When we have the Indian Premier League, Common
Wealth Games, why not the Formula 1. That was
enough logic to justify hosting the mega event of the
year .The inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit
was the toast of the country and made international
news . In Greater Noida, New Delhi , a state of
the art arena has been unveiled and vying to be
clubbed along with other world class racing circuits.
We have done it , to stand shoulder to shoulder with
other advanced countries. The Buddh Racing Circuit
is now an Indian international brand . The Ferraris ,
McLarens, the Indian Sahara Force, all gave the
90000 strong crowd it’s value for money . Like
the IPL , the upwardly mobile middle class was the
bulk consumer . Whether the $400 million spent on
the infrastructure is really relevant is not being asked
knowing it is a private enterprise unlike the botched
up Common Wealth Games. All the champagne
hadn’t spilled over before the who’s who of the
grand event gathered at an after event party . They
were ready to rock at Rs 40000/- a ticket, and
the item girl Lady Gaga flew in to spice up the
evening . She performed to the rapturous beat and
wild applause of those gathered , corporate honchos
and the well heeled in that festooned private basket
ball court.
But the newspaper had another piece that touched
a raw nerve, the report on children going missing
and dying in rape and kidnapping. Our national
capital recorded the highest number of cases 2982
cases in 2010. What a shame . Is our capital that
unsafe a place .When we talk of the speed transport
systems, the much touted Yamuna Expressway to
Agra, showcasing of the Commonwealth Games
and so on, we think our capital city is comparable
to any other around the globe. Is it here that our
children are being taken away , molested and killed
for whatever reasons. They fall easy victims to anti
social elements. Across the country Bihar and UP
are leading in the list of unsafe states. What a sorry
state of affairs, we do not know if our children will
return home safe from school . Who is responsible
for ensuring safety on the streets . Are the criminals
roaming free in our cosmopolitan cities . Female
infanticide is another scourge we cannot gloss over.
What a striking contrast this is, a country whose
capital isn’t a safe place , where children are killed
or go missing in hundreds and showcasing a mega
event the racing Grand prix . Our leaders want to bid
for the Olympics . New Delhi is no Baghdad or
Nairobi, or a terror stricken Islamabad, yet we are
appalled at such a magnitude of the crime . What is
the police force doing . As a country we churn out
the best of IIMs and IITs, but aren’t they shy to
stand up for a good cause and prove their mettle.
Many of our primary and secondary schools across
the countryside do not have tables and chairs for the
students , and proper toilets, forget computers. Why
do we have a high percentage of drop outs in
schools, and what do such children do next .
Gujarat , recording high GDP tops in the list . What
about our health care statistics that show Govt
primary health centres, but without medicines. Can
our average citizen afford the cost of private
healthcare that has taken over the medical practice.
Yes , we have medical tourism that brings in much
needed foreign currency thro’ world class private
enterprise . But the common citizen has to make do
with mediocre facilities in poorly run state
government hospitals, forget the red tape and the
cost of unavailable medicines.
By playing host to mega events and making a case
for such elite sport, are we trying to prove to the
world that our country is equally advanced and
prosperous. That our citizens are a truly sophisticated
and eclectic group. ‘World raises toast to India’,
read one headline , what more . Remember, we are
a country of millionaires and slumdogs . Are our
priorities right. Yes, there’s big money in sports
like cricket and now the high profile speed racing
when the automotive firms are waiting to sponsor
and promote their brands cashing in the exuberant
attitude . The media laps up the fervor and makes
it a all too pervasive western megalomania . But
what about the country’s inclusive agenda . Are we
really a developing nation. Does the megabucks
translate to better schools for our kids, safety on the
streets and healthcare for the aged and the sick . Only
looking to aid and support from altruistic corporate
houses like Wipro, Infosys, Tatas and so on to fund
the lackluster public utilities . Are we dividing the
country into the rich and the poor, where the middle
class is only a growing number, not really secure and
constantly chasing a dream .
