Inhuman act: But do not write off Air India

I hated Air India earlier. That was when I had the option to travel both by the government carrier as well as by the private airlines. I disliked the way the hospitality crew threw stale sandwiches at me in a fusty demeanour. Instead, I adored the ‘king of good times’ for his much more personable team with stylish red attire and cordiality.  But later, when the organization where I was attached to, put a blanket ban on any travel by the profit making enterprises, I was forced to get back to the Maharaja again.

Air India's new Dreamliner

But it was an amazing experience thereafter on each trip. I found a radical transformation in the attitude of the crew of Air India in the last few years. The personnel started taking very sincere efforts to compete with private operators by enhancing the airline’s overall performance, improving the quality of service, and offering much better hospitality. While the carrier which claims to fly people at a low cost (but the price many times comparable to Air India) would not even give you a glass of water without begging more than once, Air India gives delicious meals on long trips and tasty snacks on short trips. I found the crew of Air India much more natural and genuine in their conduct and response than the artificial grins of the crews of some of private operators.

We found that good times are not permanent if the smiles are not built on strong foundations. Beauty is not skin deep. Colourful empires crumbled and found it difficult to pay for the smiles. One can’t blame these airlines alone. Which airline in the aviation industry has made consistent profits in the world? Not a single one. So the problems are much more deep rooted.

My adoration to Air India suffered a dent a few days back. That was when I saw the news about a few hapless travellers who faced the wrath of certain officials and security men for demonstrating their legitimate protest against the decision of the airline to drop them off at Thiruvananthapuram airport instead of Kochi airport for which they had paid the fare. In fact, about 200 odd passengers spent more than 10 hours in the flight without snacks, drinking water, or air conditioning. It was alleged that one of the police officials told the angry passengers to drink urine, if they were thirsty. And I saw a video footage of some of these passengers manhandled by uniformed men, in one of the television channels. May be, the passengers were wrong if they have prevented the pilot from leaving the aircraft. But Air India should have taken care to prevent such miseries happening to the passengers. In the long run, this would definitely affect the image of the airline which is striving to retain its market share.

Courtsey: Deccan Chronicle

Air India is still the best as compared to many other airlines plying in the domestic sector, though I am not sure of the international sector. I had bitter experiences of getting stranded because of the inefficiency of some private airlines. I have mentioned one such incident in one of my earlier articles ‘Low cost window dressing of life’. I have also experienced how crews of some international airlines discriminate passengers from different countries in their hospitality and approach. Instead of boycotting an Airline for a few unfortunate instances of individual aberrations, there should be systematic demands for effective and long-term solutions for consumer issues. The ball is in the court of the officials. 

(Views are personal)

Sibichen K Mathew

Please click the link below to read other articles on related topic

Can we have an airport for people? Part-I

Can we have an airport for people? Part-II

Low cost window dressing of life

Built on Trust: The living legend who magnified an event called LIFE

-The inspirational life story of Dr P C Thomas 

Life is given on a platter. It comes in all hues. It is for the individual to sketch it the way he wants. Here is a man who envisioned and redesigned his life amidst adversities and built an empire of trust, love and knowledge. I was one of the lucky ones to secure a copy of the book ‘An event called LIFE: Dr P C Thomas in conversation with Shobhana Kumar’ on the day of its release. And I spent the rest of the day reading the inspirational memoir of this extraordinary individual who created wonders out of the ordinary.

Born of a perfectionist mother from an aristocratic family, Thomas was fortunate to get educated in the best academic institutions. The teachers spotted his academic calibre, leadership skills and creative spirit early in his life. He stood unique among his peers because of his innovative thinking, distinctive styles, drive and determination. Cultural and social upbringing greatly influences in shaping the personality of an individual. This is very evident in the case of Dr P C Thomas. The initial chapters of the book contain interesting anecdotes of his life in the ancestral house, cultural and religious exposures, and interaction with several persons who made lasting impressions on him. One such interaction was with C Rajagopalachari, who was the founder of the SwatantraParty and later became the Governor General of India and the Chief Minister of Madras State. After a short interaction with young Thomas, he remarked ‘I am impressed with your attention to detail’.

He was a passionate teacher all along. Though, as a strict disciplinarian he earned the nickname ‘Pinching Commander’, he was (CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE -->)

Paid news: One more reason to get away from all the NEWS!

