Stop blaming our sportspersons

When I was in ninth standard there was a usual discussion in class regarding what you want to become. Back then unrestricted by expectations of society we told our teacher what we really wanted to be. In my ninth standard, I was pretty sure that I will take up genetics. Back then I did not know that the society considers it a foolish aspiration unfit for earning 20000 rupees a month. If I told you that I live in the state of Tamil Nadu your assumption that I took up engineering is dead right. After all, that is what you are supposed to do. There was this one friend who wanted to be in the NBA. When my teacher asked him, “Do you think it is possible?” he silently nodded his head. He was an extraordinary player on the court. I have seen him win important matches for our school in the zonal. He even represented the State once I guess.

I am in touch with only a handful of friends after school and I met him only once after that. A few months ago, when I was surfing through Facebook I slipped into his profile. He is working as a software engineer in a ‘bulk’ placement company as we all call it.

A few months ago, when India returned home with two Olympic medals the usual blame game which we are often used to played out in the media again. There were calls for changing the government strategy, allegations of nepotism and as expected the noise drowned in few weeks. This react-forget-react behaviour has become so ingrained in our society that we never focussed on measures and solutions that bring actual change and address ‘real’ problems.

I am pretty sure that the friend I mentioned a paragraph ago was present in your life too possibly in another form. Maybe he was discus thrower, a footballer, a chess player who excelled till his ninth standard but every time they reach tenth their wings get clipped by board exams. People who call for change never really understand that the mistake lies with them.

Photo Courtesy: Ian Burt

The real problem lies in our society and not anywhere else. It is because of our short-sightedness in never attempting to change a colonial education system. The British set up an educated system in India not for ‘real education’ but to create people with some literacy so that they can work for the British. They did that because bringing educated people from Britain to work in India proved too costly and was eating into colonial profits. Very sensible! So people took up education because they could get ‘jobs’ in the government.

How could we expect such a system to work after independence? This not only ruined our education producing people with no sense of innovation or creativity (because it was not designed to) but also killing the aspirations for sports. People believed that doing well in the board exams was the top most priority as it would get them a ‘job’ and nothing else could. It doesn’t matter whether your inner potential could rival a Messi or Ronaldo. All people wanted was a ‘job’.

I still couldn’t understand that even after close to our 70^th year of independence we don’t address this problem staring at our faces in spite of the fact that the ‘system’ creates graduates whose employability is so low that they don’t get the ‘job’. If we seriously think about changing our Olympics tally the society needs to change. Alternatives to a rotten ‘system’ arise only when we seek.

I could not imagine the tons of hardship with which sportspersons get created in this country in spite of all the obstacles thrown at them. And we have people like Shobhaa De who have no sense of respect for those who toil hard without any support from our society. Every sportsperson who had risen in this ‘system’ deserves applause whether they win or lose.

There are plenty of things government can do. But the government policies change only when the people change.  If the change seems toxic you kindly don’t change. But also zip your mouth before you comment about Olympics because our societal attitude is rusted. 

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Ian Burt