On the rocks
M.k. kaw
The entire nation has been mystified by the shenanigans of the Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh of UPA2 has not been even a distant cousin of the Manmohan of UPA1. Naturally, this has raised eyebrows.
Reams of paper have been devoted to an analysis of his inactivity, his lassitude, his laissez faire, as if it is the result of a well thought out policy. Even his silence in the face of criticism has been variously ascribed to a gag order by Sonia Gandhi, the natural reaction of a noble soul being forced to preside over an empire of evil, or even a desire to appear sphinx-like and let the latter day oracles of Delphi speculate to their heart’s content!
His sudden spurt of activity in terms of resuming the reforms process, permission to foreign direct investment, disinvestment, reduction of subsidies on petroleum products, new regime ordered for State Electricity Boards, his concessions to ex-servicemen and Central Government employees et al have fuelled further speculation on his motives. Some have hinted at the prospects of a mid-term poll, some to a desire to go under with a splash like the Titanic, while a few have hinted at far out explanations like his having imbibed a Patiala peg too many.
But a recent development in the field of cricket seems to throw another kind of light on the situation. When Harbhajan Singh — Bhajji, another fine specimen of the khalsa tribe, took four wickets for 12 runs in a league match preceding the T-20 World Cup series, a reporter asked him how he felt about the stupendous achievement. Bhajji just shrugged his shoulders and disclaimed any credit for the achievement. The fact is that he had been out of form for the past more than a year and was waiting for it to come back. It had suddenly returned and how!
Bhajji is not alone in speculating on a mysterious entity called “form”. In an ad, Yuvraj Singh says something similar. “It all depends on the bat. So long as runs keep on getting scored by a bat, the player is in demand. The moment this flood of runs gets obstructed, the player too is finished.” Mark his words. It is the bat that is responsible, not the player!
Even the redoubtable Sachin is not immune from superstition. Every time he scores a century, he raises his bat heavenwards and rolls his eyes at the skies. Whether he is giving thanks to his father, to Sai Baba or some other divine personage, he too is not claiming credit for himself!
Considering that cricket and democracy are the two most abiding passions and the two most lucrative professions of the Indian people, it is strange that political analysts have not taken a leaf from the cricket commentators’ books. One is wonderstruck at how much cricket can teach our politicians.
Starting with the basic initial premise that cricket is a gentleman’s game and so many practices are universally rejected as “not being cricket”, we have a host of lessons to learn.
Look at the manner in which the captain of the team is nominated. There is no dynasty at work here. If it were, Saif Ali Khan would not be a film actor. Sachin Tendulkar’s son would be somewhat like Rahul, waiting for the right opportunity to take over the mantle of his father.
A captain’s selection is a collective decision made by the selectors. In Indian politics, we would have a vastly improved system if we had a band of selectors for the top job. A captain is selected just for a series. Different persons may be nominated for different versions of the game. A Saurabh Ganguly might be suddenly dropped like a hot potato. A Virendar Sehwag might be nominated for the T-20 version. Even a vastly successful Mohinder Singh Dhoni does not feel secure on the throne.
Imagine the face of Indian democracy if we had a group of selectors, consisting of Presidents of the parties forming the coalition, a few former Prime Ministers and some renowned political analysts, journalists and psephologists. Think of a situation in which a Prime Minister was nominated for each session of Parliament. Then the incumbent PM would really be on his mettle. He could not afford to be off his form. If he was criticized, he could not afford to keep quiet. He would have to be at his parliamentary best.
The biggest lesson would be available in the manner offences are taken note of, inquired into and punished. There is a hierarchy of authorities, with appellate mechanisms at each level. Punishments are graded, immediately imposed and gracefully accepted. An international body like the ICC is also involved.
Imagine the G-2 scam or Coalgate being enquired into by a hierarchy of agencies, with the United Nations also being in the picture. There would be a sea change in the political environment!—INFA
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