I was listening to heated conversations over television news channels the other day. The persons in the studio and away from the studio eloquently shared their agonies about the widespread ‘paid news’ phenomena in the Indian media. Who said this? Not any politician or activist. These are told to the public by representatives from the leading media houses, regulatory bodies related to the media, and associations of media men. All of them agreed that money brings or blocks news. We heard of payment seats in educational institutions. Similarly, we have paid news in the media. All along it was an allegation from outside. Now it is official!

This reminds me of one of my articles written a few years back. Let me reproduce it before you. You can read the full text by clicking 'full article' at the end.

My son! Please don't watch the news

(SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010)   

Like any other child of his age, my son was addicted to TV since he started going to school. He took the control of the remote and I was at his mercy to keep the remote for at least for some time in my hand. He was keener on watching cartoons aired simultaneously by several competing channels. He learned all the theme songs of various animated shows and thoroughly enjoyed watching all of them whenever he is awake at home. Both my wife and me had to quietly allow this obsession as we were left undisturbed during that period. We could hear protracted loud laugh as he watched those shows from the TV room. As he grew bigger and elevated from primary classes to middle school, he was loaded with enormous homework and assignments. His class notes became shabby and he was hardly keen on correcting the notes written by him. He preferred just to listen to the lectures of the teachers and do nothing. That is what he got habituated through the cartoon programmes. Just watch the show and enjoy. Nothing to think and nothing to do. 

Like most of the young parents who live in nuclear families, we also thought that the art of training the children and upbringing them are ‘trial and error’ as no parent qualified a proficiency test in child rearing. My son’s diminishing interest in academics has worried us. And my wife .....Click here for full article

A letter to myself on this birthday!

Dear Sibichen,

Wishing you a very happy birthday!

Congratulations for your journey through the road less travelled. I read ‘Tomorrow is my birthday’ which you wrote two years back and ‘Today is my birthday’, you wrote last year. But already a few days have passed since your birthday, and still you have not posted anything like that this year. Don’t lose your way! You are on the right track. Follow the calling.

You are now confused! Whom you should listen: the freewill or conscience?

Freewill and conscience need not necessarily be in two distant realms where there is no mutual reproach or approach.  I know your question: Whether freewill should be subjected to the dictates of the conscience? Can the conscience issue prescriptions and proscriptions subject to the cultural and structural predispositions, if not biological and emotional predispositions? Freewill cannot be assumed to be a licence to act in response to the cathectic interests. Similarly, even when the inclination to act in a particular manner is guided by cognitive stimulants, it would not be necessarily justified. Thus there is an inherent dissonance between freewill triggered action and reaction and conscience triggered response.

Human, being the superior creation, has been given the power to act according to his freewill, of course within the parameters and boundaries set by immediate kith and kin, social networking circles, and the state. But it is a fact that there are enough areas in one’s life where none of these boundaries put up any restrictions or obstructions. Your thought processes are totally out of bounds for any external regulation, convention, norms, mores, or proscriptions. May be you would argue that ultimately action and behaviour would definitely be characterized by the above thought process and there could be restrictions at that level. It may also be argued that the thought processes triggered by freewill rather than conscience, very subtly influences the outward actions, though the true nature and dimensions of such action may not be very apparent to others. But the truth is that, the intention and character can be very obvious to others, may be almost immediately to those who are more intimate and to others if they are exposed to the person for a fairly long time. I don’t say that this situation is always an embarrassment. It can be an embarrassment only when the freewill and the conscience are positioned at rigidly and mutually exclusive realms without being complementary and supplementary to each other.

By this, I don’t mean that conscience is superior to freewill or vice versa. This depends on

Ordinary person; extraordinary life: A simple real life story for aspiring managers

Sibichen K Mathew

 
   

C.P Shrimali, son of Damodar  Lal Srimali was in Class 6. The chubby boy beamed with joy when his classmate distributed fountain pen to all his close friends on his birthday. He proudly attached the pen to his pocket and ran to the house immediately after the school. He wanted to show the pen to his siblings. The siblings were happy to see Shrimali’s new pen and they took turns to see it. In the night, when the father returned from work after writing the accounts for about seven shops from 7am to 9.30pm, he spotted a new pen with Shrimali.

