The Commonwealth Games is symptomatic of the
deeper decay, decadence, and
debilitation of our moral and
ethical standards. It is not just
about Suresh Kalmadi. It is
about much more, notes Sanjay
Jha.
At the peak of the Indian Premier
League scam in May
this year, I was frequently asked
by many; 'Just why don't you
guys leave Lalit Modi alone? If he has made money, so
what? At least he has given us
great summer entertainment.
You guys are just party-poopers.'
They would then proceed to
book their tables at the tony
Wasabi restaurant, Taj Mahal
hotel , Mumbai.
I often replied thus: 'What about
franchise bid rigging, blatant
conflict of interest, offshore
kickback deals, private
profiteering in vendor contracts,
Enforcement Directorate and
income tax violations, betting,
match-fixing, slush money...?'
But my monologue would be
rudely interrupted: 'Oh come on,
there are so many who are
corrupt. I am sure he is not the
only one. Catch the big fish in the
sea.'
As the 2010 Commonwealth
Games scam unfolds, Organising
Committee head Suresh Kalmadi's
demeanour indicates that it is his
birthright to indulge in frivolous
expenditure of a few double
digit crores.
There is an imperceptible,
nonetheless oppressive,
presence of casual nonchalance:
What's the big deal if there have
been some surreptitious crooked
contracts?
After all, the now-celebrated
Organising Committee has only a
measly Rs 2,400 crores (Rs 24
billion) allocated, compared to
the overall still-ballooning budget
outlay of Rs 40,000 crores (Rs
400 billion)?
Such a dismal, low percentage; is
it even worth its salt to call for an
incisive investigation?
Kalmadi's mind-set is a
personification of what affects
India; it is the magnitude of
corruption that matters
nowadays, not the act itself.
Thus, our new-found tolerance
for 'minor' shenanigans.
In the age of A Raja and Reddy
brothers, when we are tossing
about Rs 60,000 crores (Rs 600
billion) as effortlessly as fried
noodles in a wok, Kalmadi and ilk
believe their criticism is grossly
exaggerated.
In their opinion, a few crores is
as insignificant as used toilet
paper which needs to be
disdainfully dispatched. Hence,
his palpable outrage for the
endless questioning. I thought
Kalmadi really looked
sympathetically at his inquisitors
as he unleashed a damage
control exercise.
I also feel we Indians are yet to
emerge out of the personality
trap, the hero-worshipping
paradigm. Despite boasting of
our new managerial-
entrepreneurial culture, there is
this preposterous perception
that the Commonwealth Games
cannot be held in the absence of
Kalmadi & Co. It is utter rubbish!
India is not short on talent, and
since when did we believe that
self-promoting over-rated
characters are indispensable?
The CWG scam reflects why
Kalmadi fought against his own
party colleague, Sports Minister M
S Gill, when the latter correctly
tried to limit the tenure of
politicians heading sports
federations.
In a cricket–obsessed country, the
CWG provides a global platform
for our athletes and
sportspersons to display their
talent, grab the limelight, and
achieve national and worldwide
glory. Besides, they could get
better jobs and even commercial
endorsements.
Kalmadi has, at least temporarily,
done incalculable damage to
their morale. He has to own up
moral responsibility for the
unpalatable mess that he has
created for them.
While the whole world appeared
to be somewhat markedly
stunned by Agriculture Minister
Sharad Pawar's involvement with City
Corporation, the firm that made a
failed bid for the Pune IPL
franchise bid, one conspicuous
fact was surprisingly missed by
the otherwise discerning media,
or was it conveniently
overlooked?
Just why and how was Pawar
holding equity stock in a real
estate company? While it may be
a genuine investment, politicians
in land deals are a legendary
source of corruption in our
country.
Pawar's is far from an isolated
case. In fact, he is in
distinguished company.
