T-20 saga continues

Money Making Machine

The advent of yet another T-20 league, Sri Lanka Premier League, is an indicator of how things will move for cricket in the future. In the near future, one cannot deny the possibility of leagues taking precedence over international cricket. As is with any other business or sport in the world, cricket is being ruled by financial considerations and T-20 cricket leagues are a goldmine. BCCIs effort to build up a global cricket brand, IPL, has been digested well by all stakeholders of the game. In a small time span of 4 years, IPL’s brand value has gone from nil to $ 3.67 billion. To build up such an amazing brand value in 4 years would make any top corporate honcho proud. In the hope of emulating the success of the BCCI run Indian Premier League, other cricket boards around the globe have already started or are contemplating to start their own T-20 leagues. Whether they would succeed or not remains to be seen.

Cricket economics has grown by leaps and bounds since the advent of T-20 cricket and the future is certainly looking bright for global popularity of the sport. Cricket boards around the world will also hope to generate revenues which they would have only dreamt of before T-20 cricket came into the fore. Arguably, cricket leagues around the world will be the next future of cricket.

True?

The lack of transparency in IPL, or most other T-20 cricket leagues for that matter, is a matter of concern as it can compromise the integrity of the sport and drive away eyeballs from T-20 cricket. Allegations of match fixing (or spot fixing) in T-20 cricket is doing the rounds for quite some time now. To ensure that these leagues have transparency in their functioning as well as their decision making, it is imperative to follow the professional ethos and conduct followed by popular football leagues around the world. This would bode well for the popularity of the sport on a global scale as well as for the cricket boards around the world.

-Sunny Gusain

Osama- the ideology

Osama is not history

The killing of the world’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden, at Abbottabad, Pakistan entails the end of a Jihadist who single handedly made the US insane. As an old adage goes, “the real death is the death of ideology and not the physical form.” Considering that Osama is dead should not in any way mean that the ideology on which he thrived for so long is also dead. In fact as a large number of Muslims in the Middle East are prejudiced against the US, Osama’s death, if anything, would be seen as the death of a revolutionary who stood against the mighty US and its anti-Muslim ideology.  For many Muslims, Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization Osama headed, became a synonym for Muslim’s struggle against the western autocracy. Although most people were muted because of the US’s goliath like form, they silently admired the obstinate ways of Al Qaeda. Of course, the felony Osama committed by striking at the heart of US’s economic centre eventually brought him his death. But, as some analysts say, US Special Forces made a mistake by killing Osama and giving him a cold blooded death when he could have been captured alive and prosecuted as per the US terrorism laws.

Protests?

US could have been in a much better position to showcase itself as a true democracy and build on its moral authority over the Middle Eastern populace if it had captured Osama alive and given him a free and fair trial. Rather it has now given an opportunity to terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda to press Osama’s death as an agenda tool and perpetrate violence in the name of ideology for its own vested interests. Alienating the people who are prone to be influenced by Osama’s ideology will sooner or later be detrimental for the US and the world at large. Rather than celebrating Osama’s death and terming it as a good job done US should concentrate more on bringing the Muslims at large into confidence with its Middle-Eastern policies and thereby integrate them with the mainstream ideology of the world. Clear Understanding and deep introspection is the need of the hour to deal with the real enemy-the ideology.

-Sunny Gusain

Falling sex ratio: Why we don't want them?

Save her

In the latest census data for 2011, India’s sex ratio has further skewed in favour of males as the census recorded 914 females per thousand males. This piece of data is not only disheartening but is a matter of great concern for the government and the people at large. Society’s fascination for the male child could prove to be detrimental for the society and the economy at large. The most astonishing fact that arises from the data is that while the Indian economy grew at record rates in the past decade, sex ratio slumped to deplorable lows.

Take steps

The data totally undermines the popular notion that rapid economic growth is often accompanied by an improved sex ratio in a country. Logic also says that sex ratio is likely to improve in a country when disposable income rises in an economy and more people are pulled out of poverty. But what we are witnessing in India is entirely contradictory.

So what are the possible reasons for this logic defying phenomenon? First, the

Join Hands

mindset or the psyche of the general public has not kept pace with the tectonic shifts in the economy. Second, guilty have not been brought to book with the urgency required to deal with the sensitive issue. Third, even after so much of economic growth, almost one-third of the world’s poor (source: World Bank) still resides in India and, understandably so, they prefer males to females. Fourth, lack of involvement by the local government results in brazen impunity from laws for the culprits. Fifth, pre-conception and prenatal diagnostics act implemented in 1994 has clearly failed to achieve its objective of deterring people from feticides and infanticides.   

The union health ministry is doing its bit by prodding and planning with the states the corrective measure which would be required to improve the status quo on sex ratio. The local administration needs to ensure that proper awareness be spread among the masses about the catastrophic effects of a skewed sex ratio. Also, enlightened members of the civilized society need to work arduously to ensure that foeticides and infanticides become taboo in the society. If sincere efforts are taken in this direction we are likely to witness a much improved sex ratio in coming years.

-Sunny Gusain