He asked gently: “Dear son, I see a new pen with you. A very beautiful one. Where did you get it?”

Shrimali said: ‘Raj was celebrating his birthday today and he gave a pen to each of his close friends as a gift.’

“Such an expensive pen?” Shrimali’s father asked. 

Once upon a time...It was God's own country!

(Frame: Plantheperfectbabyshower.com)

Speeches by the dignitaries and the art of outsourcing

The recent Fareed Zakaria episode has sent warning signals to the people who have mastered the art of plagiarism. I do not wish to judge what he has done as a genuine mistake or as a pure and deliberate intellectual dishonesty. I also do not wish to argue that it  is a result of any professional envy. But, it has sent a message to many who hesitate to acknowledge the source from which they have lifted the content literally.  May be it was a sheer coincidence that on the same day one of the vibrant blogging communities in India detected a few blog posts where patterns of systematic and merciless copying were done.

Recently I was editing a few articles submitted by some high ranking officials for a souvenir. It was very unpleasant to see some glaring plagiarism by two of them (who lifted portions from Wikipedia) without even acknowledging the source. Drawing ideas from others to substantiate one’s point is fine. But one can’t lift several sentences from another person’s work and express as his own and fail to acknowledge the original contributor or source even in the references. This has happened to some of my blog articles as well. In spite of a warning that they are copyrighted, I found that extracts from my blog have been lifted by others. Fortunately for us, through Google we can track such clever practices.

Now I am on a different but akin topic now. That is about the ghost writers and their unaccountability. I somehow feel that some of the highly paid writers and high profile dignitaries who face terrible deadlines and time constraints are in the habit of outsourcing their writings, reports and speeches. This can land them in serious trouble if those people who write on behalf of them have compromised on the originality of the text they wrote.

Ghost writers (or Outsourced writing) and Plagiarism

The profession of ghost writing is not a recent phenomenon. In this era of outsourcing, along with the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), we now have outsourcing of writings of any kind: Speeches, theses, dissertations, editorials and messages. Outsourcing of theses and dissertations are very popular among students of some of the universities where neither the student nor the guide is capable of proving or disproving any hypothesis or has any inclination either to make an experimental or exploratory or descriptive study independently. The entire work is given as a comprehensive contract to a ‘professional thesis writer’ who has mastered the art of ‘content analysis’ of works done on similar themes and can liberally  lift the extracts meticulously.  One could only sympathize with their utterly worst performance during the public viva-voce examination. As theses and dissertations are increasingly being uploaded over internet, one could possibly detect the plagiarized content without much difficulty.

Speeches and Messages

  Our busy leaders need to be worried now. Most of our senior leaders from all fields, viz. corporate, politics, bureaucracy, agree to give speeches and lectures to several audiences. Many are invited to speak every day to different audiences and sometimes more than one speech on the same day. Most of these speeches are delivered through reading from a prepared written text and lasts for 20 minutes to nearly an hour.  Can we believe that these busy leaders prepare these speeches themselves?

I used to believe during my college days that

Voluntary Simplicity: A virtue for prosperity and wellbeing

Simplicity is a virtue. Voluntary simplicity is a greater virtue. It is a personal choice to being simple and modest, amidst abundance. If you feel that you are blessed with reasonable means for livelihood or live in a ‘comfort zone’, then it would be wise to think of practicing voluntary simplicity, occasionally, if not always.

It is called ‘voluntary’, as the act requires deliberate and conscious effort from oneself. It would not be an easy task to come out of the comforts, preferences and habituated life styles. And the action would seem illogical and apparently inconsequential. But the impact such actions of voluntary simplicity creates, is purely personal, satisfying and exemplary.

v  Life will be more meaningful when we create and not when we consume.

v World is unfortunately guided by the economic principle that growth is driven by consumption and expenditure. But such spending drive would not give enduring growth, balanced development and optimum utilization of resources.

v  Aggressive consumption habits will lead to fast depletion of natural resources.

v  It is not those who have more material possessions who receive larger social recognition.

v  There is a limit to which one can really enjoy one’s possessions.

v  When we spend more of our time for tasks that are not ultimately aimed at acquiring material possessions, we will tend to enjoy many beautiful things life offers us.

v  Duane Elgin has said, ‘You need to pursue a living that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich’.

v  One should be able to believe that ‘less is always better’ and ‘more is always a burden’.

v  Voluntary simplicity is not miserliness. It is also not an approach aimed at saving your money.

