Thursday, April 7, 2011

Ban freebies

Does a bus/train driver get a one crore house for driving his passengers safely throughout his career, which is a matter of life and death.  Or does a teacher get free railway passes for having guided students in the right path.  Does a pilot get free airline tickets for landing his passengers safely in trouble ?  For that matter, what does our hockey team or the kabbadi team get.  Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became ATP No.1 two days after India won the cricket world cup.  Still, that news was on the last but one page and that too one small piece.

BMWs, one crore worth houses, free airline and railway tickets for a lifetime not to mention the lakhs that is given away by each government for these cricketers.  Makes one think.  One day, a whole generation will try to play only cricket - then what will happen ?

Oh, for my students and others, I am not a fan of cricket.  For me, especially after the match fixing period, cricket is a staged drama.  Okay, it is a game.  Nothing greater than any other.  Somehow, we as a nation have got hooked on to it like addicts do to drugs.  A word against cricket in class, and there are students who wouldn't utter a word otherwise, stand up and question you.  They get so offended that they tell you it hurts them.  Some turn pink on their cheeks.  So much passion.  Passion I tell them is good.  Actually very good.  Wish they had 1/10th of it for their own lives and their own careers.

This clamour among the ruling class to give freebies to all these people is not understandable to me atleast when other sports, even our national sport, is rotting for want of funds.  Athletes don't have good training facilities, those who were have no funds to take care of them in case of injury that paralysis their life forever.  Cricketers already earn so much.  And then, have more. 

Adding salt to the wound is the call for giving Sachin the Bharat Ratna.  That was offending.  He is a good player no doubt.  He has brought cheer to many of us with his bat and helped the country by being in the team.  However, he is not different.  He asked for customs relaxation for his imported car, and now for extra floor space to build a gym.  He is given more than what a player is given, more than what sports persons winning in other games like tennis and badminton get.  But a Bharat Ratna.

The question is how does the government find the money to do all this, and yet not find enough money for social welfare.  And, what right do they have to use funds in this way ?  Why is it that we as citizens don't question ?  Why is it that many villages don't have means for drinking water and sanitation due to lack of funds - villages in states where governments have announced awards ?  And then the cricketers.  If they said, that what extra they receive will be given away for a cause, I assure you that all these people will stop giving away freebies.  But which cricketer would do that ???  Not one. 

Questions, no answers.  Only one mad thing called cricket.










1 comment:

Unknown said...

1000 likes i said the same view to my friend and got nicely from her