Just when it was safe to conclude that Home Minister P Chidambaram would go down in history as the best home minister India has had, along comes news that not one player from the champion T-20 team, Pakistan, has been chosen to play in the IPL tournament.
The official version of what happened is murky. Sports Minister MS Gill claims that no directive was given to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to introduce any such ban; the equally murky BCCI claims that there were both security concerns, and visa probabilities, with regard to the Pakistani players. So all the Pakistani players fell into the cracks and could not be recovered.
Given that the sports ministry does not know what is going on, and the home ministry is the holy security cow — don’t question, don’t ask — perhaps the foreign ministry will know what is going on. But this ministry has been concocting visa laws for entering India that would shame both Goebbels and Kafka. The rules bar tourists from returning to India within two months of the first visit. There are two possible explanations for this pioneering policy (I cannot find any other country that has tried this novel approach to fighting terrorism). The first explanation rests on the proposition that a prospective terrorist will be caught if she applies for a business visa. So a big step for Indian security. So, the would-be terrorist will have no other option but to apply for a tourist visa. That the ministry will grant. The expectation is that all tourists, sorry terrorists, first come to India a la Headley to reconnoiter and study the various angles of photography. Once they have “cased the joint”, they will go back for more advanced planning. But the objective of preventing terrorism would have been achieved. We know that there won’t be an attack in the subsequent two months, don’t we? What happens if the terrorist returns after two months and one day?
The role of the home ministry is not discussed in the newspapers, the foreign ministry, after doing all the work on the ideal visa policy is too tired to even think about communicating a new policy, let alone implementing it. Hence, it is not to blame since it did not communicate any orders to the IPL.
The buck then passes to the BCCI, a body not known for much else than making monopoly profits. Has anyone been to Ferozshah Kotla after its renovation? I have yet to go to a stadium in worse shape, and that too in the capital city, and built by the richest sports monopoly in the world. This arrogance was followed by preparing a disastrous pitch, which was followed by the even bigger arrogance of not holding the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) accountable.
The BCCI is blaming the government for giving it a shadowy signal regarding the probability of visas for the Pakistani players. But perhaps it was elements within the BCCI who, for reasons of false patriotism (read reactionary prejudice), wanted to punish the Muslim Pakistanis. How could the BCCI lose by selecting the Pakistani players? There would have been no cost involved since contracts are subject to visas being obtained. Further, the government’s bluff, of not interfering with IPL, would have been called. A check and balance on the arbitrary arrogance of the government would have been obtained.
Perhaps it was popular sentiment that did it. The politicians believe that after the terror attacks of last year, the popular public wants to punish all Pakistanis, regardless of race, color, or religion. Even if the public thinks that way, does it make sense for the government to cater to such base instincts? Another possible explanation for the actions of the government. It is that they are concerned about the safety of the Pakistani players, especially since Mumbai politicians have warned of possible attacks. We also have the Congress chief minister of Maharashtra flip-flopping over requirements of taxi-drivers in Mumbai. Just comprehend the magnitude of the CM’s statement. All taxi drivers in Mumbai will have to know the local language, Marathi. Now Mumbai is not another country. If the Congress gives in to domestic terror tactics, then what is to stop the Mumbai politicians from demanding that visitors to Mumbai, from other parts of India, have tourist visas and workers obtain work permits?
Could it be that the saga of the IPL selection is akin to the leaked letter from Jairam Ramesh to the PM, Manmohan Singh? That letter signalled a change in India’s approach to climate change, and it was speculated, at least in this column, that this was a near “perfect” way to change policy. The debate gets into the open, there are no hard feelings, and policy gets changed. This time around, everyone feigns ignorance, I didn’t do it, you didn’t do it but the dastardly deed gets done. So after circling around, we come perhaps to the responsible party — the ruling Congress regime.
The sad truth might be simple: This government is possessed with hubris; in simple English, unlimited arrogance. The decimation of the BJP, the extinction of the Communists, have seemingly left Indians with the option of no one but the Congress. Hence, it can do what it wants. If there is a food shortage, don’t release the piled-up stock of reserves which was created to counter just such an emergency. No matter if there is food inflation, the people will still vote you in. If the Mumbai politicians object, give in to their extraordinary demands and threats. Have no logic in the policy on visas. If someone even dares to question anything that the Congress party and its leaders have done over the last 60 years, then censor them, even if it is a guarded comment by one of your ministers. And remember, there was no such person as Narasimha Rao, even though it was under his leadership that the country changed, and the policies of the government changed.
The author is chairman of Oxus Investments and anchor of Tough Talk, a talk show on NDTV profit; please visit www.oxusinvestments.com for an archive of articles etc