 (Courtsey: Anonymous)

May be we should try these exercises. Buying only things that we really use, can be a good decision. And we need to use it till its life lasts. Unfortunately our market discourages such frugality (It scares us with new versions making our goods incompatible and beyond repair. This happens mostly with the electronic items). Will it be possible to limit the number of pairs of dress in our cupboards? This is possible if we can donate one of our existing pairs before we buy a new pair of clothes. Same can also be attempted for other personal goods also.

Refrigerator, washing machine, Television, Microwave oven etc are labelled as consumer ‘durables’ that can serve us for a considerable period of time. (Unless they are non-functional or not meeting your important needs). But the profit driven market economy would declare: ‘No spares available’)

J Botherton said, ‘My riches consists not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants’

It is customary among many communities to go on a fasting mode for a few days. There are members of the Jain community who fasts for weeks without taking even a drop of water. It is amazing! I have seen some of those multi-millionaires belonging to this community devote a considerable period in a year in fasting and prayer. Muslims fast on all days in the month of Ramzan. Many Christians avoid non-vegetarian diet during the period of lent and on other selected days. Hindus, before embarking on a pilgrimage (eg. To Sabarimala Temple in Kerala), observes abstinence for several weeks. These are some of the customary practices in voluntary simplicity.

Apart from the above practices, it would be exciting to invent our own unique methods to practice voluntary simplicity now and then. Going for a simple diet for a specific period, skipping one of the meals, abstaining from the favourite dishes, limiting your indulgence in a lavish feast, occasionally leaving your vehicle while going for shopping, sleeping without a mattress or pillow, cutting down your early morning sleep to do something creative etc. are some steps we can try occasionally.

John Burroughs wrote:

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter … to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” 

10000 steps a day: Is it possible?

Someone told me this, the other day. One should aim at taking 10000 steps a day for complete fitness. Yes, I am talking about 10000 footsteps! How many steps do you take in a day? Have you thought of it? Of course, one can’t keep counting every footstep. But try to estimate how many steps you take in a day.

I started aiming at 10000 steps. Though I used to walk at least five days a week, either in the morning or in the evening or sometimes both times, I am sure I have never reached the 10000 target on any day. Now I try to change my strategies to increase my footsteps in a day. My count started with the morning walk.

(pic.courtsey: Tribune-India)

The walk in the residential colony is very refreshing.  People start walking from as early as 4 am and one can see people walking even at the late hours of the day, till midnight. Some walk very fast, some slowly, and some talk and walk. And I see some people dancing all the way. Many youth use this opportunity to have long intimate wireless chats with the distantly located counterparts. Some listen to their favourite music using earphones. Those senior citizens who do not believe in earphones put their radios in the pocket and listen to the devotionals in the mornings and Kishore Kumar in the evenings. It’s nice to see these lone walkers. However, there are several group walkers, who totally block the foot path without giving way to loners. They walk as a block sharing news, gossips and happenings in their respective familial and official front. They get involved so much in the discussion and literally block other walkers from overtaking them.

(pic.courtsey: mybaggagecounter.blogspot)

I started counting every step. And I gave double score for each step when I jogged. I could hardly reach 4000 steps in the morning. I rushed back home as I needed to finish my newspapers before readying for the office. I worried how I will finish another 6000 steps to reach my target for the day!

Back home, I thought I should get on to the treadmill. It was a recent addition to the highly dense environment in the house. I had miserably failed with just one vote in my favour (my vote) when the resolution regarding buying a treadmill was put to vote in the house. The same majority ruled that the most appropriate place to keep the treadmill is in my study (home-office) room. In fact, this is the destination for all the junk in the house from the decade old broken toys to a number of kitchen devices waiting for a skilled electrician. An FM Radio with speakers was placed near the treadmill. The fortnight was vibrant. But later, the only way to keep the tempo was to push the treadmill towards TV. That worked for a few days. Now, the treadmill has been comfortably positioned in the balcony to dry the clothes. As it was doing a good job there and serves as a good decoration, I didn’t want to disturb it.

