Indian Cricket: Blemish face with an Aureole around

Dhiyanesh Ravichandran.

As a born Indian I'm not supposed to say that I dislike Cricket. May be not the game in itself but by the way it is played here. So, by the way, how is it played here in India? Just a play or a fair play?

What we have made is a true religion out of cricket. The new religion has millions of followers and sympathizers for various cults. They see cricket as a matter of national and regional pride; they preach, unite and fight for it. They fall victims to the bloody traps of cults created by the cricket industry, waste their life and energy for something that has always remained a mirage - means the reality is always something else unknown to masses, in the oblivion. And IPL has become a festival of such a religious affiliation! So, anyone questioning anything related to this religion is considered as infidels and frowned upon.

As a society, our memory is very short. We are not aliens to scams and scandals too. We have seen all types and forms of corrupt practices in all walks of life. So, the present-day news breakers of betting and match-fixing scandal will move off our memory very soon. Indian cricket and IPL will be untainted as ever because we have seen thousands of such issues popping out now and then and fading off in the oblivion. Anyone remember why Mr. Lalit Modi was kicked off from the IPL? Why was Mr. Dalmia a controversial figure at the BCCI?

IPL is a high-end entertainment grabbing masses, but its darker side is very less known. Nor people are interested to know more about the reality. Young students who form a huge chunk of the fan lot, never wants to know what their stars and the amusements do to them. If a movie fails to entertain and live up to its hype, we cannot say we feel cheated. But sabotaging the audience's right to a fair game free of any corrupt practices should definitely considered a case of cheating. The IPL is publicized as a fund-raising project of the BCCI. However, it has never said anything about for whom are the funds raised. The event helps the rich to become richer by exploiting the interest of cricket lovers. 

It is an utter amazement to note how things are taken for granted in India for the sake of cricket. The BCCI, ever since its foundation in 1928 has remained as a "private club consortium" or a sports association. It has its own governing body and autonomy. It has the authority to select players, umpires and officials to participate in international events and exercises total control over them. Without its recognition, no competitive cricket involving BCCI-contracted Indian players can be hosted within or outside the country. Being an apex governing body of cricket in India, there has never been an attempt to undertake it directly by the Sports ministry or to make it a constitutionally recognised body. Nor it is accountable to the constitution of India. 

The administrators of the BCCI are obviously the bigwigs from the corporate houses and politics. Mr. N.Srinivasan, the current president, is the managing director of India cements Limited. He was earlier the secretary of the board. He owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise in IPL. Incredible isn't it? Until 2008, BCCI regulation, Clause 6.2.4 stated that "no administrator of BCCI could have had, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches or events conducted by the cricket board". Later, after the start of IPL in 2007, the clause was amended to give unfavorable benefit to BCCI members such that they can own stakes in the IPL franchise. The case against Mr. Srinivasan on the grounds of conflict of interest is still pending in the Supreme Court.

His son-in-law Mr. Meiyappan, who was the Team principal of CSK, has now been arrested by the police for his alleged contacts with an actor who served as a conduit for bookies. This raises questions about both the nature of his indulgences in the betting and match-fixing scam and the extent to which the father-in-law was aware of these. Other rules are bent too. Two players charged with taking drugs in a party were allowed to take part in the IPL matches. 

This is a serious crisis of credibility that Indian cricket is facing. The world's richest cricket board BCCI is always seen as a golden duck by business tycoons, politicians and fixers who are interested only in power and money. The IPL - packaging entertainment as a sport with the ultimate aim of making money has a plenty of scope for the shady dealings of the kind being unearthed now. There is absolutely no transparency in the IPL and the BCCI, to which allegations the body responded some years back by pointing out Lalit Modi, whose brainchild the IPL was. No other actions were taken against other culprits in and outside the body. The sports ministry must push in reforms and take over plans of the BCCI to restore public confidence on the cricket in India and to save the game. Cricket fans must realise the other side of how the sport passion and the interest of the masses are exploited. Only then, cricket in India will be a fair play. The bright aureole around must not a plausible explanation to undermine the blemished face of Indian cricket.

Ode to Bhopal

Ode to Bhopal

Human life, Human life,

There it goes down the drain.

No sword, no knife,

Just toxic food and grain.

No honey, not money,

Bills won’t ease my pain.

Green field, plenty yield,

Is what I want to gain.

You fly, I die,

Under thy command.

“You live, I not cry”,

Is all, I demand.

Come ye, all to see,

Injustice Served to all,

Oh ye, find me,

“At my guillotine, Bhopal”.

By

Vikram Savio Moses

Fake Medical Certifications

     When the whole nation chants the anti-corruption slogans, looking corruption from different vantage points and at different levels is necessary. Take the case of the fake medical certificates in our day-to-day lives. We require medical certificates either for applying for medical leaves, or for getting monetary reimbursements. And there are several doctors who are ready to issue such inappropriate certificates. We, as common people, do not consider such practices as a fraud, and claim it to be common practice. It is also a sort of corruption, though insignificant, at minuscule level. But the menace of fake medical certificates is having multi-faceted effects.

