A bit delayed, but I'm here once again with this 'Freedom' special blog post...
We are 65 years old now. Modern India that is. India as a civilisation is almost 6500 years old. Yet we can only celebrate being 65! 65 years since that fateful morning when the British left our glorious land after almost two centuries of plunder and debilitating rule. 65 years since that fateful day when the foreign scourge were driven away by the tremendous efforts of our freedom fighters. And yet, today, 65 years on, the foreign scourge seem to have an indigenous counterpart. The past couple of weeks have seen brutal, almost inhuman, fighting in Assam, leading to military intervention. Irony of all ironies, it spread over the entire period where we were supposed to be celebrating being 'free'. Messages of backlash against people of Northeastern descent have been circulating throughout the country, leading to an exodus of these communities from the Southern and Western parts of the country. And now, to further cast a dubious shadow over the entire sense of 'freedom', the government has regulated that people would not be able to send more than 5 text and multimedia messages a day for the next 15 days, as they believe this has been a medium for spreading rumours regarding the riots. Further, there was violence in Mumbai when an anti-Assam protest turned violent, catching an ill prepared police force off guard. Scores dead, numerous injured and endless questions to the government are all we are left with. This is probably not the kind of Birthday celebration our nation was hoping for.
Last weekend also saw the biggest sporting spectacle in the world come to a close. And yes, we performed the best that we ever have at the Olympics. 2 silver and 4 bronze medals, 6 in all, made this the best haul India has ever achieved at the Games. A slight disappointment remained because of the inability of any of the athletes to clinch a gold medal. But things do look up. A few big guns delivering, a couple of unexpected successes and a few heartbreaks later, we returned home a triumphant bunch. In the process, Sushil Kumar became India's most successful individual Olympian ever, winning a silver medal to add to his bronze at Beijing in Wrestling. The entire medal tally of the Indian contingent is given in the following table.
There is however one lingering thought on my mind. In the 116 year history of the Olympics, we, as a nation, have won just 26 medals. counting the 2 won by Norman Pritchard at the 1900 Games. In a nation having more population than almost the whole of Europe, that is a worrying figure. Even post Independence, in the 17 Olympic Games that have followed, we have managed 21 medals. There needs to be serious overhaul in the way Olympic sports are looked upon in India. The trend is changing, thanks mostly to the individuals who have brought glory to our nation. But more needs to be done in the way of sponsorship and infrastructure to get us anywhere close to what we should be achieving at the Olympics.
Sport is something which takes us away to a positive place. Achievement in sport is something everyone feels proud about, no matter how much a person claims to not be sporty. It galvanises a nation. it brings nations together. It transcends all boundaries in its true form. There have been promising signs at this Olympics for Indian sport. Rio 2016 should see further improvements. I would love see them double the medal tally again. Till then, signing off from this 'Olympic' world...
We are 65 years old now. Modern India that is. India as a civilisation is almost 6500 years old. Yet we can only celebrate being 65! 65 years since that fateful morning when the British left our glorious land after almost two centuries of plunder and debilitating rule. 65 years since that fateful day when the foreign scourge were driven away by the tremendous efforts of our freedom fighters. And yet, today, 65 years on, the foreign scourge seem to have an indigenous counterpart. The past couple of weeks have seen brutal, almost inhuman, fighting in Assam, leading to military intervention. Irony of all ironies, it spread over the entire period where we were supposed to be celebrating being 'free'. Messages of backlash against people of Northeastern descent have been circulating throughout the country, leading to an exodus of these communities from the Southern and Western parts of the country. And now, to further cast a dubious shadow over the entire sense of 'freedom', the government has regulated that people would not be able to send more than 5 text and multimedia messages a day for the next 15 days, as they believe this has been a medium for spreading rumours regarding the riots. Further, there was violence in Mumbai when an anti-Assam protest turned violent, catching an ill prepared police force off guard. Scores dead, numerous injured and endless questions to the government are all we are left with. This is probably not the kind of Birthday celebration our nation was hoping for.
Last weekend also saw the biggest sporting spectacle in the world come to a close. And yes, we performed the best that we ever have at the Olympics. 2 silver and 4 bronze medals, 6 in all, made this the best haul India has ever achieved at the Games. A slight disappointment remained because of the inability of any of the athletes to clinch a gold medal. But things do look up. A few big guns delivering, a couple of unexpected successes and a few heartbreaks later, we returned home a triumphant bunch. In the process, Sushil Kumar became India's most successful individual Olympian ever, winning a silver medal to add to his bronze at Beijing in Wrestling. The entire medal tally of the Indian contingent is given in the following table.
| Event | Athlete | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol | Vijay Kumar | Silver |
| Men's 66kg Freestyle Wrestling | Sushil Kumar | Silver |
| Women's Badminton | Saina Nehwal | Bronze |
| Women's 51kg Boxing | M.C. Mary Kom Hmangte | Bronze |
| Men's 10m Air Rifle | Gagan Narang | Bronze |
| Men's 60kg Freestyle Wrestling | Yogeshwar Dutt | Bronze |
There is however one lingering thought on my mind. In the 116 year history of the Olympics, we, as a nation, have won just 26 medals. counting the 2 won by Norman Pritchard at the 1900 Games. In a nation having more population than almost the whole of Europe, that is a worrying figure. Even post Independence, in the 17 Olympic Games that have followed, we have managed 21 medals. There needs to be serious overhaul in the way Olympic sports are looked upon in India. The trend is changing, thanks mostly to the individuals who have brought glory to our nation. But more needs to be done in the way of sponsorship and infrastructure to get us anywhere close to what we should be achieving at the Olympics.
Sport is something which takes us away to a positive place. Achievement in sport is something everyone feels proud about, no matter how much a person claims to not be sporty. It galvanises a nation. it brings nations together. It transcends all boundaries in its true form. There have been promising signs at this Olympics for Indian sport. Rio 2016 should see further improvements. I would love see them double the medal tally again. Till then, signing off from this 'Olympic' world...
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