But how to take another 6000 steps during the rest of the day? I decided not to use the lift (at least upto 5^th floor) in any buildings where I go. That really worked. I gave double score for each step up. By evening, I reached a score of 5500. Still another 4500 steps left.

I did not take the extreme step of walking back home in the evening. But on the way I got out of the vehicle to make a quick visit to the Club Gym. After changing to the sportswear I got on to one of the treadmills after waiting for about 20 minutes for my turn. Inspired by the sincere aerobic enthusiasts all around, I ran for about 20 minutes. I gave a good score of 2500 to myself. I reached 8000!

Back home in the late evening I was too tired to get off for another walk. After hogging whatever was kept on the dining table, I started my usual yelling to the TV addicted children to vacate the sofa and vanish to their study room.

While relaxing on the sofa, I evaluated my 10000 steps project. Yes, I should have given a score of 4500 for 20 minutes of treadmill! Why not give it now? Done! I slept peacefully!!

The bird of paradise

(55 fiction)

(Pic.courtsey: outlookafghanistan.net)

He loves this month. Gates of heaven opens during this month.

He spends all the evenings in front of the mosque.

His mother, wife and four children wait anxiously in front of the veranda, till he brings plenty to fill their stomachs.

While others fasted, they feasted. Because it is Ramadan rest of the year.

Sibichen K Mathew

The Heartbeats of Love

All She Needs is Love   Part-VII

The Heartbeats of Love

Mariamma peeped through the windows of the bedroom to see the guests of the day. Two men in their fifties, one lady of around 40 years, and a young man in his early twenties were sitting on the veranda accompanied by Joseph, who is a marriage dallal (whose job is to introduce prospective matches to the parents of the men and women of marriageable age). 

Joseph is a familiar person in the household, as he used to come with marriage proposals for Mariamma’s aunt. After undergoing several such ordeals, nothing fructified into a marriage and Mariamma’s aunt decided to become the bride of the Lord. She joined the Congregation of Mother of Carmel, which has its origin in the year 1866 at a small village called Koonammavu in Kerala. Mariamma’s aunt was happy at the convent, and she got the opportunity to study in English School and became a teacher in the St Aloysius Upper Primary School.

Dallal Joseph objectively moderated the proud presentation of family virtues by both parties. While Mariamma’s Appachan mentioned about the number of persons from their lineage who were selected to be priests and nuns, the elderly man from the other side, Thomman, did not want to

Goodbye to Gooseberry?

All She Needs is Love    Part-VI

Goodbye to Gooseberry?

  The twin boys grew up well nourished. Mariamma and her younger sisters had to be satisfied with lesser allotment of milk for their coffee. And the hens’ eggs, after the sales made to needy neighbours and to Thomas chettan’s tea shop in the junction, were exclusively kept for the twins. Mariamma’s sisters hated the hens because of this and angrily ward of the hens whenever they tried to come anywhere near them. They liked only the big red cock. They fed him well with the expectation of a good feast, next Christmas.

Mariamma didn’t bother much about such mundane things like her sisters. She sincerely served her mother. From early morning to late night she was hard up with unending household chores and rearing the cow, two goats and a kid, and more than a dozen of hens.  She enjoyed bathing the naughty twins and putting talcum powder on their body and dressing them up. She carried them on both the hips to the neighbours’ houses and played along with other children till her mother yelled them to return.

Every night, before she slept, she took her slate and scribbled several lines and then rubbed of everything. Many nights she dreamed

Communist Gospel according to Saint Lukose

All she needs is Love: PART V

Communist Gospel according to Saint Lukose

Mariamma’s absence in class for three days made Lukose Sir worry. He enquired from her friends.

They said: ‘Mariamma has stopped her studies. Her mother delivered twins and Mariamma has to look after them’.

That was a shocking news for Lukose Sir. How can a bright student like Mariamma drop out from school? That too, a girl aspiring to be a judge! He decided to go to Mariamma’s house and meet her father.

