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Politics and Public Policy in India

August 30, 2011 • 8:56 pm 2

Use CCI to tame BCCI

A proposed National Sports Bill by an enterprising Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Ajay Maken fell by the wayside in the Union Cabinet. The resistance was to be expected given the number of Ministers and political figures who have vested interest in Sports Administration in the country.  The intended aim of the Bill was to bring in term limits in the management of sports bodies for lesser commercialized sports. But the Bill also aimed to taken on the formidable Board of Cricket Control of India, BCCI by seeking to bring it within the ambit of the Right To Information Act (RTI) in the name of accountability and transparency to cricket fans.

The debate on the proposed bill evoked some interesting responses from many who put faith in such a legislation to some in the media drawing bizarre parallels with the Anna movement. Pratap Bhanu Mehta who made a perceptive remark the other day on “protecting accountability from statism” to seem to lean towards a RTI based solution to address BCCI’s accountability to cricketing fans.

There are some interesting lessons from the United States on the role of Legislation and Professional Sports. While the Major Sporting Leagues in the U.S. are akin to IPL, the BCCI as its parent could also be dealt with if we look upon sports as a private entertainment service that benefits disproportionately on account of its Monopolistic nature.

It should be asked why isnt the Competitition Commission of India (CCI) being petitioned to protect Cricket Fans’ interests. Unlike in the United States where explicitly legislation exempts some major sports leagues from coming within the ambit of monopoly laws, the CCI Act makes no such exemption. In fact the mandate of CCI seems to include protecting Consumers Interests in amusement and entertainment services not limited to commercial corporations.

So why isnt the Sports Minister petitioning CCI to tame BCCI instead of trying to push for a new legislation ?

Also read:

Social Justice in Cricket

IPL and Pakistan players

 

IPL and Conflicts of Interest

 

Filed under: Cricket, Cricket Governance

April 3, 2011 • 12:18 am 3

Attitude wins – ICC World Cup 2011

It was fitting that the 2011 World Cup Cricket win while being dedicated to Tendulkar was in the end scripted by his younger team mates. It was good to see the next generation of Indian Cricket come of its own to win the world cup for India 28 years on. Many columns will be written on the journey to this win. Not being much of a cricket watcher will keep this post short and sweet. Through the years since the 1983 win we have seen the many faces of Indian cricket from sheer technical brilliance to overwhelming perseverance that has left many a record shattered. What perhaps stands out in this win is the attitude of this generation of cricketers that seems to more than compensate for any gaps in technique or temperament. An attitude that seems to have served them well in situations where in the past technical brilliance was no guarantee against a complete moral meltdown.

In this moment of triumph this blog, that has borrowed a cricketing metaphor for its commentary, looks forward to a decade of Attitude to mark the rise of a new generation from cricket to our politics and public policy.

Filed under: Cricket

March 30, 2011 • 4:03 am 4

Pakistan has to lose

The mother of all cricket games is upon us. this blog with a cricketing metaphor for a name has no choice but to wade into the cacophony of voices on the outcome of today’s semi-finals for the ICC World Cup between India and Pakistan. For a moment during the build up to this last lap of the world cup, I was willing to forget, if not forgive, for a day the geopolitical background while looking forward to a good game of cricket be it in Mohali or Mumbai. Now that the Prime Minister has gone ahead and mixed geopolitics with Cricket let me go ahead and say this – Pakistan has no other option but to lose this semi finals to India.

The Prime Minister may be willing to delude himself with visions of a bonhomie that dont exist, but the cold reality is Justice has not been done on 26/11. There just is no way we can forget or forgive the wrongs of 26/11, the wounds are too raw. There just is no way we can persuade ourselves to willingly suspend our memories for a day or two now that the Prime Minister has gone out of his way to bring those very memories back to the forefront while he engages in sidebar geopolitics at Mohali while the game is on. 

In this environment if Pakistan were to win in the game against India and make their way to Mumbai, there will be no celebration of cricket. It will be funereal atmosphere with which they will be greeted. We can surely trust the Indian State to guarantee an incident free game of cricket in Mumbai, but the Indian State cannot expect us to cheer on a victory that has been  soured by lingering memories of Justice not done. Pakistan may win the game on sporting merit but there will be no spectator spirit contributing to that victory. It will be a Cup burdened by the sins of omission and commission of the Pakistan State.

Hence my anthem to all the 13 men in blue (including the one non-playing captain who will be playing geopolitics from the front foot) -  Whether by design, default or divine intervention Pakistan has to lose this semi-finals.

Filed under: Cricket

April 20, 2010 • 5:00 am 34

Why does supporttharoor.org matter ?

A website that sprang up in the wake of Shashi Tharoor’s unceremonious exit from the MEA has become an object of curiosity for several media outlets.

The launch of this website in support of Shashi Tharoor was announced on Twitter by his son. Vicky Nanjappa writing in the Rediff has more details on those who started the website.

At the time of publishing this post, the online pledge campaign in support of Tharoor had stalled well below the 5k mark in stark contrast to the 700k odd followers Tharoor has on Twitter.

But then Tharoor has not exactly solicited support through Twitter after his sacking. He has however sought time in the Parliament to make a second statement, this time on his resignation. It will be interesting to see what tone he takes against the Congress Party and its high command. Some reports suggest his statement will be vetted by the Party.

This is where the significance of this website lies. Siddharth Varadarajan writing in The Hindu put the underlying political logic of paratrooping Tharoor into perspective.

The website and associated online campaign is in many ways a test case for the Congress Party in general and Rahul Gandhi in particular on the targeting of the Cosmo Urban Middle Class with “feel good” politics.

Unlike the BJP which has had a longer history with online activism centered around Mr. Advani’s portal this is the first significant instance of digital activism centered around a Congress personality, ironically outside of its first family.

From talk of  “a double standard”, to references to “political eunuchs” - a sampling of anger bubbling on supporttharoor.org against the Congress High Command makes this digital activism all the more interesting.

Say what one may of Tharoor, in his defense it must be observed he has not invoked unflinching loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhis to make his defense.

The Nehru-Gandhis are not exactly known for their  tolerance of constituencies beyond the umbrella of the Parivar. One over-ambitious scion in Andhra has learned that unpalatable lesson.

As Shashi Tharoor attempts to make a case in his defense to Parliament for the second time, it will be interesting to see how the digital activism on supporttharoor.org evolves.

Will its Personality Cult centered around a non-Nehru-Gandhi be tolerated by a Congress High Command still struggling to reconcile Nehru Gandhi totalitarianism with inner party democracy experiments ?

Filed under: Cricket, DesiPundit, Shashi Tharoor, UPA-II Critical Appraisal

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  • On Third Front day dreams and Uttar Pradesh nightmares – Wrap up Podcast March 14, 2012
    A podcast conversation with  @dubash (http://phalaka.com) where we wrap up the Uttar Pradesh polls discussion with a look at the final numbers and analysis of vote shares. We also look ahead on all the buzz around Akhilesh Yadav, the rise of the Samajwadi Party and all of the day-dreaming over a possible Third Front Government [...]
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Opinions expressed on this site using the alias Offstumped are the blogger's personal opinions and do not in any way reflect the views of the blogger's Employers.