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NBC News's Jenny Wivell
LONDON-Have you ever wondered why some countries play cricket while the U.S. plays baseball? Why some opt for rugby instead of American football?
It all has to do with the Commonwealth – a collection of 54 sovereign states around the globe, all but two of which were former British colonies. As the British Empire faded these nations banded together in pursuit of common goals. And now, they regularly compete in rather a lot of quintessentially English sports.
These so-called “Friendly Games,” though, aren’t so friendly this year.
The opening of the Commonwealth Games in India’s New Delhi is just days away, but with the park still looking more like a building site than an international sports venue, several nations are threatening to pull out. Collapsing bridges, flooded basements and a dengue fever outbreak top the list of catastrophes.
Imagine that same scenario just a few days before the start of the Olympics, because that’s what this is like for members of the Commonwealth. New Zealand, Canada and Scotland, to name a few, have so little confidence in this year's games set to start on Oct. 3 they haven’t even left home yet.
With Queen Elizabeth II installed at the head of the Commonwealth family, Britain is usually proud of her longstanding association with India.
And Indians around the world have had every reason to be proud, too, what with their homeland being hailed one of the fastest growing economic powers in the world.
‘I hope they fail’
But the feeling now in London, home of many a leading Indian businessmen, is one of dismay and shame.
“I am extremely embarrassed about this. India’s reputation will suffer,” Moni Varma, the founder of the multi-million dollar Veetee Food Group, told me. “If (India) manages to pull off the Games, and I don’t think it will, all we’ll get is a patch-up job.”
“It’s been badly organized. It’s rife with corruption. India should admit it’s failed and call the whole thing off,” he said.
Alpesh Patel, an asset manager of Indian origin, sounds distinctly lacking in patriotism.
“I hope they fail. If they don’t pull this off there will be a massive public outcry and that’s what they need,” he told me. “The public sector in India is guilty of undue arrogance and complacency and the politicians need a wake-up call.”
Not every member of India’s business diaspora is hanging their heads in shame, though.
Dr Avtar Lit, the chief executive of the Sunrise Group, Britain’s largest asian broadcasting corporation, backs his birthplace to the hilt.
“The games will be fantastic,” said the entrepreneur, who already has his ticket for the opening ceremony. “Things move very fast in India and there are armies of engineers, decorators and builders ready to transform the site. What takes the rest of the world 180 days to complete takes India five.”
The competitors, at least, hope he’s right.
With the Americans, the Russians and the Chinese not privy to this particularly medals party the prospect of gold vastly improves for the other athletes.
Why apologize?
So while some are hanging their heads in shame, others in the Indian community don’t feel they should apologize to fellow members of the Commonwealth for the parade of glitches leading up to the games.
“India doesn’t feel it needs to give explanations to what it considers to be minor countries like New Zealand, Scotland and Wales,” Sunrise’s Lit says. “What we really care about is that England and Australia will be there.”
One thing all the business leaders agree on though is that this won’t damage business relations in the long run. Varma even thinks it could be a good thing.
“It brings India’s inadequacies to the fore and tells overseas investors there are problems with India’s infrastructure, but things which have been slowly improving will happen a lot faster now,” he said.
As Patel says: “This whole affair reminds India and the rest of the world it has a long way to go. At the moment more money is being invested in the country than it can use, but the problem is the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few.”
What of Dr Avtar Lit? Well he remains stoically determined. “The proof of the pudding will be in the eating and it will be alright on the opening night.”
Let’s hope so because although the race is on you can’t help wondering if, even with a sprint finish, India’s first Commonwealth Games won’t make it past the post.
Leave a Comment:
I heard that during the opening ceremonies India was going to display their very first INDOOR TOILET! Oh well...its back to 1 billion people squatting along the side of the road! Countries like India & Pakistan can try and pretend they are just like Western nations...but they lack any real infrastructure and the vast majority of their populations are DIRT POOR and almost completely uneducated. On the plus side most are fanatically religious and hate almost ALL WESTERNERS! (at least in Pakistan) I'll tell ya with friends like this, well you know what I mean...peace.
LOL. Remember these ultra nationalists in the West were the same ones just 20-30 years ago saying that India is a basketcase, will always be poor etc. Curiously, similar colonial militants were saying in 1947 when India became independent that the country won't stay together. 63 years later...wrong once again.
