Is India Really Shining?
Commonwealth Games is more nostalgia, less sports
If anything, the Commonwealth Games provide a lingering aroma of the British empire that in these modern times only evokes nostalgia and little else of note. The Games have evolved from the British Empire Games, first held in 1930 at Hamilton in Canada, to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954), the British Commonwealth Games (1970) to the present Commonwealth Games (1978).
The event has grown in size too, from 11 countries, 400 sportspersons and six sports to 71 nations and territories, 7,000 participants and 17 disciplines at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games Oct 3-14.
The change in nomenclature also reflects the gradual break-up of the British empire as erstwhile colonies, including India, gained independence.
The last vestiges of the British Raj, as Indians refer to the pre-independence period, still remain to keep the Commonwealth Games fire burning, although top sportspersons tend to give a thumbs down to the quadrennial event.
From India's perspective, the Commonwealth Games present an excellent opportunity to score some points and medals at the international level, though overall, the collective performance has been far from satisfactory.
Pakistan Olympic Association chief Arif Hasan complained that his team's rooms were "not fit enough to live in" and gave organizers 24 hours to improve conditions or its athletes will stay in a hotel.
India's Catastrophe
As New Delhi prepares for the 2010 Commonwealth Games things are falling apart -- literally
Debacle in New Delhi
How can India be a superpower if it can't even build a bridge?
What was meant to be India's coming out party is quickly turning into a walk of shame. Only 10 days remain before the curtains go up on New Delhi's Commonwealth Games, the 19th edition of a quadrennial gathering that brings together the 70-odd nations of the former British Empire, and India's capital is a city in disarray.
In the past week, Islamist terrorists claimed credit for injuring two Taiwanese tourists in a drive-by shooting; a pedestrian bridge near the event's flagship stadium collapsed, injuring 23 workers; a Scottish official declared the athlete's village "unfit for human habitation"; and Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand issued travel advisories warning their citizens of more terrorist attacks during the games.
Ratcheting up the pressure on India, officials from England and New Zealand have raised doubts about whether the games will go ahead as scheduled. On Wednesday, Sir Andrew Foster, the chairman of England's Commonwealth team, told the BBC that the future of the event remained "on a knife edge." And what was a trickle of top athletes pulling out threatens to turn into a flood. Among those who won't be in Delhi come October: Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser, Australian tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, and English triple-jumper Phillips Idowu.
Cancellation still appears unlikely. Depending on whom you ask, and on whether you include a broader aesthetic and infrastructure facelift for Delhi timed to coincide with the games, India has sunk between $3 billion and $10 billion on the event. With national prestige riding on a successful outcome, it would take a catastrophe -- say a major terrorist attack or flooding on the streets of Delhi -- for the government to throw in the towel. And decisions by individual competitors notwithstanding, few countries would risk a diplomatic row with India by pulling out over the state of athletes' apartments and amorphous fears of terrorism.
Nonetheless, the controversy over the games highlights the gulf between India's lofty ambitions and its often messy reality. Over the last 20 years, liberalization and globalization have unshackled many of the country's most productive citizens from heavy-handed socialism and raised living standards faster than at any time in the nation's history. But even as the private sector booms -- swelling the middle class and producing billionaires by the fistful -- the quality of governance remains abysmal. Neither the courts nor the electorate punish public servants for amassing private fortunes. In parts of the country, the political and criminal classes are hard to tell apart.
Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG) or Corruption Games in India?
Even before the most recent spate of bad news, the run-up to the Commonwealth Games has been plagued with scandal: multimillion-dollar stadiums with leaky roofs, fly-by-night firms accused of collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars without a written contract, and absurdly overpriced equipment and supplies, including $8,700 air-conditioners, $19,500 treadmills, and, most famously, $80 toilet paper rolls. Needless to say, Delhi is hardly the only city in the world where politicians and building contractors collude. But somehow, in other places, overpriced roads and bridges don't seem to fall apart with such alarming regularity.
For India's burgeoning middle class, the Commonwealth Games' natural audience, daily reminders of official ineptitude and corruption are hard to swallow. A popular joke on Twitter about Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organizing committee and a member of the ruling Congress Party, sums up the national mood: "Suresh Kalmadi tried to hang himself but the ceiling collapsed!" Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and national Sports Minister M.S. Gill are the other popular villains. The comparison with Beijing's immaculate hosting of the 2008 Olympics only adds insult to injury.
Of course, as with so much else in India, there's always the chance the games will come together at the last minute in the madly disorganized but ultimately enjoyable manner of a Punjabi wedding (to use the Indian media's favorite metaphor). Early troubles with stadiums appear to have been resolved for the most part -- at least until Wednesday, when part of a false ceiling collapsed at a weight-lifting venue. A frenzied clean-up job will likely make the athlete's village "fit for human habitation." And barring further mishaps, once the games begin, the media's attention will naturally shift from organizational deficiencies to athletic performance. But the games' deficiencies might actually be a home-field advantage: The absence of many international stars will likely give India's traditionally underperforming athletes their 15 minutes of Commonwealth-wide fame.
