Commonwealth Games-Will the medals worth?

Organizing a mega sports event, is a chance for the host nations to showcase its tradition and culture and express their hospitality to the world. Moreover such events contribute to the development of sports in that country. But when it comes to India’s case it becomes just another chance for corruption, wastage and dirty politics. The 2010 Commonwealth Games is to be held in Delhi this October. With one month left to start the games Delhi is struggling to finish the works of the stadia and other infrastructure. Last month reports of wide scam in the works came out. Large amount of public money has been wasted by misuse and the expense shot up because of lack of proper management. Thousands of crores has been spent over various projects so far. Some venues which completed work, is reported for lack in quality. The main venue, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was renovated at a cost of Rs.961 crore (It is to be noted that, the Gachibowli stadium was newly constructed for almost 21 crores, for the Afro-Asian games in 2003). Like this for almost every project, huge amount more than needed was spent, and is still struggling to finish before timeline and is lacking quality. The Organizers are also widely criticized for the eviction of thousands of poor people for making space.

Development of the country’s sports structure is the main task of mega events. And how far India is prepared to utilize the games in that way? CWG is participated by member countries of British Commonwealth. Here only some events are having world class quality in competition. The main attraction of a multi game event is athletics. At CWG it is having good quality. But India is very poor in athletics according to CWG level. India doesn’t have a world class athlete to show up as a torchbearer. When China hosted Olympic Games, they had world champion Liu Xiang, to showcase. India’s performance in previous CWG events was mainly in shooting and weight lifting. Both items are less competitive in this event compared to Asian Games and Olympics.Delhi games also miss star athletes like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, etc. The unfinished stadia, games village and other infrastructures, wide corruption, blame game and the withdrawal of star athletes has put the game under shadow, before it starts. And if it fails to provide any development to the country’s sports structure, then the tax payers money is entirely wasted for a mock. In 2003, crores were spent for Afro-Asian games and it was an utter failure, both in competition and success. South Africa, Qatar, Japan, Korea, China all gained from the events they hosted. They were able to improve their sports structure and were able to carry over it to more big events.

This large sum of money, if efficiently utilized for the development of sports in the country will gain good results in the future. If there is a well planned program with this resources, India will surely become the giants in world sports. We are having talented youth. All they need is good support and good infrastructure. We just need efficient utilization of resources. For that, sports administrators should be sports lovers, rather than money loving politicians. Otherwise these events produce nothing and will be another burden over the poor tax payer.

Haleem-Hyderabad's taste for Ramadan

When we walk through the streets of Hyderabad, It always gives an enchanting feeling. The blend of cities old and new varieties ranging from bazaars, palaces, forts, minarets to the new hi-tech buildings, flyovers, stadiums, malls, etc, is the beauty of the twin cities. The cuisine of Hyderabad, add up to the delight of visitors. A variety of tastes, starting from the famous Hyderabad biriyani to the special fruit biscuits of Karachi bakery, make the mind full of food lovers. And when we are down the streets, during the holy month of Ramadan, our eyes will catch the sight of colourful line up of sign boards, with display of special dish, which we haven’t met throughout the year. And when we reach to it, a delightful smell from a big pot, and the sight of a hot dish welcome us, it’s “Haleem”- Hyderabad’s unique special dish for Ramadan. Each and every corner of the city is piled up with the shops, selling this delicious food. Cities star restaurants to the small vendors equally enjoy in the making and selling of this dish.

Haleem is made from meat, along with ghee, a variety of spices and dry fruits. This semi-liquid food is enjoyed by the people mainly after Iftar (breaking of the fast). While majority take it as a secondary food, some who cannot compromise with its taste, take as much to fill their stomach. It is made on large scale, in big pots with specially designed fire place. And the work over it starts from morning and is ready to serve by the time of Iftar. The line up in front of shops after sunset shows the peoples response to its taste. Moreover, it provides much satisfaction after a day’s fasting. Haleem is also prepared in households for Iftar. During the season, variety of competitions is organized like eating Haleem and preparing it.

The origin of Haleem in Hyderabad has many opinions. Mainly it is believed to have reached from Persia, during the period of Nizam, along with many other dishes like the Iranian tea. However Haleem is unique to Hyderabad in India. Now its sale has been extended to Mumbai and Bangalore airports. Old city-the Charminar area is best place to have Haleem in the city. There is large number of vendors selling it there. King Koti is another area which lines up with a number of Haleem shops. The desire of the city’s residents for this delicious dish has made the season a hub for the vendors. The immigrants of the city, from various parts of India and other countries, have it, first for curiosity and then, caught with its taste. If you are in the city during Ramadan, then don’t miss the taste of Haleem.

Kashmir-clouds of violence again

For the last two months Kashmir witnessed one of the furious clashes in recent years. The tension raised between the locals and the security forces has led to the loss of several lives and loss of property worth millions. The situation in Kashmir now is one which needs immediate attention and a permanent solution. The Atmosphere of the valley has been in a disturbed condition after the Omar Abdullah government took over the power. Many protests and demonstrations were held in different parts of the valley in response to fake encounters and killings, like the Shopian case. These incidents has led the state to an explosive stage, which has been triggered in this June, with the death of a school boy, Tufail Mattoo, hit by a teargas shell in Srinagar. This teargas shell was shot in order to suppress a rally organized to protest against the fake encounter at Machhil in April, this year, which killed 3 youths. After the death of Tufail, the current mass upsurge reached its peak level, with continuing violence and many killed in firing by security forces. The violence continued and spread all over and the number of people killed in firing and in police custody increased. For the last two months more than fifty youths were killed in the violence lead to destruction of mass property, government vehicles and offices. As the entire area is under curfew, the shops remained closed; people are suffering without the availability of food and other necessities. Schools, Colleges, Offices, Business centers all remain closed in the valley. This time the violence had spread almost entirely, from cities to towns to villages and is seen the active participation of women, children and youth, who are battling with the police with stones, neglecting the wide torture and response with guns.


The situation in Kashmir has become to such a disturbing situation because of the failure of state and central governments to win faith in the people. The government hasn’t learned any lessons from the uncontrolled activities of the armed forces across the country, and especially in the states of Kashmir and Manipur, were the deadly ASFPA exist. This act is actually a ‘license to kill’. The failure of the government to control this killings, has lead the situation worse. The responsible officers of the incidents are free from law despite the clear evidences against them. And there is no sign of warning or not at all a condemning word from the authorities in these incidents. This silence has now leaded to the breaking silence by the public in Kashmir. If any action has been taken in the Machhil case, the current upsurge would not have happened. But the gentlemen were busy with Commonwealth games. In a country were a question is raised in the parliament, when a cricketer is not selected to the national team, notorious killing of its citizens by its own forces are not at all discussed. And the Indian armed forces, whether it is paramilitary, civil police or the military, is (in) famous for its notorious, unfriendly behavior, from the colonial period itself.


The violence is in a mass scale, without any leadership, so the usual method of arresting the leaders will not work. Since the time limit for a political solution is almost over, now the step taken by the government is to push more troops, or the army itself to suppress the violence. How long the violence can be suppressed with boots and guns. More troops means more killing and more violence. The usual policies are difficult to work this time.


Here the immediate package is the involvement of the Prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in Kashmir. The people protesting can only be calmed by winning their faith over the government. PM should listen to the grievances of Kashmiris .He should admit the mistakes and apologize in the death of innocent people and try to provide justice to the people of Kashmir. This will be the last chance, if the centre fails this time, we cannot predict the result of the next explosion from the valley. Surely it will be uncontrollable.