Does human life mean a little in India?

Saswat Panigrahi

Twenty-five years after lethal Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC) gas leaked from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal killed at least 25,000 people, a Bhopal court convicted the company and seven of its officials for criminal negligence and sentenced them for a mere two-year. The accused bailed out in just two hours. "Surely justice... has been done," -- Bhopal gas case judge said talking to media persons.

As rich, elite and powerful are involved in the case there was a deliberate attempt to cover-up. The investigating agencies as well as the prosecutors successfully mishandled the case and distorted the evidence with the clear instructions of those in the corridors of power. And the judiciary acted as a recording machine for those distorted evidence. Moreover, the Indian legal provisions are also inadequately codified to deal with the man-made disaster. Hence the verdict, though a shame is not a surprise at all.

Once the judgment came, skeletons began to tumble out of Congress’ closet, causing acute embarrassment to the party. Evidences are pouring in that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh acted on the directive of Rajiv Gandhi Government at the Centre to ensure a safe passage to former chairman of Union Carbide Warren Anderson in the aftermath of Bhopal gas tragedy.

BR Lall, former Joint Director of CBI, who was in charge of the investigation from April 1994 to July 1995 says CBI was told by the Ministry of External Affairs to go soft on Anderson. Declassified CIA documents of December 8, 1984, a day after Anderson was released after being arrested, shows that the Rajiv Gandhi Government bailed him out. Gordon Streeb, a former US diplomat who was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the American embassy in New Delhi said Anderson was freed as part of agreement then government of India made with its US counterpart. MK Rasgotra, then Foreign Secretary confirmed that Anderson was given a “safe passage” and then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was aware of it. Then Bhopal Collector Moti Singh, has revealed that he was instructed by the then State Chief Secretary to bail out Anderson. December 7, 1984 edition of a US-based newspaper The Pittsburgh Press quoting a release from the Union Carbide saying its chief Warren Anderson was promised by then Indian Government of a safe passage.

After the Bhopal gas case verdict came a shamed Congress government quickly swung into action. A Group of Ministers (GoM) was constituted to examine all issues related to the tragedy, including remedial measures, and make appropriate recommendations on the relief and rehabilitation of the victims and their families. Within two weeks after the GoM constituted, it put together a package of relief, rehabilitation and compensation for the survivors. The rehabilitation package pegs at Rs 982 crore. As things stand, the Indian taxpayer will pay for the pollution of the multinational.

Government now says it will extradite Anderson. But despite the sound and fury, there is there is little hope that India will ever lay its hands on Warren Anderson for alleged culpability in the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Waiting for our Messi

With Indian football languishing at the bottom of the FIFA rankings it's time for some soul-searching. So what ails Indian football? Saswat Panigrahi searches for answers

Remember how Mohun Bagan's bare-footed athletic club beat East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911 and became the first Indian football team to lift the IFA shield? During its glory days the Indian football team qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, but could not be a part of the show-piece event as it was playing bare feet at that time. In the 1951 Asian games in New Delhi and 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, team India won gold medals. The success story of Indian football doesn’t end there. India became the first Asian nation to reach the Olympic football semi-final in Melbourne Olympics 1956. Besides, India won bronze in 1970 and silver medal in the 1964 Asian Football Championship. Indian football boasted of football wizards like Gostha Pal, Subimal Chuni Goswami, Sailen Manna, PK Bannerjee, Peter Thangaraj, and Jarnail Singh Dhillon among others that took Indian football to dizzy heights. That was the past. Cut to the present, and Indian football cuts a sorry picture. Indian football fans have to take solace in the glory of adopted teams during the World Cup.

Looking at the nation’s football performance at present, Indian football team’s wining of the Nehru Cup in 2007 at the 13th year of the tournament could be seen as a step in the direction. In 2009 Indian football team again did an encore at the Nehru Cup and added another feather to its cap. Also in 2007 India defeated Tajikistan, lifted the AFC Challenge Cup and qualified for the AFC Asia Cup of 2011 to be held in Qatar.

