There is much money in cricket as we all well know and the greed of all the concerned ‘managers’ and ‘players’ of this game has managed to reduce it to an abysmal level. Losing is fine but playing erratically and in a sloppy unprofessional manner is unacceptable. The whims, fancies and favourites of those who handle the game are equally suspect because of their arrogance and we-know-it-all attitude and the veil of secrecy that has enveloped them all.

To think that the agriculture minister of the Central government, Sharad Pawar, is at the helm of cricket and its politics, makes me wonder where this nation’s priorities lie. Is it agriculture and its accompanying needs, demands and correctives, or is it this bat-and-ball game — one which generates hysteria — that the senior cabinet minister is spending his valuable time and energy on? It is quite like the madness of those who suggest that Amitabh Bachhan should be the president of India! The political and social superficiality of the burgeoning middle class, titillated and awed by the glamour of sportsmen and filmstars because of a lack of other choices and experiences, is suffocating sane, mature and serious growth.

As every activity around us gets politicized, and as politicians put their extra-curricular interests on the front burner, the governance of India rapidly descends into anarchy. Is there not a conflict of interest if a cabinet minister heads a cash-rich private fund for cricket? Doesn’t political clout blur and hide much of what should be in the public domain? My bet is that nowhere in the world would this be permitted and in every other mainstream nation, this dual charge, so to speak, would be squarely criticized.

Youth will win

In India there is not a hint of either curiosity or comment. The ‘watchdogs’ of this society and those who push it about, seem to have merged into one large family that protects its members. This is why the tenets of democracy have gone awry and a nation is functioning akin to a banana republic. This is what sets the stage for a military coup, or the initiation of a dictatorial regime, or the takeover of the reins of government by fanatics.

If I were to risk looking through a crystal ball into the not-so-distant future, it is possible that the vision at the other end would be scary. The polarization of political positions is what will replace this complete breakdown of moral and dignified functioning because it will bring in its wake, in its early stages, a sense of ‘discipline’. The bulk of citizens always look to government for the assurance of their basic needs —the honest execution of law and order, stable prices for essential commodities, accessibility of education and health services, and so on. Very quickly, as with all governments we have voted to power over the last 60 years, exploitation of the many and nurturing of the few will begin, and an insular, exclusive rulership will ensue. Therefore, let me go off on a limb and say that we have, two years from now, the real possibility of a strong, dictatorial, unipolar government that will assert itself to destroy the pluralism and multi-faceted nature of our polity. The short-term gains that may be immediately visible will rapidly descend into a frightening reality of sharp polarization based on faith as well as caste patterns.

Do we have to wait these two and the next five years to see a government that belongs to this age take charge and administer clean, good governance? When I meet and speak with young politicians and political workers, I do feel positive about the future. Archaic, parochial leaderships must be stopped from assaulting us further. But the people have to bell the cat at the hustings and unfortunately, the first to the post will never allow the true will of the voters to rule India.