Mariamma was washing the clothes of babies and the mother when Lukose sir walked into her house. As the well and the washing stone was quite in front of the house, all washing and brushing were done in full view of all the visitors. Men folk performed their lavish bath (twice daily) in full public view. Ladies bathed in the late evenings as darkness engulfed the area or, carry their buckets to the thatched shed behind the

Broken slate and a lovely dream

All She Needs is Love

PART-IV

Broken slate and a lovely dream

Lukose master was going through the slates of his students in Class IV in St Thomas School, Karukachal. He found that the tall slender girl who was sitting in the last row on the cement floor had written so neatly, all the letters of the Malayalam alphabet.

He said ‘Sabash!’ meaning ‘excellent’.

The girl, who was clad in a white chatta^[1] and mundu^[2], felt happy and looked at her friends with a proud smile. Her name was Mariamma.

Lukose master was a terror not only for the students, but also for most of the teachers. No one used to be bothered much about the headmaster Kuriachan Sir who was regularly irregular to the school. Kuriachan sir was more interested to look after his chena (yam), kappa (tapioca), kaachil (another variety of yam) and a host of vegetables in his land rather than teaching students

Save our Sports!

·      Beena was the eldest of the four daughters of a rubber tapping labourer from a hilly district of Kerala. Mr Thomas, the physical educational instructor of St George School spotted the athletic talent in this poor, slender girl, while she was in Class 7. The dedication that she made to athletics that day continued for several years. When she won her district, state, and country many gold medals, no one knew that she ran on empty stomach and that her family lived under thatched roof. When an opportunity came to showcase her talent in a prestigious international meet, the selection team and the sports authorities quietly replaced her with another less competent girl who had political backing. Beena’s talent remained in her remote village and is now living as a plantation worker.

This is just a representative case to show how patronage from the powerful can decide one’s future in sports.

·     Indian Hockey team arrived jubilantly after defeating a strong opponent. But they were reportedly ridiculed and humiliated by offering a paltry twenty five thousand rupees per player whereas each cricket team member received rewards in lakhs for a similar victory.

                                                                                                     

Why this discrimination? Critics say, cricket is big money, honey!

·       India won more than 100 medals in the in the recent Commonwealth Games, held at New  Delhi. Apart from this, the final tally included 45 cases of corruption and more than a dozen arrests.  It was alleged that there is misappropriation and mismanagement of thousands of crores.

Dick Ritger had said: ‘All sports are games of inches’. But we can correct this to, ‘All sports are games of riches’!

The above three are just representative samples of thousands of instances of dishonest, unfair and unscrupulous actions by the powers that controlled the sports in India. The first one is an illustration of how millions of meritorious sports persons are unjustly pushed out of the courts to make way for those who wield power. The second one is a clear indication of how business interests make or break a game. And the third points towards a deeper malaise that increasingly gripped the Indian society. The cancer of corruption has spread far and wide to every institution of society. And field of sports is the latest casualty.

What is common in all the above cases? Power and Money. It doesn’t matter whether there is a politician, bureaucrat, businessman, sports person or a social activist at the helm of the affairs. What matters is their driving force. Either the source or the destination or both could be either money or power or both. Let us analyse this in detail. Before we analyse this in detail, let us try to answer the following controversial question.

Should we make sports leadership out of bounds for politicians?

My instinctive answer is a big NO. But, if many politicians are corrupt, we have as many corrupt bureaucrats, sports persons, activists and religious leaders. There is no sector of the population which is untouched by the evil of dishonesty, nepotism and corruption. We need to rank which profession is corrupt based on the opportunity to be corrupt. Politicians and bureaucrats are at a comparatively vulnerable position to use and abuse money and power. But when the right opportunity knocks at their doors, our sportsmen, activists or the spiritual gurus also quietly tread into dishonest paths for personal gains. We have innumerable examples of unethical practices by persons from each of these professions. Thus the persons don’t matter; but an environment that facilitates corruption and inefficiency matters. What is needed is the creation of a system that insulates corrupt practices in sports. Before I conclude this topic, let me discuss once again if we should ban politicians from heading sports bodies.

  (courtsey)

Probably there may not be any other professional label in English language that instantly evokes a suspicious response than the word ‘Politician’.  The negativity triggers such an intense feeling that people started using this noun to anyone who is manipulative, shrewd and deceptive. Even politicians do not like them to be addressed as such, but prefers nomenclature like civic leader, social worker etc.