But where does Indian football team stand vis-à-vis the big boys? The truth is Indian football team has never competed in World Cup. India is ranked a lowly 133rd in the FIFA rankings 2009.

Baichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan, Sunil Chetri, Climax Lawrence, Mahesh Gawli and Shanmugam Venkatesh are the big names in Indian football today. But, they pale in comparison to their illustrious forbears.

At a time when the rest of the world is in the grip of a football mania, Indians will be rooting for either the Brazilians or the Argentinians. Sadly the likes of Baichung Bhutia will wax eloquent on the other teams in the fray, in his avatar as football commentator/ expert. Apart from dissecting performances of the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. The diminutive powerhouse will also display his knowledge of the game, instead of trying to dribble past some of the superstars of the sport. At the same time some football crazy nations will be getting ready to make the cut. But, if someone asks will India ever participate in FIFA World Cup, many will have a hearty laugh.

But, what ails Indian football? Football is played as much in the mind as on the football pitch. It seems our football bosses and players seem to have reconciled to the fact, that we don’t have what it takes.

Despite the game having a presence in the country for more than a century, our players do not possess either the flair, attitude or guts to take on the world’s best. Most Indian players are physically light years behind their European, South American, even Asian counterparts. Low on morale, they do not have the killing instinct to make the cut. Neither do the coaches have the expertise to inspire the players to greater glory.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing body of football in India is ridden by internal politics. And the Government seems to be least bothered in providing the requisite logistical and infrastructure support to set in place a meaningful football programme. There is no visible comprehensive package to focus on the fitness and tactical dimensions of the players. The scarce funds earmarked for training and development programmes is being misused. The general apathy and absence of a clear vision is proving costly for Indian football as they slide further down the pecking order.

In this cricket crazy country, football is said to be the second most popular sport. Football boasts of a massive fan base across the length and breadth of the country. In states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Sikkim and Mizoram cricket could be left behind in the popularity charts. With Indian players conspicuous by their absence in premier football events, it’s time for some soul searching.

If some of the greatest football stars came of the ghettoes of South America and Africa, why can’t Indian football players prove their mettle? Can Indian football reclaim pride of place in the world football? Or could it dream of making it to the top 30 in world order by 2030? Can we ever have our own Ronaldo? To ensure that India takes its first tentative steps in its bid to gain respectability, tough decisions need to be made. The All India Football Federation needs to be recast. It’s time for heads to roll, and accountability to be fixed. Rope in former legends to share their valuable insight, and stop hiring second rate coaches whose footballing careers were shrouded in obscurity. We love our Maradonas and Ronaldoes. Can we have our own? Let Indian football represent hope.


-- Appeared in FIFA World Cup 2010 special coverage of www.dailypioneer.com

Sketching a dynastic siyasat

Saswat Panigrahi

Master storyteller and path-breaking director Prakash Jha knows his subject well. He has mastered the art of putting the subject into the skin of the characters. Jha feels the pulse of contemporary issues and raises them through the medium of cinema.

In Damul Prakash Jha raised caste oppression, in Apaharan he captured Bihar’s kidnapping industry, in Mrityudand he dealt with social and gender inequities and in Gangaajal he captured the pathos of an upright cop trying to deal with a corrupt system. His movie always has a social message. His films rely on solid performances that complement a normally gripping story line.

Jha’s big-budget political thriller Raajneeti which was shot in the Hindi heartbelt hit the silver screen in June. The movie’s plot and central characters are loosely based on great Indian epic Mahabharata in parallels with the American cult classic The Godfather. The film which vividly portrays a modern Indian political dynasty also deals with the interplay between personal aspirations, greed, loyalty and betrayal. It has laid threadbare the ugly underbelly of dynastic politics.

