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DECCAN CHRONICLE | WEDNESDAY | 10 AUGUST 2022 | CHENNAI

pg 6

Subhani

10 AUGUST 2022

CWG 2022: Has Indian

sport now come of age?
S
port is just the beginning” was the motto the host city Birmingham
chose for the Commonwealth Games. For Indian sportspersons, who
enjoyed their best-ever CWG, the Games may have been a starting
point for greater achievements on the global stage. The winning of
eight medals in track and field among 61 medals illustrates the point best
about Birmingham representing a seminal moment for Indians in sport.
Well-established strengths in disciplines like wrestling, weightlifting, box-
ing and badminton may have added heft to the medals tally. Indians excelled
beyond those arenas, including surprising medals in the team lawn bowls in
which the women struck gold and the men silver and in the 3,000m steeple-
chase in which Avinash Sable became the first non-Kenyan to win a medal
(silver) in about three decades.
Indian sport may have left behind for good the days of yore when the clock
and the measuring tape would be occasionally fixed for an athlete to make the
grade just to compete in global events while also opening up a passage to jam-
borees for officials and coaches. Today’s Indian athlete is more of an evolved
professional who gets systemic support in training and major financial incen-
tives for winning medals.
It may be an aberration that one of the athletes who won a medal had to go
to court to establish his right to represent India in Birmingham. The Indian
contingent delivered a clutch of medals commensurate with its size, some
won sensationally and others coming on expected lines, like from a reputed
Maha finally gets Cabinet, LETTERS
RAJ CM’S BIZARRE
COMMENTS
but problems not over yet
performer like shuttler P.V. Sindhu and the young and dashing talent in
Lakshya Sen who won a major title with such ease as to promise many more.
A remarkable one-two for India in the triple jump through Eldhose Paul and
Abdulla Aboobacker provided a fascinating moment that opens up possibili- The comments made by the
ties for Indian athletes at main stadiums hosting track and field. Of course, Rajasthan CM on the increasing
the competition at the CWG is not of the same qualitative standards as it can
be in the Asian Games of 2023 in which the Chinese powerhouse will be fea- The exclusion of dict. A section of legal number of rape and murder
tured and at the Olympics in Paris in 2024 when the best in the world will be experts feel that the gov- cases in the country despite the
competing.
Ashish Shelar ernment is walking on
indicates he may amendments passed in the
The women’s cricket team may have fluffed its lines when it seemed capable
of chasing the target in the final set by the best performing team of the era in
Sunil Gatade be tipped to be
thin ice.
The beleaguered Shiv criminal laws in the aftermath of
the Australians. The men’s hockey team may have run out of steam against the next state BJP Sena and Mr Thackeray
the Nirbhaya case are loath-
the gold and green colours from Down Under. But the feature of Indians at the are fighting with their
CWG was the effort that all the athletes put in, many of them recording their
chief, succeeding backs to the wall to dam- some and do not befit the posi-
personal bests even if they were out of the medal hunt. Mr Chandrakant age the splinter group as
Patil. He is also well as the BJP, but it will
tion he holds as the protector of
It used to be said of Indian sportspersons that they lacked the will to win,
commonly referred to in sporting parlance as “killer instinct”. That is not a prominent be a Herculean task. law & order of his State. It is

