Race against Race

When will the race against race get over?

The recently concluded Commonwealth Games would be remembered for various reasons and the reasons could be very different for different set of people.

There would be Indians who initially would have felt let down by the "leaders" and the "games" officials who were busy playing games with the Indian people and the image of the nation. These same bunch of Indians would be breathing a sigh of relief now that the games have concluded without any issues( barring a couple of glitches). The opening and the closing ceremony would definitely have given each Indian a moment to feel that extra pride of being an Indian.

But there would also be a bunch of people( those primarily from the West) for whom it is not over yet. These are the people who were the most vocal critics of games going to a "third world country" like India. What is more disturbing is the fact that this had little to do with the mishandling before the games. The major reason for it was the latent "superiority feeling", or the "racial prejudice" which many of them seem to harbour even in this supposedly "free from race" era.

If one goes by the tone of some of the articles published in western newspapers and news channels and the comments by the readers it would be all the more apparent. One just needs to compare the articles published before the Games and one published during and after the games to confirm the veracity of the claim being made. Going by some of the media reports one would have concluded as everything in India was in shambles. 

"Everyone is sick", "everyone has dengue", you just land in Delhi and you will have "Delhi-belly", "pathetic infrastructure", "abnormal level of pollutants in the air", "incomplete venues", "abject poverty" and "extreme backwardness". You think of all the possible negatives you could think of, mix some "eye-catching adjectives and headlines" and it was all there in the articles to "relish".

What was more appalling was the comments by some of the readers and media persons.

" I would never ever go to a third world country like India even if someone pays for it."

" What a bunch of incompetent Indians?"

" Why the hell did they award games to a country like India?"

" I am glad the athletes are pulling out, we should bring back our entire contingent."

" England should withdraw funding to India and Indian army."

" It was surprising that nothing fell during the opening games and Indians could start the function on time !"

" No one will ever know if the swimming pool was contaminated or not."

Many of these comments made references to history and incidents which had little to do with the unfortunate lead up to the Games. The media and the readers were less interested in criticising the mishandling of Games and more interested in finding faults with India as such. Perhaps the most common observation was the use of adjective "third world country" to describe India. Not only did it display their ignorance about India, but also displayed a "perceived superiority complex" they seem to harbour. Many of them were quite judgemental in their tone and did not refrain from being assertive and passing sermons as to what should be "right" for India and her people to pursue.

It is extremely unfortunate to note that some media persons devoted their entire time in hoping for something to go wrong during the opening ceremony and the Games, and in the end getting surprised that how could everything be all right at the end. Even when the officials had cleared the pool water, some British media persons were left unsatisfied and blamed the sickness of their players on the "poor quality" of water. It did not occur to them to think as to why only the British (and some Australian) swimmers complained of issues and not swimmers from other nationalities. The poor attendance during the first couple of days gained more media coverage than the packed houses during the later stages. 

Everything not so good about the games was exaggerated to the fullest and presented with the choicest of headlines, and everything worth commending about the games were generally given very less (or no) coverage. It was as if the Games presented "the media" and "their readers" a chance to trash India to the fullest and now one was ready to let it go waste !

Now when I point out the above comments by the people in the West, I do not, for a moment, argue that they were entirely incorrect in their observations. Some of the arguments made are valid and genuine as far as India and Indians are concerned. Infrastructure woes, corruption levels, poverty, pollution etc. are no doubt serious challenges lying ahead of India.

These problems have been there for many years now but as the aspirations of India rise at an increasing pace and as India makes rapid strides towards growth and development, these problems demand more serious, more vigil and more cohesive action from each one of us. We must not allow these problems to stifle India's progress. We also need to act in a more responsible and mature manner while dealing with sensitive issues. This also gives us all the more reason for us to demand a strong and visionary leadership for India, a point I had raised in one of my earlier posts.

But, my mind again goes back to ask me the same question- when will the race against  race get over ?