Fault in Our Stars

It has been good long 19 years since the spectators or rather crowd, at India’s cricket Mecca – Eden Gardens – decided that they will not let Sri Lankans complete their annihilation of the Indian squad at the semi final game of the World Cup.

Stands were burnt, bottles were used as missiles and ultimately the game was called off in favour of the Lankans, who later went on to clinch their first and only World Cup title.

But that was 1996, the Indian economy had opened just a few years ago, India’s youth was still restless, jobless and perhaps – there is nothing official about it – resonated with the public at large.

History, as they say, repeat itself and for us it took just three years and that too at the same dubious venue. This time, the crowd cannot digest a run out. They decided it was unfair and that was it.

Those who dig for cricket trivia may know that that the boorish behaviour of the crowd at Rajkot in 2002 was not because India was on a slide. Let us, however, agree that 2002 was a year of aberrations and more so for Gujarat.  

Since then, we hoped and assumed that we have moved on, learning from our mistakes, or simply letting bygones be bygones.

After all in this while we have sent a probe to Mars, won the World Cup and elected a leader to prove that we believe in giving second chances.  

But after the latest debacle in Cuttack, when the spectators again transformed into a rioting crowd, maybe now the time has come to pause and reflect on the fact that somehow, we have missed an evolutionary phase.

And perhaps, in some way what happened at Cuttack and Dadri, is a reflection of our stunted growth. It takes a few runs on board, or a rumour to incite our animal spirits. We catch fire quickly than it takes sodium to burn in air.

So, are we not only sore losers and get hurt easily but also naïve and equally intolerant? 

Some may argue that it is not so, after all, arson and rioting does happen in the more civilised West. In sports, fans of soccer teams are renowned for that. The latest such incidents have, however, been reported from Malaysia and Egypt and both countries are already battling their own demons.

This, however, is not about comparisons. It is very easy to be outside the field and call judgements. Kohli is not playing well cause Anushka or they had beef in their refrigerator – are not aberrations. It is a mindset. And with each passing day our belief in passing on the blame, or making someone a scapegoat is strengthening.

We intuitively practice it in our daily routine. There is always someone there who can be blamed. A section of the stadium, some incited mob, one party ideology, or even a road, named after a king long dead 300 years ago.

August 15, 1947 was supposed to be our day of awakening to life and freedom. But in no measure we have kept our pledge. We are still fighting on the same issues that eventually led to partition and the unfortunate fact is that the trust deficit among ourselves is widening every year. We feed the Brutus inside us and yet we claim that the fault lie in our stars and not ourselves.

Maybe now it is time to have another tryst with destiny, first as individuals and then as a country. The Prime Minister perhaps needs to redefine Swachh Bharat. The journey from an uncouth nation to a progressive one cannot be limited to cleaning the muck on our roads. But then again, do we need someone to tell us that?