Jha contested the 2002 and 2009 Lok Sabha election from Champaran (Bihar) on a LJP ticket and lost. But he has figured out the political jigsaw and knows its finer nuances. In Raajneeti, on the baground of a modern Indian dynastic politics, Jha has skillfully captured the dynamics of political powerplay -- organisational politics, heat and dust of elections, theatrics on the campaign trail, poll management, how the media is managed in a bid to swing votes in see-saw elections, manipulation in politics, abuse of power and violence in politics. From popular political gestures to pity casting couch, from caste factor to class factor, Jha has played a number of issues to the audience gallery. He has shown a keen understanding over the local lingo (read Hindi belt). The dialogue is replete with expressions and terms that the aam aadmi in general could relate to. Dialogues like -- Raajneeti mein murde kabhi marte nahin, unhe zinda rakhna hota hai taaki jab samay aaye to woh bhi bolein had a pan-Indian appeal.

It was an intelligent script written by Prakash Jha and his co-writer Anjum Rajabali told the viewer with flair. Raajneeti is a story of a cabal of power-mongers indulged in a seamy power struggle. It centers around a powerful political family called ‘Pratap family’ which runs a regional party. When the patriarch of the family suffers a paralytic stroke, the seat of power automatically shifts to his younger brother, much to the discomfort of his son Virendra Pratap (played by Manoj Bajpai) who considers himself as the true inheritor of his father’s legacy. Simmering in the shadow he can’t see his rival cousin Prithvi Pratap (played by Arjun Rampal) rising to power. To play his political card, he sides with a dalit leader called Suraj Kumar (played by Ajay Devgan). Suraj, an ace Kabbadi player, who later emerges as a dalit leader, brought up in a dalit household, happens to be an abandoned child of Prithvi’s mother and an idealist-leftist figure Bhasker Sanyal (played by Naseerudin Shah). The bloody battle for power begins. Prithvi’s younger brother, Samar Pratap, who intrinsically takes interest in politics, working on a PhD in Victorian poetry, setting aside his academic ambitions to teach in New York University steps into the battle following his father’s murder. The simmering volcano called ‘Samar’ erupts, plays a political ace and changes the game of power. His was mama (uncle) Brij Gopal (played by Nana Patekar) to council him in his mission. In the clash for power, Samar’s sweetheart Indu (played by Katrina Kaif) became barter and forced to marry his elder brother Prithvi. The murder of her husband compelled Indu to plunge into the political battlefield and won a mandate on the basis of a sympathy wave.

If one sees Raajneeti as a modern-day Mahabharata, Arjun Rampal has played a Bhim, Manoj Bajpai a Duryodhan, Ranbir Kapoor a Arjun, Ajay Devgan a Karn and Katrina Kaif a Draupadi. Nana Patekar stars as a Krishna. Also Ranbir Kapoor's character is a reminiscent of desi Michael Corleone, the protagonist of The Godfather.

Raajneeti, with a running time of 2 hours and 50 minutes has skillfully handled a powerful storyline and a huge star cast. The turn of events in the movie are rightly linked. Like his previous movies, in Raajniti also Jha successfully put the subject into the skin of the characters with a great accuracy. All actors have delivered their role with great perfection. The performances are strong and credible. For veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseerudin Shah playing serious characters is no difficult task. Nana Patekar was impeccable as he appears in his contemporary style. Naseerudin Shah in a brief role leaves a noteworthy performance. Senior actors Ajay Devgan and Manoj Bajpai have brought back the memories of their incredible performance. But the real surprise came from Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, thanks to Prakash Jha. Jha has transformed the three actors and fit into their most challenging roles till date. A handsome Arjun Rampal wears an overwhelming confidence as seen never before. In his first ever such performance, a dashing Ranbir Kapoor fills out his serious character with calm and hence managed to stand out. A sparkling Katrina Kaif draping in saree was carefree as she perfectly plays a serious role.

Raajneeti is certainly the best movie of its genre by far.