Suspension of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a matter of national shame. In a major embarrassment for India, the IOC on Tuesday suspended the Indian Olympic Association because of Government interference in its election process, a development which puts a bar on the country’s Olympic participation. The decision to disaffiliate India was taken on the first day of the IOC’s two-day Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. IOC said that it decided to ban India as the IOA had failed to comply with Olympic Charter and also allowed a tainted official to contest elections for a top post.
IOA has been in the eye of the storm ever since New Delhi hosted Commonwealth Games event with dismal inefficiency and incompetence. Mega scam running in thousands of crore rupees marred the event and left the Indians bewildered and disappointed. This had sent the then sports minister behind the walls of Tihar jail for some time. The case lingers on in Indian courts. Along with unravelling of large scale corruption in this national sports organization, the sordid story of internal dissensions and rivalries in the sports ministry and its affiliate organizations also came to fore. People found that the organization was ridden with self-aggrandizement and favouritism. Indian media highlighted the dark side of this otherwise popular organization and public demand for enquiry into the functioning of IOA increased rapidly. But the lackadaisical manner in which the Government handled the incident further dampened the spirit of lovers of sports in the country. The message it sent to the broad world of sports lowered the prestige of the country. It must also have weighed with the IOC members when they took the decision of expelling India from world Olympics.
Back home, our sports fraternity has been usually critical of the Government for lack of genuine and reasonable interest in promoting sports in the country. India is the second largest populated country in the world. We should have a big share in medal winning spree at world sports events. That is not the case. A single gold is no big achievement for us. This is absolutely unsatisfactory position. The reason is not that we don’t have the talent or the spirit for sportsmanship. The real reason is Government’s apathy towards promotion of sports and providing efficient infrastructure that would earn Indian a prestigious place among the leading sports countries. Lack of interest, miserly funding, self-aggrandizement, incompetence and absence of accountability all combine to make our national sports institution a laughing stock. Now imagine that the Acting Chief of IOA V.K. Malhotra telling reporters that he had been remonstrating with the Government for two years in the past not to impose Sports Code on IOA for elections but to no avail. He had even written to the Prime Minister and also anticipated the consequences but there was no response. How are we to explain this rather recklessness on the part of the Government? Who shall we hold responsible for the shame that has been inflicted on the nation?
Escapists might say that India is neither the only nor the first country to be expelled by the IOC for one or the other reason. Others, too, have also gone through the ordeal. That gives us no solace. Should we compare India with a small country like Yemen and then take solace that we are not the only one to suffer humiliation? It is atrocious. Every fourth man in the world is an Indian. We need to establish our strength, status and role in the world affairs. If our country is a signatory to the charter of the IOC, we need to show it due respect and not defy it. It should have been possible to find a solution to the issue when the court verdict was also there. The Sports Minister now calls for a round table meeting of stakeholders to cobble a consensual formula to clear the path for India’s re-entry into the international fold. The question is when the Government was well informed in time that a situation was about to develop that would put it in embarrassment of sorts why did it not pre-empt that situation and avoid bringing censure against the country.
Let it be made clear that Government’s negligence of the relevance of sports to the status of India in the comity of nations is unpardonable. It must come out of slumber and constitute a high power committee to open this tin of worms. Vested interests have tarnished its image and nothing short of total overhauling of the organization will redeem it once for all. Our athletes and sports stars are at wits end how to react to this sordid situation. Why should they get tied down to a humiliating situation when any country in the world would be too willing to lend them warmth and goodwill? The entire nation is on their side no Government has the authority to play with the sentiments of the people. IOA is in dire need of democratization and de-politicization. Unless that is done, its functioning will remain chaotic and disorganized.
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