'Gold'en:

December 07/2011: The volley of tirade started by various Indians of repute and the Union Sports Ministry against the organisers of the Olympic Games at London and its primary sponsor, Dow Chemicals, is sure to create some avoidable embarrassments for India.  The key players involved in this movement against Dow and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have a one-point agenda and that is to popularise themselves by seemingly taking up the cause of the victims of Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984 and to some extent, at the cost of the Olympic Games, fighting for and politicising that cause. These people have conveniently forgotten the fact that Dow acquired Union Carbide virtually a decade after the disaster took place. Of course, in the deal it must have certainly been mentioned as assets AND liabilities of Union Carbide being taken over.

These publicity mongers and some sportspersons turned public personalities are shouting themselves hoarse stating that India must force the IOC to disassociate itself from the sponsorship deal with Dow who have paid seven million pounds for a decorative wrap-around the main Olympic Stadium. But then, probably these people are unaware of the intricacies of sponsorship deals and what they are made of. For any contract of this nature, there will invariably be a penalty clause which may equal the  sponsorship amount. Let us, for a moment, assume that the IOC accepts the proposal of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and rejects the deal with Dow. It would obviously then fall upon the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to pay the same amount to IOC to fill up the vacuum thus created in its coffer. Along with this, the Indian side may be asked to pay the penalty damages to Dow too! Will the IOA be willing to do that?  

Now we hear that the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is of the opinion that Dow should spend the amount, offered to the Games, on the survivors of the tragedy. Probably Mr Chauhan said so without being aware of the fact that the company is in no way responsible for this particular disaster. Getting carried away by reports of some British MPs signing a memo against Dow in this matter looks immature on the part of the Indians.

The Sports Ministry too, has jumped onto the bandwagon by writing a letter to the IOA and asking it to urge the IOC to cancel the Dow deal. This may raise a question of great importance. Does the IOA have the right to do so? If India does not participate in the Olympics it will not be a loss to the Ministry. There will be tremendous damage to the morale of hundreds of sportspersons from across this country who shell out personal money to undergo rigorous training and prepare for this particular event held every 4 years.  So far, the Ministry’s contribution for 22 Indian medal prospects for the Olympic Games to be held at London has been a meagre Rs 6.87 crore or a little over Rs 31 lakh for each athlete who stay and train abroad. This figure may sound big but in reality it is peanuts compared to what other nations do for their prospective medal winners. But other than these 22, there are many more who dream of performing well in the Olympics and spend their own money and prepare for the great event. It would be, indeed, very sad if these young people are denied participation in the Olympics. The Ministry does not seem to have any thought about what rights it enjoys to hold these sportspersons back from attending the Olympics and ruining their careers. 

The IOA, on its part, will discuss this issue in its executive body meeting December 15. It is not known whether they will decide on a boycott of the Olympics if the IOC does not dissociate itself from Dow which, at this stage, it most probably can not. They are, however, oblivious of one very important angle. If pushed too hard there is a distinct possibility that the IOC could also ask India to stay away from the Olympics. If they do so, it will be a national embarrassment. The Sports Ministry and the IOA will then have to think how to save face and get out of such a self created mess. Here lies not only the question of the immediate future but of a longer consequence. Imagine a situation wherein the Bhopal compensation is not paid by Dow even in the future. It could be a huge problem for India to ever reenter the Games with dignity.

It may be asked what these same people and parties were doing when the then top manager, the Chairman of Union Carbide International, was allowed to leave the country without hindrance. Have these gentle people ever tried to investigate whether each of the affected families has been properly rehabilitated? These rabble rousers, surprisingly, always point out that since the India-Union Carbide/Dow Chemicals case is still sub-judice, proper rehabilitation of the victims is incomplete. If that be so, then it is imperative they should first help the victims as much as possible within the capacity of this great nation. Only after that should they try and prevent hopeful sportspersons from participating in the Olympics.

The Olympic movement is a ‘celebration of best human spirits’. This is what these people should realise. To gain popularity they have latched onto the Olympic movement, but then to do so they should be ready for a backlash when it comes. There have been veiled threats from India saying it may stay away from the forthcoming Olympics to be held in 2012. But then the IOC can also blacklist India. They have it in their constitution to prevent a country from participating in the Olympics if it is found undesirable due to various reasons. If that dreaded moment should arrive, India may have to wait and watch whether the likes of Ajay Maken, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and others will celebrate. It could be a deja vu of the situation when they could do nothing other than mutter a few rude comments against the International Hockey Federation when the latter took away the Champions Challenger Trophy tournament from India.  In such a backdrop, their reactions against an IOC backlash can well be imagined. Better for these people to keep mum rather than instigate a movement against the Olympic spirit and harm sports in general in this country. Silence can really be ‘gold’en for such louts who can claim no credit to having helped in building up a proper sports infrastructure in this country. Neither have they made any contribution in nurturing a single sports person ever.