I
true anymore as many athletes are displaying the tenacity they may have t has finally hap-
developed in having come through from tough backgrounds in life and going pened. It is perhaps a
on to do well in arenas far beyond the cricket grounds. record of sorts in
The 61 medal winners may have their own stories of sacrifice and triumph Independent India.
to tell. None more so than the paddler Sharath Kamal who defied age to win The Cabinet expan-
an astonishing string of gold medals numbering more than what the teams of sion in Maharashtra,
many of the 72 competing nations won. Collectively, this was a great effort which has taken place on
that confirms Indian athletes are no longer just also-rans. Tuesday, August 9, 40
days after the installation
of the Eknath Shinde-
Maha Cabinet: Work in progress Devendra Fadnavis gov-
ernment, is a reminder
that the BJP and the splin-
A
fter running a government with a two-member Cabinet for 40 days, ter group of the Shiv Sena
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has finally inducted 18 are virtually walking in a
more members in his council of ministers. As per the Article 164(1A) minefield.
of the Constitution, members in a state’s council of ministers shall not With the inclusion of
exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the legislative nine members each from
Assembly. In Maharashtra’s case, the maximum number of ministers can the BJP and the Shinde
be 43 including the chief minister. However, Mr Shinde has chosen to have faction, the Cabinet now
a mini-Cabinet cobbled up to cover the bare minimum requirements and has a strength of 20,
face the upcoming monsoon session of the state Assembly. The expansion including the CM. The
was still riddled with controversies from the start. Opposition was quick to
There is not even symbolic representation of women in the Shinde point out the failure to
Cabinet. Abdul Sattar, a strongman from Aurangabad, has been made min- include even a single
ister despite the suspicion raised against him recently in connection with woman in the expansion
the alleged teacher eligibility test (TET) scam. The names of his two daugh- when Maharashtra is
ters have appeared in the list of candidates debarred by the Maharashtra known to be a progressive
State Council of Exams for their alleged involvement in the scam. Another state.
minister, Sanjay Rathod, had to resign from the Uddhav Thackeray cabi- The expansion took
net in February 2021 because of the BJP’s pressure after his name got place at a time when the
embroiled in the TikTok star Pooja Chavan’s suicide case. Embarrassed by coalition faced a moment
Rathod’s inclusion in the state Cabinet, BJP leader Chitra Wagh has said like “aage bhi jaane na tu,
her fight against him will continue. piche bhi jaane na tu”.
So why did Mr Shinde not appoint a full-fledged council of ministers and This is because the BJP as
avoid keeping controversial figures out? The only plausible explanation is well as the Shinde Sena
that the chief minister himself is not sure about his government’s legal, faction had become the
constitutional validity and its stability. The issue of whether Mr Shinde’s butt of ridicule for carry-
revolt against his party president Uddhav Thackeray should be treated as ing on the business of gov-
a defection or dissent is pending before the Supreme Court. It appears the ernment with just two
Maharashtra chief minister and his new political gurus from the BJP are members — the chief min-
being overcautious because an unfavourable order by the SC will put them ister and his deputy.
in an embarrassing situation. Therefore, it comes across as the temporary “Dear IKEA, Maha-
council of ministers of the tentative chief minister. rashtra needs a Cabinet”,
a concerned citizen wrote
on Twitter last week, to
sarcastically highlight
DECCAN CHRONICLE
the sorry (as well as
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR comic) state of affairs in
Editor Printer & Publisher the state after the political
R. MOHAN roller-coaster seen a
Resident Editor
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: month back. The anguish
Chennai: SP 3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Phones: (044) 22254747, was over the fact that
22254748 there appeared nothing to
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Coimbatore-641022. Phone: (0422) 2231255, 2231256
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003. Phone: (040) 27803930-4. Fax: (040) er in the premier state
27805256. where the problems of the
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2555284/ 2555287, Fax (0866) 2555234 The Opposition parties
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Anantapur: Thapovan Colony, Bangalore Bye-Pass Road, Anantapur 515004. Phones: (08554) 276903, ation to the hilt to target
Fax: 08554-276904 the BJP and the Eknath
Nellore: Survey No. 527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemudugunta Panchayat, Nellore.
Phone: (0861) 2348581/ 82, Telefax (0861) 2348580 Shinde faction where it
Karimnagar: H .No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karim Nagar - 505186 hurt the most. More pow-
Phone : 9121181123 ers given to the depart-
mental secretaries pend-
ing the reshuffle had also
sent out a wrong signal.
The expansion shows
that despite Mr Shinde
being the CM, the govern-
ment will be dominated
by the BJP, which has not
only got the numbers on
its side but also experi-
enced leaders from
diverse regions and back-
grounds.
Girish Mahajan, who is
known to be close to Mr
Fadnavis, was a certainty,
as well as state BJP presi-
dent Chandrakant Patil,
who is known to have a
close rapport with Union
home minister Amit
Shah.
Sudhir Mungantiwar is
a senior state leader and
former finance minister
hailing from the
Vidarbha region. Atul
Save, whose father was a
former Shiv Sena MP, is
among the prominent
faces from Marathwada
region accommodated by
the BJP. This region is a
Shiv Sena stronghold
where the BJP is seeking
to make inroads.
Radhakrishna Vikhe
Patil is a veteran of sorts
— hailing from the family
in Ahmednagar district
which started the first
sugar cooperative in Asia
some 75 years back.
Mangal Prabhat Lodha is
a prominent developer in
the country.
The exclusion of Ashish
Shelar indicates he may
be tipped to be the next
state BJP chief, succeed-
ing Mr Patil. It suits the
BJP fine as Mr Shelar
hails from Mumbai where
the party has to take on
the Shiv Sena head on in
the civic polls which are
due soon. He is also one of
the prominent Maratha
faces of the BJP.
As compared to the BJP,
the Shinde faction lacks
depth in its ministerial
order. But the chief minis-
ter has sought to make the
best use of the talent avail-
able to him.
Maratha face of
the BJP.
Ministerships for Abdul
Sattar and Sanjay Rathod
could, however, cause
some controversy. Only
last year, BJP had
secured success in its
demand for the resigna-
tion of Mr Rathod as for-
est minister in the
Maharashtra Vikas
Aghadi government after
the death by suicide by a
young woman in Pune.
It needs to be under-
stood that the group of 40-
odd MLAs led by Mr
Shinde that parted ways
with the Uddhav
Thackeray-led Sena is a
motley crowd that has
come together only for the
sake of power.
The carrot of further
expansion of the ministry
has been kept dangling
and is expected to make
matters cool at least for
the next few months.
Extreme caution is the
key as the government
faces a tricky situation
not only as regards the
courts but also in regard
to the cohesion between
the coalition partners and
also within them; and a
step here or a step there
could lead to trouble.
But the biggest concern
is that the Supreme Court
is yet to decide on a clutch
of petitions filed by the
Shiv Sena and the Shinde
faction on various issues
leading to the formation
of the government. If the
Shiv Sena’s pleas are
accepted, the breakaway
MLAs could also face dis-
qualification. The issue of
which is the “real” Shiv
Sena is also pending
before the Election
Commission, which has
been asked by the court
against taking any action
till it decides the case.
Since there are several
ticklish issues involved, it
is unclear when the court
will pronounce its ver-
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and home minister
Amit Shah are past mas-
ters in the political game.
Whatever might be the
claims and counter-
claims of either side, the
developments and signals
over the past month show
that the BJP is playing big
brother and Devendra
Fadnavis is the main
power center, despite him
being deputy CM. The
remote control lies with
Delhi, which is deter-
mined to finish the Shiv
Sena politically.
Having succeeded in
overthrowing the Maha
Vikas Aghadi govern-
ment, the BJP is trying
methodically to grow its
footprint, and the Cabinet
expansion is proof of that.
The BJP’s plans could
become clearer once the
portfolio allocation is
complete, but it is expect-
ed it will keep all the
heavyweight ministries,
including home, finance,
urban development, to
itself, and the Shinde fac-
tion will have to be con-
tent with the “passenger”
ministries.
As the BJP sets its house
in order in Maharashtra,
it must be a bitter-sweet
feeling. As it stabilises
matters in Maharashtra
by the expansion of the
two-member Cabinet,
things are falling apart in
faraway Bihar.
In Patna, JD(U) leader
and chief minister Nitish
Kumar has dumped the
BJP which he suspected
was trying to promote a
“Shinde” in the form of
former Union minister
R.C.P. Singh, a friend-
turned-foe of Nitish. In an
irony of sorts for the BJP,
Bihar might see a Maha
Vikas Aghadi-type experi-
ment, with Nitish Kumar
trying to cobble together
an alliance with the RJD,
Congress and other like-
minded parties.
The writer is a journal-
ist based in New Delhi
true that crimes do show a ris-
ing tendency, but it is certainly
not due to the changes made
in criminal laws after the
Nirbhaya incident. Population
increase is one factor for esca-
lating crimes. Inefficient or lack-
adaisical investigation coupled
with failure to gather strong evi-
dence against the culprits is
another reason for the culprits
to escape from punishment.
S.Nagarajan Iyer,
Coimbatore
DON’T DWELL ON RAJINI
Actor Rajinikanth met TN Governor
R.N.Ravi. Rajini said there was no politics
behind the sudden meeting and that he
had no intention of coming to politics
again and that the meeting was just a
“courtesy visit”. The media should not
give undue importance to the "actions,
speeches, statements and meetings"
which he is involved in as Rajini has lost
his importance and popularity in politics
after his oft repeated "cat on a wall" atti-
tude in the past before the assembly elec-
tions. He had also said that he had "retired
from politics". He cannot influence the
people of TN in "political matters" nor can
he do anything to make the people follow
or support "religious politics" which is his
all favourite motto and slogan.
M.C.Vijay Shankar,
Chennai
MADURAI LAD EXCELS
Kudos to 17 year old Madurai boy, Selva
Prabhu Thirumaran, who bagged a silver
medal at the World Athletics Under-20
Championship in Colombia. He hails
from a poor farmer's family, who took
pains and even panned their land to meet
his training expenses to excel in the sport.
Now that he has excelled in his discipline,
we hope the Central & State Govt. would
honour him with some cash awards to
retrieve their land. They should also
ensure that all assistance to improve his
skills is provided so that he would bring
further laurels to the state and nation. In
fact there could be hundreds of such tal-
ented athletes in Tamil Nadu, who should
be unearthed and assisted to improve in
their skills and stamina.
Vinay Mahadevan,
Chennai

