Things we are doing wrong collectively.

Undeserved attention, rewards, adulation to P.V. Sindhu

1. I need not talk about her achievements in sports. They are illustrious and phenomenal. But I fail to understand that what on this earth qualifies her for the post of Deputy Collector for which many poor, rich, disabled, backward etc students burn their midnight oil for ?

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Maybe the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri Chandrababu Naidu thinks she has a badminton shot ready to tackle all of it.

Pity ! And I thought that I was the only one who thinks that these students were stupid to just toil for years first preparing for the exam and then in the Training Institute.

Anyway her attendance in the Collector’s office would be much like that of Lord Tendulkar’s in Rajya Sabha.

I wonder why Tendulkar and Sindhu took up these jobs knowing well that they won’t be able to do justice to them. They should be aware that their salaries and allowances come from the valuable money of tax payers. They should have also known that some very deserving candidates in their place could have done much better jobs. Anyway they had had lucrative careers.

But who doesn’t want a free ride in India ? Hats off Tendulkar and Sindhu !

Well Played !

I don’t blame Shri Chandrababu Naidu for offering her a lot of money (I will talk about this later) and that post to her.

After all in the next elections he would have something to claim.

“ Please vote for us. If you do, we will ensure that nothing good becomes of the common man. But yes we will continue to seek acclaim by offering important government posts to useless people who have no idea how to go about them, just like us.”

It is unbelievable that the leaders of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh even went to the extent of fighting over the fact that whether Sindhu belonged to Telangana or Andhra Pradesh.

Such “Honourable Buffoons”.

I wonder where were they and their stashes of cash when Sindhu’s coach Pulela Gopichand had to mortgage his house to be able to finance a training academy for Badminton.

2. Rewards for winning the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics

₹5 crore (US$780,000), and a land grant  from the Government of  Telangana.

₹30 lakh (US$47,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.

₹1.01 lakh (US$1,600) from Salman Khan, for qualifying as an Olympic participant.

₹3 crore (US$470,000), a Group A cadre job(Deputy Collector of Andhra Pradesh) and 1000 square yd land grant from the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

₹2 crore (US$310,000) from the Government of Delhi.

₹75 lakh (US$120,000) from her employer, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, with promotion from assistant to deputy sports manager.

₹50 lakh (US$78,000) from the Government of Haryana.

₹50 lakh (US$78,000) from the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

₹50 lakh (US$78,000) from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

₹50 lakh (US$78,000) from Badminton Association of India.

₹50 lakh (US$78,000) from NRI businessman, Mukkattu Sebastian.

₹5 lakh (US$7,800) from All India Football Federation.

BMW car from the Hyderabad District Badminton Association and as well as Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Miniature badminton racquet memento with gold and diamond from Kirtilals.

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I wonder why such hefty amounts of money have been showered on a sportsperson whose only achievements have been winning some medals at international level.

I am sure that playing and winning matches at international level require the highest levels of sportsmanship and talent. Sindhu has worked very hard.

But so does a labourer who works all day and is still not able to meet his ends.

In a country as poor and underdeveloped as India how can we afford to waste so much money just to glorify the leaders who award them ?

And mind the fact that these awards are in excess of the legitimate Remuneration, Allowances, National Awards and so on.

And apart from platonic returns that Sindhu brings in by winning matches what service is she doing for the nation or for that matter any sportsperson in India ?

The sad truth is that they contribute nothing majorly. The sponsors that they bring in pay a hefty fees to the government but God knows where that revenue goes. And that is also true about only Cricket. The kind of money that is involved has led to widespread corruption in BCCI and to scams like that of Commonwealth Games 2010.

3. One thing which is very sad is the dismal performance of India in every sport except Cricket. Just look at the performance in Olympics. It would be better that we do not send in any team there at all. Because we won’t win medals anyway. A major cause for this is the lack of infrastructure to train athletes.

An interesting observation in this regard is that the lack of training infrastructure is not due to the lack of money. This is so because the kind of monetary rewards Sindhu received after winning the Silver Medal are enough to fund some quality infrastructure to train athletes at the national level.

But Politicians don’t care. Why would they ?

Sadly even Sindhu does not care. Despite having a platform to speak up and bringing this issue to light, Sindhu decides to take the rewards, a free bureaucratic Job and keep mum.

Why should she worry ?

Perhaps I expect too much from her. Before asking her I should pay heed to the fact that even I have done nothing for the welfare of the nation. Even I have taken free rides when I got the chance.

I am not a National Icon.

But so is P.V. Sindhu.

She is a mere Badminton Player.

But we do have a National Icon.

