhere is whether IPL or the Indian Premier League is a boon or a bane to the game of cricket at large. Opinions vary, as is the case with any cricketing question in India and the number of opinions is equal to the number of people. And as ever, everyone would conclude that there are both sides to the question and therefore it is hard to reach a consensus. Whatever may be the end result, one must admit that there are going to be no difference in opinion on the fact that this IPL is going to be a place where there be a lot of horse trading, betting and all other forms of money making foul games.

One of the most important advantages of the IPL is that we can see a lot of international cricket players playing in India and for Indian teams. The likes of Gilchrist, Pollock, Hayden, Jayasuriya, Gibbs, etc. playing for Indian teams is certainly an amazing deed. We, Indians have to learn to cheer for Mathew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, who are playing for Chennai and Hyderabad respectively and who are incidentally players that we liked to hate, till recently. The Indian players, the youngsters, would certainly learn a great deal from these international players, who are thorough professionals. Seeing Mike Hussey, the Chennai Super King batsman, blending comfortably with players like the Chennai born – Badrinath, is a real treat to watch. A lot of other players, who were foes while playing international cricket, are now good team mates and are enjoying each others company, thanks to the IPL. Some players, who are now forced to reveal the best-kept secrets about the strengths and weaknesses of their international teammates to their IPL teams, are finding it difficult to cope with the new situation is what we should understand from the comments made by Andrew Symonds recently.

There are a lot of problems also with the IPL and the most important one being the dangerous probability that the BCCI would itself resort to loathsome practices like match fixing to make the IPL matches more interesting and exciting. This is just a very distant probability and hopefully such things won’t happen, but we have to be wary about such weird attempts by the BCCI. This is mainly because the BCCI and the Chairman of IPL, Lalit Modi are both quite frantic about utilizing every opportunity to amass wealth and money with IPL, by any means. If such a thing happens, then it would be quite ludicrous for the game of cricket. Yet another problem with the IPL is that there is increased probability that players in different countries would look to retire from their international responsibilities to take part in IPL, as the latter is more lucrative than the former one.

Whatever may be the qualitative effect of IPL on cricket at large, one must confess that IPL is a very exciting form of cricket and is quite an amusement for the millions of cricket lovers in India and the world over. There is already some discontent among a lot of purists of cricket about the form of cricket that is being played in the IPL and there is also some dissatisfaction on the involvement of “cheer leaders” in the IPL matches. But IPL and the 20-20 cricket format followed in this league are really exciting prospects and anything that adds to the colour of it should be accepted, if it is legal.

China’s Terrible Human Rights Record and Tibet

The recent crackdown on the peaceful protests of the people of Tibetan origin in China, India and Nepal is a matter of serious concern and is an act of grave state-sponsored human rights violation. These countries have the obligation to protect the freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed under domestic law and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Protesters including monks, nuns and children were arrested, detained and tortured using harsh measures by the government forces of these countries.

We, the people of India, often claim to be the champions of freedom of speech and expression, but often forget about the need to enhance that sense of national identity by constant efforts of judicious endeavours. But the recent crackdown of the Tibetan protesters, who were demonstrating peacefully against the Chinese aggression on Tibet and its religious and cultural identity, is an act of shamelessness and a sign of utter disregard for the protection of freedom of expression. It is a deed that undoubtedly shows how India is buckling under the Chinese pressure and is a sign of political weakness of India’s present day administration headed by the Congress led UPA and supported by the China’s dearest allies, the Left parties. The Indian Government is facing a real predicament vis-à-vis it’s foreign policy these days and is ruefully incapable of making any strong decisions in this regard. It is not competent in voicing it’s concern on the United States’ bad human rights record in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and is impotent in taking on the Chinese government over their mishandling of Tibetan protestors or on the Chinese aggressive claim on the parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

China’s boorish attitude towards Tibet and on its unique religious and cultural identity is shocking and disgusting. It is totally unacceptable that a strong country, by virtue of its military and economic might, is exerting undue power to dismantle the religious identity and practices of an inherently weak group of people. It is high time for China to understand that it is always possible for a country to accommodate people of diverse beliefs and convictions, yet possess and maintain a unique national identity. India in itself is a grand example of such a relatively flawless model of heterogeneous existence.

The protesters of Tibet and the human rights activists all over the world have found out a very effective method to protest against the human rights abuses of the Chinese government and it is to demonstrate against China during the Olympic torch relay all over the world. This initiative got an impetus when French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that France might boycott the Olympics if China won’t stop its human rights violations at Tibet. The Olympics can be used as an occasion to make people aware about the Chinese government’s terrible human rights record. In India, the national football captain, Baichung Bhutia has already made it clear that he won’t be carrying the Olympic torch as a symbol to protest against the grotesque human rights violation of the Chinese government on the Tibetan people. At the same time a lot of people have ridiculed his decision, but it must only be considered as a personal decision of the person and a natural extension of the freedom of speech and expression that the Indian constitution gives to each and every individual citizens of this country.

There is some discussion in the country on the subject that the Tibet issue is an internal problem of China and hence the other countries all over the world have no moral or legal right to interfere. But it can’t be forgotten that mistreatment and excesses on human beings by any establishment should be a matter concern for all human beings. Human rights violations and abuses can’t be tolerated and in this regard no political or geographical boundary should be a matter of impediment as human rights and human dignity are the corner stones on which an equitable and ethical world is built.

Beijing 2008 Torch Relay Truth