A new revelation about the Commonwealth Games just keeps pouring in. Every day, a new abysmal update on the preparation front emerges and adds to the embarrassment. But, going by the way the CWG officials have been reacting to the whole mess, a few things about us, as a nation, have become distinctly clear.1) Hygiene! Whats that? - Even though the infrastructure & facilities are world class and much better than the previous CWG venues, the organizers ignored the basic hygiene issue which has completely overshadowed the other positive aspects of the ‘Games Village’. Even if the media has over blown the issue, the fact remains that the organizers didn’t consider this as a priority. This clearly reflects from Bhanot’s statement that cleanliness & hygiene is a perception issue and the Indian standards differ from international standards. For any normal person this would sound absolutely absurd, but there are many who may not say it openly but agree that Indians are, by nature, not cleanliness freaks.
2) Babus (Bureaucrats) do it again - The whole event was executed by bureaucrats working in different government agencies. And when all these agencies are headed by people who have worked all their lives like bureaucrats, the situation can’t get worse. Kalmadi, Gill, Bhanot etc epitomize the ‘ineffecient working attittude’ of bureaucrats that has always failed this country. Had a private company organized the same event, then the scenario would have completely different.
3) The Eleventh hour tendency - Yes, our government is trying to put things together at the eleventh hour, as always. This has always been the case that government wakes up only when the damage is done. It’s unfortunate that a nation which boasts of citizens & corporates that are known for their on time performance across the world has completely shattered that image by this performance by all measures.
4) The complacent attitude - The best way to describe this attitude is in Hindi which is the ‘Chalta hai’ attitude. The government & bureaucrats are known for running this country with this complacent attitude. And the reason why this attitude has just got worse over the years is because of inaction against them. These people will never get fired no matter how slow, corrupt and inefficient they are at work.Again, the same can’t be said for the corporate private sector which has given a new shape to this country.
5) What’s Accountability? - No matter what happens, no one knows who is accountable. Kalmadi blames the Delhi government, the same Delhi government blames agencies & then some blame the weather and the blame game continues. Yes, everyone is calling for Kalmadi’s head but that won’t be enough. The whole committee, including politicians & bureaucrats, should to be taken to task after the games end.
6) Event over, scandal forgotten - I fear that this might happen yet again. Once the games are over and by chance if they pass off even in a smooth manner compared to the present mess, then everyone will start congratulating each other for the good show considering that the Games were in such horrible shape before they started and how everyone pulled up their socks and made the games a success. All the filth, delay, corruption charges are forgotten. Let’s not repeat it this time. No matter how good the games go, the damage is done. We are a laughing stock across the world.
Many people I have spoken to are of the belief that this a propaganda to embarrass India which has been creating waves across the globe for the last few years. This is again an escapist attitude. We Indians are good enough to judge ourselves whether we are been targeted or we have actually goofed up. Many would say that by Indian standards we have done very well but by international standards we were behind…To all those people, please wake and smell the coffee…it’s the 21st century and we are an emerging super power…And to achieve that position we have to learn how to accept our negatives.
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