Sachin Tendulkar scored his best century on the day he completed 20 years in international cricket. By telling the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) that he was an Indian first and a Maharashtrian later, Tendulkar has made several points. He has, of course, snubbed the MNS, but he has also told top professionals that they need to stand up and be counted. Just recently, Karan Johar apologised for calling Mumbai “Bombay” in a movie — while Johar and others fear the MNS will burn cinema halls showing their movies, Sachin has no such fear since the MNS can never hope to succeed in preventing fans from watching Sachin play. Interestingly, during the Mumbai riots, it was the original Little Master Sunil Gavaskar who used his stature in a similar manner to prevent mobs from killing Muslims.
If other leaders, in the arts and business, come out and make their views public, it will go a long way in keeping politicians in check. The pity is, however, that most industry leaders choose to keep quiet and prefer to do business instead of standing up for their beliefs. Anu Aga of Thermax is one of the names that comes to mind immediately for her role in publicly condemning the Gujarat massacre.
Usha Jain, New Delhi
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