It is fashionable to say following our liberalisation gurus in the US and Western Europe that politics should be separated from Economics. This coming from countries how have in the last 1000 years not been able to separate politics from religion sounds specious, but we shall let it pass for now. Following the dictum of separation of politics and economy many Indians who love the way things have turned out for them including myself, would like to believe that since 1991 politics has been somewhat separated from economics. Any government who has come to power since then has followed a smiliar line [if not in practice at least in preaching] of economic development.
Carrying on this trend of separation [separation of executive from judiciary, religion from politics and economics from everything else] further and separate politics from sports? I know most of us are slightly jealous of or threatened by China but this does not mean that we should try hard and screw up the Olympics, like the US and USSR did in the 1980s [I thought Cold War was over]
President Bush, President Sarkozy have been politicking against the Olympics really hard, not so much against the Olympics but against. And their feelings are being echoed by many others in that country. Ohterwise, one cannot account for so many Tibetan supporters in France and in the US. In normal times you do not see these countries or their leaders making too much noise for the Tibetans...
Of course, the fever has caught up in India also. First it was Baichung Bhutia declining to carry the torch, then it was Aamit Khan giving a confused reply and now it is Kiran Bedi who has declined [does not want to be carried in a cage] Who are these people in any case and what is their claim on carrying the torch? Why has the IOC approached them to carry the torch? The mind boggles.... Why can't we get a few former olympias to carry the torch? Why can't the government come out in the open and say they would like to see politics and sports clearly separated and make sure that the torch is carried safely to China?
There is a bengali proverb which says that when the elepehant is stuck in the mud even the toad kicks him... this is what is happening to China now... but remember the elephant ultimatley get out of the mud...
It is time that we stood up for the cause of sports and separated it from politics before we talk of separating sports from politics...
Carrying on this trend of separation [separation of executive from judiciary, religion from politics and economics from everything else] further and separate politics from sports? I know most of us are slightly jealous of or threatened by China but this does not mean that we should try hard and screw up the Olympics, like the US and USSR did in the 1980s [I thought Cold War was over]
President Bush, President Sarkozy have been politicking against the Olympics really hard, not so much against the Olympics but against. And their feelings are being echoed by many others in that country. Ohterwise, one cannot account for so many Tibetan supporters in France and in the US. In normal times you do not see these countries or their leaders making too much noise for the Tibetans...
Of course, the fever has caught up in India also. First it was Baichung Bhutia declining to carry the torch, then it was Aamit Khan giving a confused reply and now it is Kiran Bedi who has declined [does not want to be carried in a cage] Who are these people in any case and what is their claim on carrying the torch? Why has the IOC approached them to carry the torch? The mind boggles.... Why can't we get a few former olympias to carry the torch? Why can't the government come out in the open and say they would like to see politics and sports clearly separated and make sure that the torch is carried safely to China?
There is a bengali proverb which says that when the elepehant is stuck in the mud even the toad kicks him... this is what is happening to China now... but remember the elephant ultimatley get out of the mud...
It is time that we stood up for the cause of sports and separated it from politics before we talk of separating sports from politics...
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