Current Affairs

Indian Premier League : Is It Cricket or Corporate ?

2011-01-09T05:23:00.014+05:30

It seems that there is one arena in which India has really arrived at the world stage and that too, as a leader. It is undoubtedly, none other than our very own game of cricket. Cricket is like a passion in India. Every cricket playing kid wants to be like Sachin Tendulkar, and why not, the name itself boasts of hundreds of records in cricket history. Cricket got its roots in Europe but over the time, it became extremely popular and successful in South Asia. Earlier, it was played as Test and One-Day game and due to it's immense success, the cricketing fraternity evolved another format of the game known as 20-Twenty or simply T20. This short form of cricket was evolved keeping in mind that many people were not able to devote their complete full day for watching a game.

List of some players who were auctioned in IPL season 4

But this game of passion and energy, is now turning into a financial business involving big Corporate houses and business-men. At-least, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises says allot about it. Today, while watching the auctions of players on TV, I was feeling that whether it is that same old cricket which was once played among different countries to win for the glory of their nation. Is it the same game, which had provided the Indians and Pakistanis a lot many opportunities to celebrate Diwali or Eid more than once in a single year. The answer seems to be simple. Not any more. The cricket has turned into a big business and a money generating entertainment, excluding all the fun, passion, energy and everything which makes it a sport.

I still remember those days when there use to be so much passion involved whenever India use to play. We use to bunk our classes just to see Sachin or Saurabh batting on the crease. The fielding of Yuvraj or the wicket keeping of Rahul Dravid is still in memory. But, all these memories got diluted when everybody heard about match-fixing in this game. The game, which over the time, had become the religion of South Asia, was suddenly in highlight for some bad reasons, and that to due to some top players. And now this Indian Premier League, involving millions of dollars, cheer girls, late night parties and very less cricket, seems to be putting the last nail into the coffin of that passionate cricket which once use to convert whole South Asia into a hot battlefield.

The Players are being offered huge amount of money just to play for these IPL franchises. The average comes around $ 4- 6 hundred thousand per player. There are few questions which comes to my mind and I feel some other well wishers of cricket must also be thinking on the same lines.
It is good that they are getting payed for their work but are they not getting over-payed ?
Will it going to be fruitful for cricket in the long run? Many people, including me doubt this.
How can a player play a game when his whole concentration is going to be divided into late night parties, cheer girls and to the easy money he is going to get?
How a tournament involving billions of dollars from Corporate World, can stay undiluted from unethical means?
How can a player going to play honestly and with full dedication for his own country where the money involved is just pea nuts as compared to the money involved in IPL?

These and many such questions definitely raise a concern over the authenticity of such cricket. It is rightly said that excess of everything is bad. Excess of money involved in this tournament will definitely be going to prove bad for the game of cricket. Cricket is a game I enjoy the most and I pray that it stays the game it use to be for the millions of its followers, who miss all the action and fun in todays cricket which use to be there few years back, when it was free from all the corruption, match-fixing and the amount of unaccountable money.

Corruption : How far will India go.

2010-12-27T21:27:00.005+05:30

Corruption is one word which has the capability and strength to gobble up nations, leaving behind a black blot in history. Corruption had destroyed many invincible nations and civilizations in history. There are numerous examples scattered all over the world. But its seems, only a few in the world have learned their lesson, and majority of the chunk are still repeating the age old mistakes. India is one of those countries, who seem to be desperate in repeating this history. At-least, the recent newspaper head lines have just shown this.

In Corruption Perception Index 2010 research, India is ranked 87^th in a list of 178 countries, which itself explains the bad governess of its political regime. In recent time, the country has been paralyzed by a number of scams and scandals. Common Wealth Games scam, 2G Spectrum scam, Adarsh Society Scam, to name a few. How on earth, can a nation call itself a develop or developing, whose ministers and bureaucrats are eating up its resources, and destroying its Flora and Fauna, for their personal benefits. The common citizens are struggling for their simple bread, without any butter. Butter has become a luxury now a days and is only used by bureaucrats, to apply it to their seniors and ministers for personal benefits.