     There were few issues raised with the help of media such as the fake certifications fraud in the airline industry. But lesser is the news about certified and practicing doctors having no qualms in releasing fake medical certificates. Unfortunately, the fact is that unlike other certified professions (CA, for instance), where one can take to task the person who provides a false certificate, there is no mass propaganda by the government to suspend or debar doctors who have no qualms in giving fake certificates.

     Last year, the administrators of Jamia Millia Islamia University debarred around 200 students who provided fake medical certificates (to compensate for their poor attendance) in order to become eligible for the examination and police complaints were also filed against 12 doctors accused for issuing those certificates. Such corruption of fake certification is rampant with the job seekers too as most of the companies ask a medical fitness certificate at the time of joining.

     Such practice is also widespread among government employees, bureaucrats, VIPs and politicians. Many of them are fraudulently certified that the person needs immediate hospitalisation just before an arrest. From Ramalinga Raju to Yeddyruppa, from Kalmadi to Amar Singh, the fact remains apparent. In 2001, in an infamous case in the Allahabad court, Deepti - a victim of dowry torture - was declared mentally unfit by doctors and was even sent to a mental asylum only to be later released, when it was proved otherwise. How can one forget Dr JS Bedi who issued a fake medical certification to Vikas Gill (convict of the Jessica Lal murder case) stating that he was unwell and needed rest.

     So, it is clear that we lack morality and ethics in our lives and profession, combined by our double-standard mentality. Corruption, when starts from the grass root level, can only be uprooted from the base level. And the initiative must start within ourselves.....

What should we protest for actually?

Rightly said by Dhiyanesh that the bill can focus on being pro-people and protect the victims of corruption instead of adding further burden on the economy of India by creating an independent body for investigation of corruption which does not provide enough for being corruption free itself later on. Mr. Anna Hazare should seriously consider his protest for Lokpal which might not solve the problem it focuses on instead would add to it. Considering that the body he intends to establish becomes corrupt it would end up adding burden upon the common man as he would be paying little higher than regular to keep the person added to the chain satisfied as well.

In order to eradicate corruption it is essential to protest against such cases and support people who do so. This would be easily feasible also is self-corrective in nature as any false case can be penalized. Social active people and those with high urge against corruption can come together to set up small bodies in each state to find such people who are in need of help and bring the issue to light. Youth of this country can do the same as they are seen to be really active regarding this issue.

Passing of such bills will only add to the length of our constitution and not be purposeful. No matter how much of transparency is promised, in our nation, eventually bodies end up becoming corrupt and none of us would want to set up body powerful enough of rocking the whole country by its head in hope that it would never fall into wrong hands.

For an effective LOKPAL

The term ‘Lokpal’ is getting highly contentious day by day.  There is an urgent call for a comprehensive review of the draft bill and for incorporating some fundamental working modalities. Other than the prevalent issues like the inclusion of PM, Judiciary under the Lokpal’s ambit, its power and conflict of interest, etc., there are few other  aspects that gets least attention. For instance, take the issue of low-level corruption involving every-day bribes for acquiring driving licences, birth certificates, community certificates, patta for land ownership, etc. Specific cases of corruption of this kind are taken up for formal investigation when the harassed victims come up as complainants. However, the primary desire of the victims will be to get their grievances redressed without delay. Prosecution and punishment of the corrupt functionary have a lower priority in their perception. They would be happy if their grievances are redressed, and would willingly let the matter rest there.

It is therefore most necessary to build into the Lokpal set up an effective mechanism for grievance redress on par to punishments and prosecutions. Justice Ramanujam Committee set up by the government of Tamil Nadu had recommended in 1997 a detailed working scheme for this purpose. Unfortunately the state government shelved action on this important recommendation, merely noting that it may await central legislation on Lokpal!

The draft Lokpal Bill by the government apparently revolves around the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PoCA) in most of the aspects. Instead, it can go along the lines of Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 so that it will be pro-people, focusing more on victims.

In terms of independency of Ombudsman bodies, much is debated about its freedom from political and managerial influences, which is apparent in early anti-corruption agencies. Beyond this, these bodies must have their constabulary, necessary powers for arrests and prosecution and their own cadre of prosecutors to handle cases in courts and must not depend on any other departments for their processes. Their dependency hampers their speedy and effective investigation.

The states should not be empowered to legislate their state ombudsman bodies (Lokayuktas) on their own. They should be firmly anchored by a uniform central legislation on national interest.

Do we have the will to Change??

The surfeit of scams in India is really worrying. Corruption is fueled by greed rather than need. It is an affliction that goes right down the grass-root level, where professions are sold out to the filthy lucre. So, how can it be defeated with the passage of a single Lokpal Bill, or for say, hundreds of legislation??? Even there are strict legislations against the practice of Dowry? But, do we need any statistical proof to prove the persistence of that unethical system???? Not at all.... very obvious.

We are highly addicted to consumerism, where happiness and achievement is always attributed to the acquisition of material goods. With this social mindset, corruption will exist, no matter what kind of legislation is passed. So, along with legislation we also need education to tackle that demon. It means a moral education, starting from homes and schools, parents and teachers must work towards placing money in its right place among the young minds. Corruption can be defeated only by a social change that is as deep-rooted as itself. Now, the question is, do we have the will to engineer changes??