The Government of India should
keep out of mega global
commercial events like the CWG
as they are beyond its mental
grasp, logistical capabilities and
professional expertise. These
need to be outsourced to
experienced international sports
and event management firms on
a strict performance-based fee
structure.
The only role the Organising
Committee should have played
was of effective facilitator, doing
overall coordination with
multiple agencies.
In the early days of the CWG
scam, a noteworthy development
went unnoticed. An 82-year- old
woman, Vidya Stokes, was
elected to head Indian hockey.
We sure are a sporting nation,
folks. A sporting country reflects
its national character, its
confidence, spirit, self-belief and
zest for success and life.
In India, instead of preparing for
victory speeches, we do dry-runs
for rationalising our failure.
The CWG is symptomatic of the
deeper decay, decadence, and
debilitation of our moral and
ethical standards.
It is not just about Kalmadi. It is
about much more.
Amitabh Bachchan was our Angry Young Man of the
1970s, rebelling against corrupt
cops, shady bootleggers,
unscrupulous factory-owners
and sundry extortionists. I
watched his Zanjeer and Deewaar several times. The
modern-day avatar is too busy
choosing between the iPhone
and Blackberry. Or Bangkok and
Bali.
As long as the shopping festival
is on, and a multiplex is around,
he is 'essentially' satisfied. Has
middle-class India lost its moral
fibre amidst the glittering
facades of towering malls?
During our post-grad days in the
mid-1980s, Priya Tendulkar
shone incandescent in a
Doordarshan serial, and as Rajni
charmed Sunday households
with her audacious challenges to
gas dealers, employment
exchange officers, postmen,
builders, politicians, doctors and
bad bosses. But today Rajni does
not exist; maybe some things
have genuinely improved; or
have they?
I see no anger, no sense of
revulsion, or a desire to protest
anymore. We just do not seem to
care. The rage is missing.
In India corruption is now
deemed a function of size with a
unanimous agreement on 'Yes,
we are all corrupt, but he is a
bigger racketeer than me, blah
blah.' Thus, the small-time crook
if caught stealing actually begins
to have a self-righteous belief
that he is only an unfortunate
pawn.
Seriously, can you really blame
the poorly paid traffic constable
for pocketing a measly 50 bucks
when he gets a daily installment
of Kamadi & Co's accumulating
reserves?
In matters of corruption, there is
no such thing as theory of
relativity, no niggling nebulous
grey areas. In public life, the
margin of error is and should be
zero.
Like Lalit Modi, Kalmadi does not
deserve any sympathy
whatsoever.
The state of decomposition runs
deeper, and this is why Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh needs to not just smell
the coffee, but even take a sip of
the caffeine. If even the men who
are supposed to defend our
boundaries are accused of
financial impropriety by the
Comptroller and Auditor General
of India, we have a grave crisis
outside our door. And facts do
not cease to exist merely because
we ignore them.
The annual rate of growth of
corruption has exceeded the rate
of inflation by a whopping
margin. Despite lowering
personal and corporate tax rates,
why has India's parallel economy
held fort at a staggering 40 per
cent of the GDP? Is it because
corruption has seeped to such
unfathomable depths that it is
now in our DNA, become our
infallible pillar of daily existence?
A Raja, the Reddy Brothers, Lalit
Modi, Amit Shah, Madhusudan
Koda, Suresh Kalmadi, Ramalinga
Raju -- it is an
impressive list covering a
diversified occupational base.
India sure needs to worry.
We are the cynosure of global
capital and perceived as a
political heavyweight, a future
G-3 member and UN Security
Council player. But reputation
matters. Another BRIC country, Brazil, will
hold a mammoth and difficult
event, the football World Cup, in
2014.
India needs to move on
determined to make a difference.
Sorry Mani Shankar Aiyar, but despite the CWG
shame, we should still bid for the
Asian Games in 2019. After all,
even a country is entitled to
redemption.
Sanjay Jha is author, consultant,
and co-runs a political blog
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