The media pulled no punches in excoriating the NCP politicos, who hogged the dais during the public reception accorded in Mumbai recently to the triumphant Indian cricket team. But, there is an element of hypocrisy in this indignation.
It is the inherent nature of politicians to aim at the main chance. In the instance cited above, knowing that the national media was out in force focussing its mikes and cameras at the dais, which astute politician would forego the heaven-sent opportunity to not just bask but also even confiscate the limelight?
The query is often posed: “Why don’t the politicians come out in droves when felicitations are offered to successful persons in other sports?” To which the counter query would be: “Why should they if the media chooses to be consistently indifferent to covering these events?”
Did we see this type of breathless, second-by-second coverage, intruding even the mainline news, of our hockey team, when they returned victorious from the Asia Cup tournament? Did we have profound editorials, eloquent edit page pieces and erudite commentaries in the “quality” press by journos, historians, social scientists, columnists and sundry other intellectuals when Pankaj Advani retained the World Billiards title?
Were we having day-to-day, prime space, front page coverage as Vishwanathan Anand steadily worked his way to the top of World Chess? Certainly not.
Yes, if politicians are seen hovering like flies around the honey pot of cricket, to the extent that even their legislative duties get second preference, the blame should, to a large extent, be laid at the door of the media.
Perhaps due to its colonial antecedents, cricket has always been given preferential coverage by the Indian media, following the dictum, “What the Raja likes the praja should like”. Hence the arrangement for ball-to-ball coverage of the long drawn Tests in the 50s and 60s by the government-owned All India Radio.
During the last three decades, particularly with the advent of TV channels and the competition for eyeballs, this slant towards cricket coverage has become so acute that even when there are no ongoing Tests the spotlight remains on the non-sport activities of cricketers and the mandarins of the game.
Under such circumstances, how can one blame politicians for being inclined to, as the Hindi phrase goes, “dip their hands in the flowing Ganges and exploit the spotlight on cricket”? For that matter, is the media itself not an intimate part of the nexus by constantly endeavouring to boost the profile of cricket and benefiting from the enhanced flow of ad revenues?
Do sports journalists not hanker to become cricket correspondents and commentators so that they can see their bylines displayed prominently up there in league with political columnists? Shahrukh Khan may have starred in a film on women’s hockey but he made it a point to be in distant Johannesburg to watch the final match of the Twenty-20 cricket tournament.
I doubt if he would do the same honours to women’s hockey. He is just one of a long line down the past six decades of Indian film stars, who have basked in the glory provided to cricket by the Indian media.
So, let us not look down our noses at politicians who want to exploit the cricket craze. After all, which better avenue is available today, next to Bollywood, for instantly connecting with the masses — courtesy the Indian media?