Larger questions about India's governance capabilities remain. The Indian middle class -- at best, 300 million people out of a population of 1.1 billion -- may not have the numbers to decide elections, but it needs to demand a greater say in the country's governance. This means finding ways to translate its economic muscle into political clout. Until Indian politicians are held to the same standards as their counterparts in advanced democracies, the country will have to continue to suffer the ignominy of collapsing bridges, sub-par apartment complexes, and $80 toilet rolls.
India tries to make poor disappear ahead of Commonwealth Games
The banners were erected at the little hillside enclave while everyone was at work, long blue and purple signs about 10 feet tall showing a smiling cartoon tiger proclaiming the arrival of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The plastic-roofed shanties that are home to more than 200 people - laborers who have spent the last year fixing up the city's roads for the games - had disappeared behind the smiling tiger.
New Delhi's beggars have been arrested or forced from the streets, migrants have been ousted, and thousands of slum homes have been hidden from sight.
New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the equivalent of the city's mayor, denied that the banners, hundreds of which have been put up around the city in the past couple days, had anything to do with poverty.
Olympic Village
I read on BBC that the Olympic Village isin't in a better condition either. The walls were not covered, the toilets didin't work and some of the builders left dirt and fezes inside the rooms. Thats quite a negative propaganda. Some Indian Government sopokesman said that hygiene is a cultural issue and its concept may vary from country to country.
India over rated
this fiasco is an ultimate proof of india being over rated by US/west, people inside and outside india need to focus on lives of 400 million people who are living worst life than living in african poor states.....US just wanted to lift india against china after win over soviet's. But its too early too rely on one of the world's most corrupt goup of individuals ...The Great Indian rulers!
UnCommonwealth Games
When one always pulls all-nighters, don't expect an A+. The phrase "By the skin of our teeth" has more margin for error than this event for which all the work was supposed to be finished by 2007. I wouldn't blame the star atjhletes to be a no-show. SO are many Delhites who are taking a vacation during the two-weeks. I bet it was the "Shining India" BJP party who signed up for this event to embarrass the Congress Party.
India over rated
this fiasco is an ultimate proof of india being over rated by US/west, people inside and outside india need to focus on lives of 400 million people who are living worst life than of life in african poor states.....US just wanted to lift india against china after win over soviet's. But its too early too rely on one of the world's most corrupt goup of individuals ...The Great Indian rulers!
Commonwealth Games is more nostalgia, less sports
If anything, the Commonwealth Games provide a lingering aroma of the British empire that in these modern times only evokes nostalgia and little else of note. The Games have evolved from the British Empire Games, first held in 1930 at Hamilton in Canada, to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954), the British Commonwealth Games (1970) to the present Commonwealth Games (1978).
The event has grown in size too, from 11 countries, 400 sportspersons and six sports to 71 nations and territories, 7,000 participants and 17 disciplines at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games Oct 3-14.
The change in nomenclature also reflects the gradual break-up of the British empire as erstwhile colonies, including India, gained independence.
The last vestiges of the British Raj, as Indians refer to the pre-independence period, still remain to keep the Commonwealth Games fire burning, although top sportspersons tend to give a thumbs down to the quadrennial event.
From India's perspective, the Commonwealth Games present an excellent opportunity to score some points and medals at the international level, though overall, the collective performance has been far from satisfactory.
Pakistan Olympic Association chief Arif Hasan complained that his team's rooms were "not fit enough to live in" and gave organizers 24 hours to improve conditions or its athletes will stay in a hotel.
India's Catastrophe
As New Delhi prepares for the 2010 Commonwealth Games things are falling apart -- literally
Debacle in New Delhi
How can India be a superpower if it can't even build a bridge?
What was meant to be India's coming out party is quickly turning into a walk of shame. Only 10 days remain before the curtains go up on New Delhi's Commonwealth Games, the 19th edition of a quadrennial gathering that brings together the 70-odd nations of the former British Empire, and India's capital is a city in disarray.
In the past week, Islamist terrorists claimed credit for injuring two Taiwanese tourists in a drive-by shooting; a pedestrian bridge near the event's flagship stadium collapsed, injuring 23 workers; a Scottish official declared the athlete's village "unfit for human habitation"; and Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand issued travel advisories warning their citizens of more terrorist attacks during the games.
Ratcheting up the pressure on India, officials from England and New Zealand have raised doubts about whether the games will go ahead as scheduled. On Wednesday, Sir Andrew Foster, the chairman of England's Commonwealth team, told the BBC that the future of the event remained "on a knife edge." And what was a trickle of top athletes pulling out threatens to turn into a flood. Among those who won't be in Delhi come October: Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser, Australian tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, and English triple-jumper Phillips Idowu.
