Splendour, grandeur, pomp… but too little, too late?

Oh, why do we do it to ourselves? Indians generally are talented, hard working and honest people. Our nature, like India’s dominant religion Hinduism, is very accommodating and Indians the world over are mostly model citizens. Yet, the lead up to the Commonwealth Games exposed India and Indians generally as corrupt, incompetent amateurs trying to punch above their weight.

There are many within the Indian Australian community who lashed out against the Australian media for their depiction of India. Front page photos in mainstream papers exposing the filth of the Games Village, and screaming headlines of death and danger in Delhi embarrassed the local community. Furthermore, security experts equating India to another Afghanistan became expert commentators. Brand India was tarnished further when Australia’s newest Prime Minister spoke to the media about travelling to India. Headlines - all negative - dominated the Australian press for days on end. It is sad that India and Indians allow themselves to reach this stage.

At the time of going to press, the Commonwealth Games were progressing well. While the danger of terrorism is always high on the sub-continent, this is but a natural side effect of modern

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

times. Only days ago, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency upgraded their warnings on travel to Paris and Germany. The Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated twice in as many weeks. New York, London and Madrid have all been victims of terrorist attacks. That the Australian Prime Minister Gillard held a special media conference on Delhi and terrorism, speaks volumes of her lack of diplomacy in matters of foreign affairs. Even the New Zealand Prime Minister John Keys spoke about issues of travelling to Delhi, but then stated that if he was an athlete, he would certainly travel to the Games.

One hopes and prays that the Commonwealth Games conclude without any incident, but the build up by the Australian Prime Minister and members of Australian media have clearly been a result of misinformed hysteria.

At the same time, why do we do it to ourselves? Is it in our Indian DNA to leave things to the last minute? With Delhi awarded the Games over 7 years ago, why did things get sorted out only within the last seven days? Could the planning have been better to ensure that the stadiums, Village and facilities were handed over to various Commonwealth authorities at the right time? Furthermore, the argumentative nature of our Indian blood was evident through many excuses randomly thrown around by the organising committee – the monsoons, local government road blocks, the differences in international hygiene standards... Perhaps at times, it is worth keeping silent and accepting the blame.

The Opening Ceremony was spectacular. For a few hours, the countries of the Commonwealth were mesmerised. We can only hope that the Games are incident-free till the end, and that the Closing Ceremony reaffirms the world’s faith in us, yet again.