Wealth Games, why not the Formula 1. That was
enough logic to justify hosting the mega event of the
year .The inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit
was the toast of the country and made international
news . In Greater Noida, New Delhi , a state of
the art arena has been unveiled and vying to be
clubbed along with other world class racing circuits.
We have done it , to stand shoulder to shoulder with
other advanced countries. The Buddh Racing Circuit
is now an Indian international brand . The Ferraris ,
McLarens, the Indian Sahara Force, all gave the
90000 strong crowd it’s value for money . Like
the IPL , the upwardly mobile middle class was the
bulk consumer . Whether the $400 million spent on
the infrastructure is really relevant is not being asked
knowing it is a private enterprise unlike the botched
up Common Wealth Games. All the champagne
hadn’t spilled over before the who’s who of the
grand event gathered at an after event party . They
were ready to rock at Rs 40000/- a ticket, and
the item girl Lady Gaga flew in to spice up the
evening . She performed to the rapturous beat and
wild applause of those gathered , corporate honchos
and the well heeled in that festooned private basket
ball court.
But the newspaper had another piece that touched
a raw nerve, the report on children going missing
and dying in rape and kidnapping. Our national
capital recorded the highest number of cases 2982
cases in 2010. What a shame . Is our capital that
unsafe a place .When we talk of the speed transport
systems, the much touted Yamuna Expressway to
Agra, showcasing of the Commonwealth Games
and so on, we think our capital city is comparable
to any other around the globe. Is it here that our
children are being taken away , molested and killed
for whatever reasons. They fall easy victims to anti
social elements. Across the country Bihar and UP
are leading in the list of unsafe states. What a sorry
state of affairs, we do not know if our children will
return home safe from school . Who is responsible
for ensuring safety on the streets . Are the criminals
roaming free in our cosmopolitan cities . Female
infanticide is another scourge we cannot gloss over.
What a striking contrast this is, a country whose
capital isn’t a safe place , where children are killed
or go missing in hundreds and showcasing a mega
event the racing Grand prix . Our leaders want to bid
for the Olympics . New Delhi is no Baghdad or
Nairobi, or a terror stricken Islamabad, yet we are
appalled at such a magnitude of the crime . What is
the police force doing . As a country we churn out
the best of IIMs and IITs, but aren’t they shy to
stand up for a good cause and prove their mettle.
Many of our primary and secondary schools across
the countryside do not have tables and chairs for the
students , and proper toilets, forget computers. Why
do we have a high percentage of drop outs in
schools, and what do such children do next .
Gujarat , recording high GDP tops in the list . What
about our health care statistics that show Govt
primary health centres, but without medicines. Can
our average citizen afford the cost of private
healthcare that has taken over the medical practice.
Yes , we have medical tourism that brings in much
needed foreign currency thro’ world class private
enterprise . But the common citizen has to make do
with mediocre facilities in poorly run state
government hospitals, forget the red tape and the
cost of unavailable medicines.
By playing host to mega events and making a case
for such elite sport, are we trying to prove to the
world that our country is equally advanced and
prosperous. That our citizens are a truly sophisticated
and eclectic group. ‘World raises toast to India’,
read one headline , what more . Remember, we are
a country of millionaires and slumdogs . Are our
priorities right. Yes, there’s big money in sports
like cricket and now the high profile speed racing
when the automotive firms are waiting to sponsor
and promote their brands cashing in the exuberant
attitude . The media laps up the fervor and makes
it a all too pervasive western megalomania . But
what about the country’s inclusive agenda . Are we
really a developing nation. Does the megabucks
translate to better schools for our kids, safety on the
streets and healthcare for the aged and the sick . Only
looking to aid and support from altruistic corporate
houses like Wipro, Infosys, Tatas and so on to fund
the lackluster public utilities . Are we dividing the
country into the rich and the poor, where the middle
class is only a growing number, not really secure and
constantly chasing a dream .
- Bijoy Joseph
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