Why I don’t want the UPA government to lose the trust vote – so that Mr M.S.Gill can continue as Sports Minister

The Congress-led UPA government faces a massive test when it faces the no trust vote on the 22nd of July. I am mostly indifferent to their predicament and will reserve judgement on the nuclear issue and the state of the Indian economy but there is one thing which makes me pray for their survival – this government has finally given us a capable sports minister in M.S.Gill and as a sports loving Indian, I dread the thought of a new government in New Delhi which will mean a return to the days of good for nothing sports ministers once again.

So what makes M.S.Gill better than the other sports ministers?

M.S.Gill is an avid sports enthusiast and hence he is concerned about the state of affairs of sports in this country.Most others have not known the A B C D of sports and haven’t really bothered about doing anything. More importantly, he is willing to take initiative and actually make a tangible difference. Unlike the previous incumbent, Mani Shanker Aiyer, who was also a ‘sports fan’ (at least he claimed to be one) but a spineless and dormant minister, M.S.Gill is action orientated and willing to use the power he wields

In a short stint of less than six months this is what Mr M.S.Gill has done

• He first went ahead and forced the supremely dictatorial and grossly incompetent K.P.S Gill to step down from the post of IHF (Indian Hockey Federation) chief. This in spite of the fact that K.P.S still holds a lot of clout in Punjab – home state of both Gills and his sacking could have had far reaching political implications. Mr Aiyer should now be literally forced to wear ‘Chudis’ (bangles) and sit at home.
  
• He then incurred the wrath of politicians and film stars by calling for only sportspersons to be allowed as torch –bearers in the Olympic torch relay. He then practised what he preached by refusing the invitation to be a torch bearer himself. The likes of Amitabh ‘UP’s poor farmer’ Bacchan were incensed but Gill cared a damn
• Mr Gill has lambasted the public broadcaster – Doordarshan for giving the Junior Asia Cup Hockey a miss. Most ministers have let Doordarshan misuse its position and dictate terms to sports federations and private channels but have rarely taken it to task for failing to fulfil its national obligations.
• Mr Gill has also taken the initiative to talk to Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon and invite him to bring his side to India. The Spanish club are already interested and the minister’s move could give a major fillip to football in India. Compare that to the initiatives taken by another minister in the same UPA cabinet – Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who is also the head of the AIFF ( All India Football Federation) – he has ensured that India have dropped 60 places in the FIFA rankings in his tenure.

Is there a scenario where the BJP could just settle for making the likes of Das Munshi the scapegoats for everything and let the others like Gill carry on?

Or can the Congress offer Das Munshi’s head to pacify the Communists in West Bengal in return for their support?

Just imagine what all Mr Gill could achieve, if he was allowed to continue. Based on the above points we can say with reasonable confidence that M.S.Gill is easily the best sports minister that India has had in living memory. I would be very pained to see him go and be replaced by a total jack-ass in the next cabinet.

It’s the possibility of that pain that forces me pray for the UPA government to survive their acid test. I appeal to all the sports-loving members of parliament to forget their party loyalties and vote for the greater good of sport in this country.

Sphere: Related Content

The day we killed Hockey

The Union Ministry of Sports has decided to demote hockey from the ‘priority’ to the ‘general’ category. This means that Indian Hockey will now receive less money from the Centre and that would have an adverse affect on a number of things — right from sending players abroad for competitions to conducting coaching camps and providing sports equipment. Hockey has been demoted due to the lack of international success, and has been replaced by sports like Wushu, Kayaking and canoeing. The ministry deemed them to have more medal prospects than hockey. The message is loud and clear – that hockey is as good as dead and we have no future in the game.

Iam totally flabbergasted by the arcane logic of the ministry. Had the ministry been a parent, they would have stopped feeding their child, and sending him to school, for getting bad grades, rather than getting extra tuition or paying more attention to the child’s home-work.

Secondly, it is brainless comparing a team sport with an individual one, in terms of their medal winning potential (‘number’ of medals that can be won in that sport). You can only win one medal in a team sport, whereas a sport like canoeing would easily have around 40-50 on offer. It requires the collective effort of eleven players to win team events, whereas a swimmer like Michael Phelps alone can get you half a dozen medals.

Football and volleyball have also been penalized for poor performances - fair point. So what about cricket then? We have recently justified the ICC’s decision to give test status to Bangladesh. And mind you, cricket is hardly a global sport. There are just a handful of nations who play it and the only time it featured in the Olympics was way back in 1904. Cricket deserves special treatment, but Hockey doesn’t? The last time I heard it was still our national game and remains to this date the only sport, where we have won an Olympic gold.

The despotic president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), KPS Gill is unperturbed by the decision. After all, his Herculean efforts to kill the game have finally started to bear fruit. If only the govt took some affirmative action in taking him to task and not the game itself.

Finally, special thanks to the sports minister, Mr. Mani Shanker Aiyer, for the timing of his announcement. On the same day, a youthful Indian side under a new coach had raised new hope by storming into the semi-final of the Azlan Shah Trophy. Greater irony in the fact, that this year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the ‘First War of Indian Independence’- and murder the ‘game’ which did more than any ‘war’ in bringing the people of this country together and giving it back to the British (In the 1948 London Olympics, a newly independent India beat Great Britain in the final). I bet the likes of Dhyan Chand (Hockey’s equivalent of Pele and Bradman) and Balbir Singh are turning in their graves.

Sphere: Related Content