Is IPL a big price?

The debate whether the upcoming 2nd season of IPL should be held or not has dominated both the electronic and print media over the last few weeks. Law abiding, tax-paying citizens are disappointed that they are losing out on some very wholesome entertainment due to ‘dirty’ politicians (there’s such a negative connotation associated with the word these days that Oxford may soon include ‘use with care, some people find it offensive’ in its definition). Someone I was talking to recently raised the question, “Is India so incapable of keeping itself secure?” This reminded me of an incident that happened during my internship in Freiburg, Germany last summer.

I was having a discussion about crime rates in Mumbai and other Indian cities with a German friend and I happened to mention the contribution of the encounter specialists in the Mumbai police department towards wiping the city off dangerous criminals. He was astonished to hear this and also gave me a mini lecture on humanity, justice and the right of all human beings to a fair trial. All the while I listened silently but not for a lack of retort. A reply on the lines of “how could a man who had lived in a city where ‘cycle theft’ is the most common crime, ever comprehend the measures necessary to provide security in a country where businessmen getting murdered, women getting raped and cop and army convoys being ambushed were not that rare occurrences?” would have clearly exposed his narrow outlook in accessing the morality of the ‘killer cops’. But I couldn’t come to terms with honestly accepting these ghastly shortcomings of my country in front of a foreigner.

Many of those, advocating vociferously in favor of the IPL, suffer from the same predicament. For all of our economic and technological progress, we still are a country where bombs explode in a major city once every couple of years and whose neighbors derive more pleasure by causing her trouble than securing their own progress. Mind you, I would love it if we had the IPL, not so much because I am an ardent T20 fan but because it would be a matter of pride that we are able to carry on with our normal lives at a time when armed militia are flouting the most basic human rights just a few hundred kilometers from our borders. The point is our security forces are not confident enough to handle the load of the elections and such a big international sporting event together. And postponing or canceling it is a small price to pay in return for the assurance of fair violence-free elections.

Freedom of expression ?

People with the power to reach a wide audience abuse this power of theirs all too often. I have been wanting to write about it ever since I saw the ‘the need for revival of interest in PAF’ performance at the Performing Arts Festival in the institute about a year ago. The theme revolved around how the hitherto most important event of the institute cultural calendar was drawing lesser and lesser participation and showcased the lament of the PAF creators towards the lazy bums who have no passion towards it. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of computers in student rooms has resulted in dwindling attendances in most extra-curricular and social activities on campus. A couple of years back, there was a lengthy discussion in the Institute Sports Council regarding the glaring dearth of students using the plentiful sporting facilities on campus. Sadly, sports-lovers never got a chance to sing about their grievances owing to the lack of a medium. And the writers of the aforementioned PAF, who had that medium, never felt the need to address the larger issue.
Well, this isn’t all that surprising. We find the mass media, both print and electronic, using this power to much greater effect all the time. If one remembers, the Government boycotted the broadcast of all news channels for a brief period during the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai when it was thought that the television footage was potentially aiding the assailants. I was left stunned when the usually excellent Arnab Goswami launched a scathing attack on the administration accusing them of intruding on fundamental Constitutional rights and hailing the media as saviors. On the contrary, the completely irresponsible live telecast of the detailed movement of the commandos should have brought remorseful apologies from the man.
Over the years the media has displayed their tremendous intolerance towards any criticism and ridicule quite a few times. A few years ago they were up in arms against the Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ which sarcastically showed the no-holds-bar battle between two power and money hungry media barons; the extensive bad press causing the movie to be a box-office disaster. I agree that although the movie had some refreshingly funny moments, overall it was quite a shoddy piece of cinema. But much worse has been dealt with much less severely by our self-righteous newsmen.