Rahul Dravid- return of the prodigal

Some weeks ago, India’s cricket selectors decided to recall Rahul Dravid for the India- Sri Lanka- New Zealand tri-series tournament in Sri Lanka that starts next week and the subsequent  ODI Champions Trophy in South Africa. As with every team announcement, this decision too had former cricketers and selectors lined up on both sides- some rejoiced, while others bemoaned a supposed retrograde step that would hurt the policy of blooding youngsters.

Dravid is without doubt one of the most technically proficient cricketers India has produced. In my view, he still has a year or two of international cricket left in him. But two questions arise:

1. Can the team rely on just one or two players?
2. What happens once Dravid himself chooses to retire?

The first question is of more immediate immediate, if news reports related to the training & conditioning camp at Bangalore is anything to go by. In spite of not having played much cricket over the past 2 years or so, Dravid very easily got back into his groove . He showed his younger team-mates how to strike- and move out of the way- of rising deliveries (the one area that seems to be the achilles heel for the younger crop of Indian cricketers). But reportedly, the new brigade did not fare too well- even against not-so-fast bowlers on Bangalore tracks.

Sri Lanka will be fresh after their domination of New Zealand, while Vettori and his men will be keen to make amends and take something positive before they go to South Africa for the Champions Trophy.

The stage is surely set for an interesting contest.

Indian students in Australia

For the past couple of months, Indian media has extensively reported on attacks on Indian students in Australia. At times, there has been almost ghoulish glee shown by some newspapers and TV channels, covering gory details.

I am not doubting that Indians have been the victims of attacks in Australia. But what I am wondering is whether all the attacks are racially motivated or whether some have to do with other factors like basic economics or cultural non-integration?

Let’s look at economics first. Could it be that some Indian students are willing to work at lower-than-minimum wages, therefore becoming an attractive labor pool for Australian employers, who like their global counterparts, are driven by the motive of profit maximization? There may well be Australian businesses (like restaurants) that use this labor pool and in the process, deny jobs to other Australians. I do not know if this indeed happens, or if it does, the scale on which it does. But it certainly seems plausible.

And what do I mean by cultural non-integration? Most Indians stick together when they live overseas. Perhaps this is natural when we first go abroad, and for students who are scrimping and scrounging, it may well be driven by reasons of cost savings as well as the desire for “social security”. But when this clannishness comes in the way of integrating with “locals”, it can become a problem. One may not be fond of guzzling beers (perhaps one can’t afford to buy drinks for a bunch of friends/colleagues every week) but by not making any overt efforts to attempt to integrate with local customs and social practices, we only draw attention to ourselves and stick out like sore thumbs. Hardly surprising then, is it, that these “nails” that stand out are the ones that get hammered?

I have never been to Australia and am basing all this on my experiences in the UK and the US. But I suspect I may not be off the mark. I am not for a minute condoning the attacks on Indians in Australia. But I am raising a larger question and hope this will stir some debate. I look forward to your comments.

Problems, problems everywhere… no solution in sight

The virtual decimation of many political parties in the recent elections has strengthened the UPA’s hand. Now, with the BJP getting mired deeper and deeper in quagmire, it would prima facie appear that the UPA has much to rejoice about as it completes 100 days in power in its second innings.

But let’s not forget that the general economic situation is far from happy. The truant monsoon is compounding the nation’s woes, as prices of essentials like rice, dal, sugar etc. are spiralling almost out of control. And then of course there is the H1N1 problem (“swine flu”).

Things are not great on the foreign policy front either. The PM’s joint statement with Pakistan at Sharm-al-Sheikh has not exactly galvanized either side to action aimed at resolving the problem. In fact, there is now greater evidence of cross-border inflitration. With the onset of winter, this process will only likely increase.

The border issues with China too remain unresolved. If recent media reports are to be believed, there are influential thinkers in China who are actively working on strategies to balkanize India. And to be honest, with so many parts of the country already fighting separatist elements (or people fighting for “self-determination”, if looked at from another angle), it is not difficult to keep these fires blazing. To my mind, only sustainable development of all parts of the country, combined with greater decentralization at perhaps the Panchayat level, can effectively stamp out the desire for secession or “independence”. But this requires more than blind reliance on the “trickle-down” effect; it requires political courage and conviction across political parties to take a united stand, putting the interests of the country before personal or parochial agenda.

By the end of the year, India will have to take a stand at the upcoming Climate Change summit at Copenhagen. As always, balancing ecology with economy remains a challenge for a country like India and it remains to be seen how much investment we can afford to make in “clean technology” even as we need to urgently upgrade standards of living across the country.

Good luck, Dr Singh and team!

Of Kandahar and Kilotons

Mr Jaswant Singh’s expulsion from the BJP has really stirred the pot. His revelation that Mr L K Advani was well aware of the “hostages for terrorists” deal (notwithstanding the latter’s vocal protestations of ignorance in the matter) has further thrown the BJP into disarray. It may also well be the last nail on Mr Advani’s political career. Personally, I wish Mr Advani had stepped down after the recent Lok Sabha elections. By having done so, he may not have been spared the ignominy of Mr Jaswant Singh’s revelations, but at least his purported prevarication may not have become the millstone around the BJP’s neck that it now has.

An equally important, if puzzling, statement came from Dr Santhanam (formerly of the DRDO and Project Director of the Pokhran II test conducted a decade ago), essentially questioning the yield of the test. Dr Santhanam has claimed that the yield was no more than around 25 Kilotons, well under the then-claimed yield of 45 Kilotons.  Some analysts are reading into the statement an expression of India’s intent to conduct another test, while some others have adopted an “I told you so” stance, having themselves assessed the yield at closer to 20KT than 45KT.  The world has changed in the decade since Pokhran II in terms of geopolitical polarity, economic strength as well as political imperatives. I doubt that India can afford to conduct another test, what with the India-US nuclear agreement. But then strange things are known to happen… we can only wait and watch to see what is the fallout of this series of claims and counter-claims by various personalities who are supposedly in the know of what actually transpired back then in 1998.