Now the forecasts are India becoming the 3rd largest Economy in just 15 years. India has a ways to go, but that just proves why the 9%+ GDP growth is sustainable.
I have seen HUGE changes in India in terms of wealth and infrastructure from just 1990. I can only imagine the improvements that will happen there by just 2020, when the GDP will quadruple from the current $1.3 Trillion to over $4 Trillion, and further to $15 Trillion by 2030. You can already see in certain pockets like interstate highways or airports where infrastructure has been improved. Never has India added roads, power plants or grown it's GDP at the rate it's doing now.
The handful of ultra-nationalist hecklers in the West can scream all they want thinking the world is still like 1985, but folks like that are certainly in for a surprise. Infact while Asia continues to rapidly rise, the Islamic percentage in your beloved homeland (Europe) continues to increase. Perhaps it would be wise to deal with the internal weakness's of the West rather than lecturing others.
BTW, take a look at how your grandparents lived in the U.S. in the early 20th century, there are plenty of photos from that era, you will know what dirt poor is.
Marcus,
Your'e an idiot. Read up on the Indus Valley civilization, they had plumbing and indoor toilets before any Western country.
In any case, the equal blame needs to be put with the Commonwealth Game Organizers. Why didn't they make routine visits to assess and guide (the Olympic organizers do this). This gives meaningful feedback and logistical decision making info to the host country. Beijing, Athens, Vancouver, they all benefited from this process. The Commonwealth Games did not do this though.
The newer photos, from Team Canada, show a good picture:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=235412&id=151599479507&page=2
And 7 days are left so I think everything will be okay. The biggest antagonists are the India media
marcus - you are not only an idiot but also an arrogant,misguided fool of first order.
and people like Alpesh Patel are infact NRIs(non-required Indians). Ofcourse there
are numerous problems and corruption scandals in India, but people like Alpesh Patel
bring more shame to India. Instead of cheering they ridicule their own country. Another 5 or 10
years this same person would be running back to his origin with a bowl in his hand.
Stop spreading hatred dude...I admit things are not as perfect as it should be. But, we can't take credit from the country which 4 times and population and 1/3 in size of America. If you put 10 people in a room made for 2 people what will happen....Chaos...right??? But at least things are working and improving by everyday. I can't comment on Pakistan...but in India, we don't any one. You will surprised most of the people don't have problem with Pakistani people as well. We do have problem with corruption and I guess we are in the process of improving in that front as well.
Peace
Marcus47, are you educated at all? I have read a lot of incredibly stupid comments over the years on these "comment" pages, but yours takes the cake: "first indoor toilet", so you have "heard"?; ..."hate ALL WESTERNERS"?? "ALL"?? I'm sorry, but your comments are so obviously ignorant, that I have to ask if "ALL" people from wherever on earth you are from have ever read a book or used common sense? Or did your parents just forget to put you on the school bus? Lord knows you have obviously never been anywhere near that part of the world (or too far outside of your county, I 'm afraid), and I am sure you have no desire or plan to go - wouldn't want you seeing the real world in order to post an opinion, now would we?
As an American who, due to work, has to live overseas and has actually seen India and the high level of education there; knows loads of sub-continent Indians who greatly respect the west; and also knows that India has many doctors for their people; and is also aware that despite poverty there is a growing middle-class, and yes, an actual "infrastructure" (though despite not being "perfect", it is definitely making gains, while in America, much of our infrastructure is actually crumbling and state governments like California are constantly lingering on the brink of bankruptcy: they can't even pay some of the teachers and their other government employees - hello??); your KKK-styled comments are way off the map. You should be embarrassed.
Read a book, Marcus47: gee, maybe even a real, up-to-date one about India that wasn't written by a Texas school-board member.
These internet comment pages can foster and rapidly make available so much bigotry, stupidity and a clear demonstration of interculturally ignorant comments and perspectives, that there is no wonder the rest of world is so perplexed when it hears the amazingly ridiculous opinions that come from us "educated", "better-than-the-rest-of-the-world Americans. Give me a frickin' break!
Well written Amit & Rigozen.
I work as as an International Flight Attendant. I am in Delhi often.
