In the last two decades, the perception of India has changed drastically across the world. From being perceived as a poor socialist country, India is now regarded as an economic superpower of this century. India’s position on global issues carries a lot of weight with the western powers wooing India to become its ally.
Major sporting events, on the other hand, are considered as a platform to showcase the strength and progress of a nation. No wonder then that even in the two decades, all the major sporting events like the Olympic Games, FIFA world Cup, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games have been hosted primarily by developed nations.
All these events are organized by a major city or a metro of a particular country. The superficial perception is based on the infrastructure of the host city which is on display during the course of the event and other key human index parameters are ignored.
For example, the recently held FIFA Football World Cup hosted by South Africa was considered a huge success. Even though South Africa is 129 on the human index list, just five positions ahead of India which is 134. But all the statistics became oblivion when the world cup got over.
But the upcoming Commonwealth Games will be the first major global event organized by India post-liberalization. The last time India organized a major event was the Asian Games in 1982. The Cricket World Cup in 1987 and 1996 were also major sporting events but cannot be considered on the same scale as Asiad as the viewership and the number of nations that participated were too small compared to the Asian games.
In 1982, when New Delhi hosted the Asian Games, India’s economy was nearly $194 billion and was considered an under-developed nation. But still it managed to organize a successful event which bolstered New Delhi’s image. China, which is 92 on the human index list and falls under the ‘medium developed country’ category, showcased itself as a nation with world class urban infrastructure during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The only advantage China had was that there was no free media coverage allowed before the inauguration of the games. So basically no one outside China has a clue about China’s preparations.
The progress of CWG preparations in New Delhi, on the other hand, has not only been reported by the Indian media but also the international media. These games have so far been considered as a golden opportunity for India to reinforce the perception that India will be one of the biggest super powers of this century.
But India’s failure to host these games successfully will not only raise questions on India’s progress on the development front but will also be linked to other human index indicators. Because, remember the world has just been hearing about India’s emergence on the world stage on the basis of media reports and economic indicators. But they haven’t got a chance till now to take have a close look at infrastructure development made by India. The stereotypical perception of India has always been poverty, slums, BPOs, rural India etc., as showcased by a plethora of international documentaries and movies. Even the 2009 Oscar winning movie - Slumdog Millionaire - showed the stereotypical elements of India like poverty, slums, riots and the BPOs.
That perception can be changed by hosting a world class event. Ironically, the success or failures of these games will not have any impact on the real problems of India. It won’t change the lives of the poor farmers’ committing suicide or uplift the 30 odd percent people living below the poverty line. But it will surely boost the Indian pride no matter how superficial it maybe.
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