Like any major global sporting event in recent memory, the Commonwealth Games have polarized public opinion. To articulate this, I can highlight three main categories of opinion on the Games:
1. The Games are good for India, and much-needed to improve its image and showcase its arrival in the international stage.
2. The Games may incur enormous expenditure, but now that we’re knee-deep in mud, might as well drag ourselves through.
3. The Games are evil, and we must boycott them.
As far as I can see the trajectory of opinion, the group that was ideologically opposed to the Games have shifted base and moved en masse to the ‘Games-are-synonymous-with-corruption’ camp. So at this point, it would be safe to assume that a sizeable section of the middle class would’ve probably found it easy to come to terms with the CWG, minus the corruption and the scandal and the delay and the budget overshoot. (Which is a long shot, but anyway).
But what prompted me to write this was a piece from the Newsweek titled, Did the World Cup wreck South Africa?, where the author points out to the deep emotional roots of a strike that has crippled the public sector in the Rainbow Nation. SA, it is claimed, has a ‘strike season’ as predictable as the Indian Monsoon, but this year, the nature of these anti-establishment activities have assumed a rather virulent shade. The piece points out that this is the impact of billions of dollars spent on satisfying foreign eyes that watched the World Cup, while ignoring domestic realities.
This, despite the fact that the World Cup was a more-than-modest success internationally, and had even claimed to bring a post-racial SA to the forefront (see all of Roger Cohen’s NYTimes columns during the WC). The question is, will this consequence of sorts emerge in India as well? The public has enough and more reasons to blame the authorities for the mismanagement of Games, but it is altogether different to say that it will provoke large-scale rebellion on account of money being channeled to the Games rather than on say, development schemes.
My guess is that it would not, because in the run up to the Games, its the middle-class that has been lamenting on the pitiable state of affairs , without standing to lose much from the same. From a cursory look at the statistics (and I will gladly stand corrected if evidence to the contrary is pointed out), it would seem that the margin of disparity in wealth distribution is exceptionally higher in India, as opposed to South Africa. Consequently, the crunch was felt evenly and across the board in SA, while in India the very same middle-class that pines and whines acts as a buffer to prevent such violent outpour as a result of emotional distress. Perhaps the roads in Delhi might be dug up or flooded as a result of Games preparation, but past trends hardly suggest a situation where the urban upper and middle classes have turned into reactionary voters as a result of such angst, let alone take to the streets.
Of course, South Mumbai made it a point to make its presence visible in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks, but I don’t think a comparison is due here. And besides (or more importantly), South Mumbai is back to its old fashionable ways of voter abstinence. My argument is essentially that a large-scale show of dissent, if due, would’ve probably been simmering right now, but as you see commentators who still continue to praise ‘institutionalized’ behaviour like jugaad, you can’t but help feel that we will be apologists no matter what the outcome is – whether its taking to the streets, or voting to a seat.
Of course, there is nothing new in this speculation. Apart from the jugaad apologists, we also can’t have enough of eminent personalities who claim that the Indian Middle Class is Great because it lends a shade of stability to the country that few developing, democratic economies can boast of (See this speech by an ADB Vice-President for a summary). Probably right. But stability must not be equated with complacency or indifference, just like the absence of stability (or instability, if you will) cannot be the same as violent overthrow or some such stuff.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
But we also want a good common wealth game for our country image