Embrace life and our cultural differences.
There just might be Peace in our Lifetime
To Rigozen...where is your sense of humour...By the way..your claim my comments are bigoted? You claim I make assuptions about all Indians? Well you seem to think my "ignorance comes from being American"(educated in Texas of all things)? Maybe you should stop taking these comments so seriously...I thought these forums were for entertainment! Please try and relax Rigozen...The great nation of India won't fall down just because of a few comments made here!
I'm from Texas and think that Marcus represents the hicks of our state, not Houston, Dallas, or S.A. for sure....
I am an Indian South African. I read about the pessimistic comments in the Western media about South Africa's ability to host the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. We defied our critics and went on to present the best world cup ever. I am optimistic that India will host this game well. India, you can do it!!!.
All the best.
Marcus is not ignorant. May be it would not be India's first indoor toilet but it would be surely one of the few. There is a report from the UN which was published in most Indian newspapers in August stating that only 30% of the Indian population has access to toilets or any other type of sanitation. I have been visiting India regularly since 1988, I spend a lot of time in Delhi these days and I did not need that report to realise that. He is right. A lot of people wash and do their business in the streets or wherever they can and that will not improve all that fast. 800 million people without toilets or basic sanitation is a lot and does not go unnoticed when walking about the country side or in town...you do have to watch your steps...
Fact of life that is all.
India gained independence 60 yrs back, US got it's 234yrs back. If you really want to compare, look at where the countries were at a similar stage. India is at a stage US was in early 1900s, lots of corruption (which BTW is still there, one shining example is the city of Bell in California). Being born privileged in the land of plenty does not give you the right to look down on people from other countries/cultures for you have a lot to thank your forefathers who came from a similar background and improved their lot.
Everybody is right.
The Americans ridiculing India. As well as the Indians defending their country. They are both right.
India has lots of poor people. The infrastructure is non existent. Out of a population of 1 billion, 400 million are middle class. Rest are either poor or live in rural areas. The middle class which is as large as the entire population of USA, does have indoor plumbing. But that is slightly more than 33%. Which means that nearly 70% indians have no access to indoor plumbing.
Now the middle class Indians in their cities, with their shiny malls, glittering offices, ipods, discos, cars and @!$%# like to pretend that the other 70 % of India does not exist but it does. And what is worse is that the western media which has a perverse and morbid fascination with the squalor in India, keeps showing the same old tired images of India in all publications. The Indian picture that one is likely to see if of stray dogs. Beggers. Cows on streets. Old cities with ramshackle buildings and congested ancient lanes.
Has any American ever seen the pictures of a mall in India ? Even B and C track cities in India have malls sprouting like wild mushrooms. Has there ever been a picture of 6 lanes highways that are being built all over India ? Any pictures of gleaming office towers ? Residential apartments that sell for $ 250,000 and are usually paid for in cash ? Has any American media ever shown the Americans a picture of how middle class Indians Dress ? How they hang out in restaurant, pubs etc ? How they line up to watch hollywood movies ? The call center employees shown in American media is usually provincial buffon in native attire and a thick accent. A far cry from the college educated upwardly mobile hip and stylish youngsters that work in these call centers.
So when the Americans are being bombarded with these not so flattering images of India, they cannot be faulted for thinking all Indians are like that. The 400 million middle class of India obviously does not think that is fair. Same as how you Americas will feel if your image being portrayed in Indian media was of shabby fat drug addled youths with pants hanging around their knees and rapping to Yo Momma @!$%#.
India has lots of poor people but it is not a poor country. In fact, if all the money spent by the corrupt listless government of India and its affiliate backbone less bureaucracy to alleviate poverty is simply distributed among the Indian poor, each poor family of 4 will receive $1100 per month for rest of their lives.
So in conclusion, Americans need to find out more about India or any other country for that matter. I don't think that is likely to happen because Americans are by far the most ignorant people on the face of the earth when it comes to knowing or wanting to know what exist outside America (or at the most Europe). They play baseball among themselves and call it a WORLD SERIES for crying out loud.
The Indians on the other hand need to accept that despite there own station in life, their country and their countrymen are really in piss poor pathetic condition and not get so defensive and anal when somebody calls them out on it.
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
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