Cancellation still appears unlikely. Depending on whom you ask, and on whether you include a broader aesthetic and infrastructure facelift for Delhi timed to coincide with the games, India has sunk between $3 billion and $10 billion on the event. With national prestige riding on a successful outcome, it would take a catastrophe -- say a major terrorist attack or flooding on the streets of Delhi -- for the government to throw in the towel. And decisions by individual competitors notwithstanding, few countries would risk a diplomatic row with India by pulling out over the state of athletes' apartments and amorphous fears of terrorism.
Nonetheless, the controversy over the games highlights the gulf between India's lofty ambitions and its often messy reality. Over the last 20 years, liberalization and globalization have unshackled many of the country's most productive citizens from heavy-handed socialism and raised living standards faster than at any time in the nation's history. But even as the private sector booms -- swelling the middle class and producing billionaires by the fistful -- the quality of governance remains abysmal. Neither the courts nor the electorate punish public servants for amassing private fortunes. In parts of the country, the political and criminal classes are hard to tell apart.
Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG) or Corruption Games in India?
Even before the most recent spate of bad news, the run-up to the Commonwealth Games has been plagued with scandal: multimillion-dollar stadiums with leaky roofs, fly-by-night firms accused of collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars without a written contract, and absurdly overpriced equipment and supplies, including $8,700 air-conditioners, $19,500 treadmills, and, most famously, $80 toilet paper rolls. Needless to say, Delhi is hardly the only city in the world where politicians and building contractors collude. But somehow, in other places, overpriced roads and bridges don't seem to fall apart with such alarming regularity.
For India's burgeoning middle class, the Commonwealth Games' natural audience, daily reminders of official ineptitude and corruption are hard to swallow. A popular joke on Twitter about Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the organizing committee and a member of the ruling Congress Party, sums up the national mood: "Suresh Kalmadi tried to hang himself but the ceiling collapsed!" Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and national Sports Minister M.S. Gill are the other popular villains. The comparison with Beijing's immaculate hosting of the 2008 Olympics only adds insult to injury.
Of course, as with so much else in India, there's always the chance the games will come together at the last minute in the madly disorganized but ultimately enjoyable manner of a Punjabi wedding (to use the Indian media's favorite metaphor). Early troubles with stadiums appear to have been resolved for the most part -- at least until Wednesday, when part of a false ceiling collapsed at a weight-lifting venue. A frenzied clean-up job will likely make the athlete's village "fit for human habitation." And barring further mishaps, once the games begin, the media's attention will naturally shift from organizational deficiencies to athletic performance. But the games' deficiencies might actually be a home-field advantage: The absence of many international stars will likely give India's traditionally underperforming athletes their 15 minutes of Commonwealth-wide fame.
Larger questions about India's governance capabilities remain. The Indian middle class -- at best, 300 million people out of a population of 1.1 billion -- may not have the numbers to decide elections, but it needs to demand a greater say in the country's governance. This means finding ways to translate its economic muscle into political clout. Until Indian politicians are held to the same standards as their counterparts in advanced democracies, the country will have to continue to suffer the ignominy of collapsing bridges, sub-par apartment complexes, and $80 toilet rolls.
India tries to make poor disappear ahead of Commonwealth Games
The banners were erected at the little hillside enclave while everyone was at work, long blue and purple signs about 10 feet tall showing a smiling cartoon tiger proclaiming the arrival of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The plastic-roofed shanties that are home to more than 200 people - laborers who have spent the last year fixing up the city's roads for the games - had disappeared behind the smiling tiger.
New Delhi's beggars have been arrested or forced from the streets, migrants have been ousted, and thousands of slum homes have been hidden from sight.
New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the equivalent of the city's mayor, denied that the banners, hundreds of which have been put up around the city in the past couple days, had anything to do with poverty.
Olympic Village
I read on BBC that the Olympic Village isin't in a better condition either. The walls were not covered, the toilets didin't work and some of the builders left dirt and fezes inside the rooms. Thats quite a negative propaganda. Some Indian Government sopokesman said that hygiene is a cultural issue and its concept may vary from country to country.
India over rated
this fiasco is an ultimate proof of india being over rated by US/west, people inside and outside india need to focus on lives of 400 million people who are living worst life than living in african poor states.....US just wanted to lift india against china after win over soviet's. But its too early too rely on one of the world's most corrupt goup of individuals ...The Great Indian rulers!
UnCommonwealth Games
When one always pulls all-nighters, don't expect an A+. The phrase "By the skin of our teeth" has more margin for error than this event for which all the work was supposed to be finished by 2007. I wouldn't blame the star atjhletes to be a no-show. SO are many Delhites who are taking a vacation during the two-weeks. I bet it was the "Shining India" BJP party who signed up for this event to embarrass the Congress Party.
India over rated
this fiasco is an ultimate proof of india being over rated by US/west, people inside and outside india need to focus on lives of 400 million people who are living worst life than of life in african poor states.....US just wanted to lift india against china after win over soviet's. But its too early too rely on one of the world's most corrupt goup of individuals ...The Great Indian rulers!
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