T
he first posting of an All-India Service offi-
cer, often in a predominantly rural set-
ting, has been likened to one’s first love. It
remains firmly etched in memory.
Amitabha Therefore, visiting that place after a few decades
would naturally evoke a lot of mixed emotions.
Bhattacharya I still remember the day in Mussoorie’s Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration when I was informed about the
allotment of Andhra Pradesh as my cadre state,
and later, of Srikakulam as the district of my
training in 1976. My first reaction was not
euphoric. As one born and raised in Calcutta, my
The ubiquitous jeeps and Ambassador cars for
officials have now been replaced by air-condi-
tioned SUVs. ATMs are scattered everywhere.
These changes could be anticipated, given India’s
steady growth over the past decades and the
state’s uninterrupted rise in most fields.
The Indian elephant moves slowly but surefoot-
edly. Thus, spectacular changes observed in
cities like Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam cannot
be discerned in small mofussil towns and vil-
lages. But quiet, fundamental changes can be
noticed as shaping life everywhere.
After reaching Tekkali, I was enquiring about
falling into the trap of senior citizens who find it
difficult to appreciate the new tidings and feel
that things are steadily going downhill, one
observes that the administrative processes have
been simplified, public grievances are better
responded to, and affirmative actions by the state
have been yielding good dividends. Discussions
with the district collector and functionaries of the
revenue and forest departments seemed to con-
firm my impressions.
Take the disposal of land acquisition cases, for
example, that revenue officials used to spend con-
siderable time on. Once an award was finalised,
Posters and framed photographs of the chief
minister are visible all over. Of the people we
spoke to, many appeared critical of the “freebie”
culture and lack of industrialisation, among
other things, but such criticism has not so far
turned into anger.
While the facade of the sub-collector’s office
remains the same, giving a sense of continuity,
the interiors look spic and span. The adjoining
residential quarter is a much more modern struc-
ture now, the old one having been demolished. It
suddenly crossed my mind that the government
during my time was addressed for sanctioning a