Kailash Satyarthi

1. I am very sure that all those stupid Tendulkar fans who went berserk when Maria Sharapova denied knowing him do not even now Kailash Satyarthi. Although his contribution for this nation’s welfare is much greater than any sportsperson let alone Tendulkar, even the most sane people of India came to know about him only when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

2. He is the person that India needs but does not deserve at all. It is a shame that his efforts were recognized by foreign enclaves like the Nobel Prize Foundation but his own country failed to recognize him.

Well, they were busy awarding Amitabh Bachchan the stupidest award only presented in countries like India : “Star of the Millenium”. Either this or may be they were making John Travolta dance to the tunes of “Lungi Dance” at IIFA awards.

3. Satyarthi is involved with a major movement called “Bachpan Bachao Aandolan” credited with saving the lives of almost 83,000 children from bonded labour.

4. I am very sure that he might never get awarded the Bharat Ratna which he deserves more than anyone else around. Because I am very sure that Bonded Labour is not as glamorous as Cricket or Film or Music.

This guy has no fans.

Sad.

Pathetic.

EDIT 1:

1. I would like to point out that I do not believe in name calling to prove my point. I also do not believe in blaming others for not being righteous enough. It is their call just like mine. But I had to take names because that was the only way to prove my point otherwise this would have been a general debate and people would have called me a lunatic. As you all may have noticed I have cited the relevant source whenever I have made a point.

2. As Jahnavi Patel pointed out, I think I should clarify myself here.

My comparison of an athlete to a labourer, though looks very awkward, is justifiable. First, both are citizens of this country. Second, lets not say that any athlete who plays for India makes it proud. Because anyone who does anything being an Indian citizen either makes India proud or disgraced.

I will explain how.

An army soldier fights for the nation at the border and gives away his life fighting for the country. He makes the nation proud. Not awarded 200 million and a deputy collector’s post to his relative.

A labourer works hard all day. Earns his living. Contributes to the GDP. Acts as a backbone to the manufacturing sector. Meagre income. No access to healthcare and education. Still survives. Makes India proud. No 200 million and a Deputy Collector’s post.

A Physicist in India works hard and researches to make inventions and discoveries despite the poor infrastructure as well as poorly paid reserach fellowships. Makes India proud. No 200 million and a deputy collector’s post.

An Economist works on theories related to economic development, poverty alleviation, welfare etc. Helps in real growth of the country. Poor salaries and allowances.  Makes India proud. No 200 million and a deputy collector’s post.

An important point here to note is that I have mentioned ‘Deputy Collector’s post’ liberally throughout. Its usage is arbitrary. I mean what would a Physicist do with a Collector’s job. Here I mean to say that in return for his services he is given employment in a sphere where his expertise does not lie. For example, a Physicist is given the job of the Chief Security Advisor of the country by the government as a favour for his research in a completely different area.

The reason employed behind all these weaknesses of the system.

“India is a poor country, with a population of 1.35 billion.”

Boom comes the sportsman.

Works hard. wins a medal. national awards. land. job. car. 200 million. still counting…

How much reward did Pulela Gopichand receive who mortgaged his house to train sindhu ?

How much reward did Amartya Sen receive when he won the nobel prize for economics?

How much reward did Kailash Satyarthi receive when he won the nobel peace prize ?

A Nobel prize is equal to, if not greater than, an Olympics medal in terms of prestige and honour at “international level”.

A Bharat Ratna for liberating 83,000 children from bonded labour is equally desrved, if not more than, a Bharat Ratna for playing cricket while earning billions.

Do not compare Physicists, Economists  with Sportsmen. It is an insult to some of the noblest professions.

3. Naresh Jilla Do you check the news website when you plan to select the college you have to attend ? Or the hospital where you would take your grandmother to for her arthiritis ? Or which tourist spot you would like to visit next summer ? No. You find out yourself.

Do not blame media for not reporting an issue with greater coverage. What can they do ? When the only information Indians want is “Who is Virat Kohli’s next girlfriend ?”. Sorry Kohli. Had to say that.

4. I do not underestimate the importance of sports and its relative impact on the well being of people. But those 200 million could have helped set up a good Training Academy for athletes. We could have had many winners. There is a lot of talent going wasted due to utter lack of reverence and corruption and irresponsibility.

EDIT 2

1. Here is something good Manjinder Singh Swann has to say:

“In my opinion rather than giving her crores of Rs. government should have invested that money for the next Olympic preparations so that our athletes can perform better. Only few lakhs are enough for these athletes because after winning a medal at an event like Olympics these athletes already grab the attention of big brands which offer them advertisement contracts from which they can earn crores of Rs. 

On one hand some athletes don’t even have money to pay for the air tickets to attend Olympic, or to get a medical fitness certificate, or to prepare for the event, and on the other hand some athletes gets crores of Rs. just for winning Silver medal. 

Who knows if some of the athletes who don’t have money to prepare or who don’t have coach like Pullela can grab us a Gold medal if given a chance ?”

Originally written here.