In a democratic polity, the politicians, whether actually a part of the ruling power structure or not, represents a cross section of society. They are assigned the roles of presenting and solving the issues faced by people. In a representative governance system, ideally, the political leaders decide about the generation and utilization of resources for the common good. Thus by having a politician as one of the decision makers in a sports body would prove to be beneficial for the prospects of sports which should be done within a systemic frame work explained at the end of this article.

Can the leadership of the sports bodies be entrusted exclusively with sportsmen? ….And if they are having political or commercial interest?

Konrad Lawrence wrote: ‘A specialist knows more and more about less and less and finally knows everything but nothing.’

This is true in the area of sports as well. The roles, functions, powers, vision and mission of a large sports body are wide, exhaustive and comprehensive. There are technical, managerial, supervisory, and inspirational skills needed to lead such an organization. Expertise in sports or a particular game is only one of the many attributes to step into the shoes. While a sportsman can assess the needs and priorities through his technical expertise, he also needs professional competence, ethical standing, managerial effectiveness, wider outlook and leadership traits that ensure cohesion and solidarity. If these are present, a sportsman would be the most suitable person to head a sports body.

Unfortunately, as in any other field, sports are also marred by allegations of dishonesty, unethical practices, and nepotism by sportsmen, former sportsmen and sports officials like coaches, umpires etc. That does not mean that there is a dearth for honest, disciplined and visionary individuals among the sports persons. As any other person of similar integrity and competence, sports persons are also eligible for selection to the top leadership of sports bodies. In fact, other things being equal, they would be at an advantageous position as compared to others due to their core competence.

 It is a fact that major sports events are not just a platform to showcase healthy competition, but avenues to provide mass entertainment, to make huge profits, for wide reaching advertisements, and to derive opportunities to wield power, and become points of strategic convergence of all of these. Therefore, there are conflicts of interests, promotion of particular interests and suppression of public interest. Being an important party in the events sportspersons do play a crucial role in all of these. This is more conspicuous when the sportspersons either directly or indirectly, manage or control marginally or substantially an event. Though many instances of such unholy nexus between sportsmen and various interests have come to light and available in the public domain, specific references are avoided here as some of these are continued to be disputed legally.

It is clear from the aforesaid discussion that sportsmen with commercial and political interest, latent or manifest, or direct or indirect cannot be a fit candidate for occupying any decisive role in any sports body.

The solution

What is imperative today is to create a system in place that formulates clear rules and guidelines regarding the eligibility and fair selection of office bearers of sports body and detailing a clear code of conduct.

Here are some suggestions:

•  It is immaterial who the person is; be it a politician or bureaucrat or businessman or sportsperson, or an activist. The eligibility should be restricted to persons of proven integrity, exemplary conduct in public life and higher levels of competence to manage and lead the team and reasonable expertise in the area of sports.
•  There should be a fixed tenure and should not be eligible for re-appointment.
•  In case of any allegation of conflict of interest, the onus should be shifted to the functionary to disprove the allegations with clear evidence.
•  The body should consist of representatives who satisfy above criteria and should necessarily have sufficient representation from important categories of sports.
•  The National Sports Bill, which is yet to be passed by the Parliament, should be reformulated.
•  Politicians who are saddled with  ministerial responsibilities should not be permitted to head the body.
•  Sportspersons and others who are selected for the post should give a declaration that they or their close relatives or associates do not have any  pecuniary interest that has any remote connection with the performance of roles and functions associated.
•  There should be a comprehensive cost and system audit and the report should be tabled in Parliament. The auditors should not be eligible for reappointment.

Concluding note

Thus, I would like to conclude my discussion stressing that, the posts of heads of sports bodies, instead of reserving only to the sportspersons, can be given to any person who has proved his integrity, core competence, administrative efficiency, and inspirational leadership traits.

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This post has been published by me as a part of IBL; the Battle of Blogs

The permission

All She Needs is Love

PART-III

Dear Grandma

    I showed my last letter to you, to a few of my friends. They were amused by the way you lived your life confidently, courageously and royally. And they would love to hear more about you.

    I remember you telling me once. “Write a story about your Grandpa and me. Or, you can better write a screenplay for a beautiful movie. People would really wonder whether such a ‘story’ could ever happen in real life!’

      So, I am continuing your story, thanking you for giving me permission.

 Read Part-IV  Broken slate and a lovely dream  

    
(Part-I)    (Part-II)