CRICKET- A FALSE POPULISM AND IMPOSED NATIONALISM It certainly gives pleasure to see symbols as inspiring tools to motivate the generations to come. Contextually, we can take the initiative taken by the state in the case of conferring Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar. It was felt necessary to honor a person who, undoubtedly, captured the millions of minds, who became a Hero for the nation, a true epitome of national imagination. This is the very Nationalism which binds people together and brings pride, and this is why, we proudly feel to be Indians. Why not Bharat Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar, as he gets populism for serving this purpose so well. However, for a moment, lets think over all the above mentioned terms namely; nation, nationalism, inspiration, populism, service and so on. What do these terms all about ? Whether these are represented through collective conscience/imagination or merely imposed, manufactured and socially-constructed metaphors by the shrewd minds ? To put it differently, did Sachin play for the nation ? Even then, whether he is the only sport person to have glorified ? BCCI (for whom Sachin played) has been claiming before Supreme Court that it is not at all official and completely a private body registered under Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. It is not amenable to rules and regulations framed by the Government of India (Supreme Courts Direction- 2005). Therefore, the changes made by the BCCI in the rules of selection process, format of game, choosing of venues, collection of huge money through matches can never be questioned by general public in a court of Law. In 2005, in the Zee telefilms Judgements, the Supreme court noted the BCCIs stand It is a private organization whose objects are to promote the game of cricket. Its functions are regulated and governed by its own rules and regulations independent of any statute and are only related to its members (Cited in Times of India, 18th Nov, 2013)Why does BCCI have this firm stand ? it is only to escape the public scrutiny regarding its management process. Surprisingly, people still associate cricket with nation instead of associating it with corporate (market economy) which is unashamedly backed by influential politicians. Apart from this, what about the other sport personalities (some names- Dhyan Chand, P.T. Usha and others) who represented the so called nation in international scenario ? its not only about whom to honor and whom to not but also about politics of recognition and mis-recognition of the greatness, which is cleverely framed by rulling ideas. Others were sidelined because there are unable to cope up with this very ideas and there are also no elements of market economy working for grasping of Populism for others. Next in the line- Amitabh Bachhan, Sharukh Khan, Ranveer Kapoor, Salman Khan, and others. Because they have the largest youth following in the nation. They are all fulfilling the criteria of populism/nationalism. Lets see....................
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 07:09:20 +0000
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