It was exactly a week ago, when the whole of India came together to fight its image, pride and global identity through Jade Goody's antics against Shilpa Shetty in a television show. Exactly three days back, an irate Indian fan showed how intolerant a country we can be when it comes to foreigners. It may have been a slap on Greg Chappell for not including any Orissa cricketer, but the larger issue here is how choosy we can be when it comes to race and identity. In fact, Biranchi Maharana, the culprit is as good or as bad as Jade Goody, as going by what he says, he "chose Greg Chappell because he was Australian". Through the uproars last week and this incident barely 72 hours ago, India has taken one step forward and five steps back.
The incident should not have taken place in the first instance and now that it has, it reflects poorly on Orissa as a secure state and its public's frustration over something they do not control. If I remember right, the Chief Minister of Orissa, Naveen Patnaik was rated as the best CM in a poll conducted by a television channel. This is not the first time that an Australian became a casualty in the state. Perhaps, the Oriya public are somewhat allergic to Aussies, for reasons they themselves know. Circa 1997 was when an Australian missionary Graeme Steins was charred to death by certain extremists of the Bajrang Dal who were against Christian conversions.
Security is another concern that bewilders me. We take extreme care to protect our superstars like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, but do we really care about the support staff ? Or is it just too foreign for their liking ? The Orissa Police may have been embarrassed through this incident, but it certainly raises questions about intentions of the Government. In 2005 and 2006, I witnessed this whole security affair myself at Pune and Mumbai. At the Taj Blue Diamond Hotel in Pune, some of the senior players of the team were walking through an intense security cordon, surrounded by cops on four sides, whereas younger players like Suresh Raina and RP Singh were left unguarded. Not to mention, Ian Frazer and Greg Chappell. Even during the 3rd test against England in Mumbai, the situation wasn't any different. Why this double standards when it comes to this team ? Is it because they are foreigners and should be treated differently ? The Board alone knows.
Another issue that was exposed through this barbaric act was the state of Orissa cricket. Honestly, I couldn't care any less if a guy from Orissa is not playing for Team India. Yes, Orissa has been playing some decent cricket for a while now, but how many of their cricketers have it in them to play for the country ? The answer is none. Some of them came, promised and faded away. Debashish Mohanty is in most ways the torch-bearer of Orissa cricket, but what has he contributed to Indian cricket ? Sanjay Raul was another guy who managed to don Indian colors, but did he do anything significant ? No. Shib Sunder Das was perhaps the most impressive cricketer to come out of that state. However, he too faded away after Wasim Jaffer and Deep Dasgupta grabbed their chances in the West Indies-England tour of 2002. Since then Orissa cricket has been languishing in the Plate League, and having qualified for the Elite Division for the next season, it is upto them to get noticed and satisfy the likes of Biranchi Maharana. To add on, Ranjib Biswal from the Orissa Cricket Association had a stint as a national selector from the East Zone. If he himself couldn't identify enough talent in that state, how can one irate maniac ?
To sum up, the wild demeanour of one individual shouldn't be the benchmark for judging a state or a country. A banner by some Orissa fans in the match at Cuttack yesterday which said "Greg, We are Sorry" is a reflection of how the people of Orissa and India see this incident as. One hopes that such incidents won't be repeated all over again. It is indeed an eye opener for many - the administrators, the fans and the security authorities. For now, with India having won the game at Cuttack, the wounds of the slap might have healed, but one cannot hold back himself by calling this act as a "slap on Indian cricket" !