When this nation got the opportunity to host Common Wealth Games in 2010, Indians felt very joyous and cheered. It was an opportunity which this young nation had wanted to grab to show the world what they have and can to do in this 21^st century. World has also realized the potential of this growing nation while giving them this opportunity. All their dreams were shattered by the corrupt and shameless bureaucratic - political nexus of this nation. These games became a shame for the whole nation when the photographs of ill-equipped and shabby Games Village became public over the internet. This scam runs in billions of dollars, which if had been utilized wisely and in public interest, could have removed the poverty of this so called third world country.

Then their was Adarsh Society Scam which any nation will deeply feel ashamed of. Army is the backbone of a country, and if this backbone breaks, the country gets paralyzed and is doomed to die a slow death. A Nation, which betrays its brave soldiers who had given up their lives for its integration and unity, cannot live long on this earth. Flats in the Adarsh Society in Mumbai, were constructed for the families of Indian soldiers who gave their lives in Kargil war to protect the nation. These flats were distributed by the politicians and bureaucrats to their own kin and kith, an act which is not only shameful but an unpardonable in a democratic society which treats its soldiers equal to warrior Gods.

2G spectrum Scam is a scam which can be called as the father of all the scams in recent times. This scam runs in multi-billion dollars and is still not clear how big this scam is. The spectrum, which if allotted in nation's best interest, could have fetched billions of dollars as revenue. But it was sold for peanuts, just for the personal gains of ministers who are eating this beautiful nation like termites.

It is now or never time for the common man of this nation to wake up, and save their motherland from this corruption and corrupt ministers and bureaucrats. This great nation has the capability to act as the leader of the world, if this corruption is shown the door. The people who are corrupt should be dealt severely so that it proves a deterrent for others. An estimated figures showed that 55 billion dollars is the amount which was the annual cost India had lost in 2009 due to corruption. With the number of scams escalated and the amount of money involved in 2010, one can only imagine what numerical figure this amount will touch this year. Hope is the only world which comes to my mind when I think of this great nation and the millions of dreams which the common people of this nation see for it.

Will the rise in Onion prices going to prove fatal for Government in next election?

2010-12-23T09:09:00.002+05:30

By the end of December 2010, the onion prices all over India have touched to Rs 80 ($2 approx.) per Kg which has taken its toll on the common man of India.

The Congress with all its bad policies and corrupt ruling, is taking India 50 years back. Despite of the great hard work and efforts done by the common citizen of India to see his/her country as a developed nation, its political regime is leaving no stone unturned to make the country a living hell. A series of scams have hit the front page of Indian dailies in previous few months. All these are credited to bad governance of congress, be it Common Wealth Games or 2G scam or Mumbai's infamous Adarsh Flat scam. And now it seems another scam is boiling behind these price rise which is waiting to get explode.

Price of Onions which usually hovers around Rs 15-20 per Kg has touched Rs 80-85 per Kg in metros and 2-tier cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Ludhiana and Lucknow. Onion is seen as the main ingredient of Indian food through India's length and breadth, from Kashmir(north) to Kanya-Kumari(south) or Gujarat(West) to Guwahati(east). With more than 25% of India's population under poverty line and earning less than Rs 20 a day, one wonders how they will survive this price rise. This price rise has not only affected the poor but even the great Indian middle class has started planning the cuttings in their budget to adjust this price rise. This price rise is hitting the wallet of the common man seriously and they seem to have started cursing the day they voted congress to power.
What is the use of the government which is immersed neck deep in scandals and cannot provide even the basics of life to its citizens. Few days back, we saw a price rise in petrol and diesel. The petrol price has risen by Rs 2.96 per liter, which is around 7% rise in its price. Tomatoes are seen next in line of price rise. If that happened, it will be going to break the backbone of the common man who is already struggling to make his both ends meet. Only God can save India from this bad governance of Congress.

Wake up! Manmohan ji and do something or we won't be seeing you as The Prime Minister of India after next election. With such records, Congress is deemed to be booted out in next general election.