Although so much has happened in respect of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi that should never have been permitted to mar the national mood, all Indians — indeed all sports lovers — would hope that nothing further should go wrong in the days that remain before the grand event begins.
Recounting the long list of unpleasant facts that have dogged the Games preparations would serve no purpose here. It is enough to say that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears more than conscious of the terrible consequences that are likely to follow if dire newspaper headlines — such as “India awaits its lap of dishonour” that sat atop a piece in London’s influential Financial Times on Thursday — come to pass. About a month ago, appreciating the sensitivity of the issue, the Prime Minister had placed the last lap preparations in the hands of trusted civil servants headed by the Cabinet Secretary, in effect sidelining the ill-fated organising committee led by Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi, who is the head of the Indian Olympic Association. When this was found to be not enough, on Thursday he called an emergency stocktaking meeting which urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy, sports minister M.S. Gill, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon were asked to attend.
It is clear that the Games are no longer just a sporting matter. The import of a failed enterprise will point to a severe denting of national prestige and lead to political consequences for the UPA government. There is no getting away from the fact that Dr Singh’s stewardship of the government is likely to be called into question. After all, it is nearly a year since Mike Fennell, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation, sounded the first warning on the completely shoddy state of preparedness. And yet the government chose to continue trusting the Games organising committee against which charges of malfeasance have been whispered for so long. At the very least, this bespeaks poor judgment. The current state of affairs stand in such contrast to the splendid organising of the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, coordinated without a hitch by the late Rajiv Gandhi. It is hard to believe that a government led by the Congress Party has slipped up so badly this time round.
It says something for the unprepossessing state of affairs that in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna was besieged by complaints and warnings by the foreign ministers of Commonwealth countries whose athletes are to arrive in New Delhi. The stinging comments of several Commonwealth Prime Ministers and foreign ministers will continue to remind us what the world thinks of us. India’s much-vaunted soft power is veritably under siege. In the event, the main Opposition party, the BJP, has just about managed to keep shrillness out of its criticism of the government as the party virtually directs the Prime Minister to take charge and responsibility.
Arguably, the India story is much too big and diversified in the current historical phase to be swept away under the cascade of denunciations, some of which may well be motivated. And yet, who can blame the world if it now entertains second thoughts over India’s ability to meet infrastructure, industrial and commercial deadlines, and to maintain the credibility of its commitments in multiple fields. In short, the basis of India’s power and its much-vaunted leadership potential is likely to be called into question. We had seven years in which to deliver the Games, and it is “two seconds to midnight” — as someone tellingly commented — and we are struggling to bring a semblance of order to the proceedings. All we can do at this stage is to hope and pray.