Back to first love: idea about Andhra Pradesh and Srikakulam was
fairly rudimentary, the latter having been known
for Naxalite activities. On completion of my pro-
bation in the IAS, I was posted as the officer in
How life is a lot charge of Tekkali sub-division during 1977-79.
Since understanding breeds love, my three-year
stint in this district, remotest from the state capi-
the personal staff who had cared for me those
days — the jeep driver Veerabhadra Rao, the
daffedar Damodar Patnaik, Tirupati Rao, Raja
Rao and others. The local gentry that befriended
me included the noted scholar in English litera-
ture, Ronanki Appalaswami, who used to explain
the nuances of T.S. Eliot’s poetry and showed me
started the long legal process for the aggrieved
landholders demanding enhanced compensation.
This process has been shortened and streamlined
compound wall for the modest, single-storey resi-
dence, after wild bears had been noticed to be loi-
tering around at night!
under the new law, benefiting the affected indi- Immediately after my marriage, I recollect the
viduals considerably. Besides, responding to
enquiries under the Right to Information Act,
constant updating and digitisation of land
long jeep drive with my wife from Palasa station
on the Howrah-Madras line to Tekkali. After a
busy day, when the night descended, we used to

better in some tal of Hyderabad and nearest from Calcutta, made

an impression that remains indelible.
Recently, accompanied with my daughter, I vis-
ited Vizag, Araku, Srikakulam and Tekkali, in
the facsimile of Eliot’s manuscript of The Waste
Land with extensive suggestions by Ezra Pound,
Dr Rama Rao, who wrote a long essay on Tagore,
and my neighbour, Dr Joga Rao. I also forged a
records, initiating environment impact assess-
ment and protection measures (for mining and
irrigation projects, for instance), etc, engage the
attention of officials much more than before.
spend some quiet time together in our little
abode, undisturbed by the hustle bustle of city life
that we were used to. Gradually, the joy of dis-
covering the place and its people started permeat-

Andhra districts coastal Andhra. Evidently, positive changes were

noticed everywhere. The national highway from
Visakhapatnam is of world standard, small towns
and villages appear more prosperous, men and
women look healthier and better dressed, govern-
ment offices are no longer as shabby as before.
The Araku valley is now a tourist's delight and its
coffee widely admired.
life-long friendship with Dr Y.V. Krishna Rao, the
government physician at nearby Palasa. Sadly,
they have all passed away. But what gladdened
my heart is that the son of Raja Rao, who delight-
ed us with preparations like caramel custard and
prawn curry, is currently the tehsildar there.
Has the quality of administration or delivery of
public services changed for the better? Without
Providing rice at `1 per kg through the
public distribution system has been standard-
ised. All these have been possible on account of
extensive use of computer and appropriate tech-
nologies. Video-conferencing has become the new
normal.
State governments are generally chief minister-
centric. Andhra Pradesh is no exception.
ing our whole existence.
Travelling back in time, I derived some satis-
faction from the visible development all around,
tinged with some sadness for the days gone by.
The writer is a retired IAS officer from the
Andhra Pradesh cadre, who has also worked for
UNDP and the private sector