HC order on IPL matches absurd

There is no law, logic or ethic that justifies the Bombay High Court’s order to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift 13 Indian Premier League (IPL) games out of Maharashtra because of the severe drought conditions prevailing in the Marathwada region of the state. There is no direct or indirect link between the IPL matches and the drought situation. It is true that cricket pitches need to be watered and maintained, and a lot of water is needed for that. Even a lakh litres of water is used on a single day. But this is not water diverted from the drought-hit areas. Nor is the saving of the water going to help in making water available in Marathwada. The water used for pitch maintenance is not even drinking water.

It is easy to collate the splashing of money and water in the IPL and the scarcity of water and the terrible conditions in Marathwada. But it is wrong to counter-pose the two ideas to each other because they can neither be compared nor contrasted. The question whether it is right to hold a cricket match with all its dazzling accompaniments when people do not have water to drink is more rhetorical than moral. Modern society is diverse and complicated. It has a large number of activities which happen at the same time in different areas, and some of them may raise questions about the validity and rightness of other activities. To link all of them in economic, social or moral terms to one another and to make one pay for the problems in another is wrong. Every activity has to be seen and judged in its own context, unless there are compelling reasons for linking them.

The BCCI is in the business of sports. There are other industries and areas of activity, like manufacture of soft drinks and maintenance of gardens, parks etc where a lot of water is used. Whether water is well used or wasted in these activities can be an issue of contention, depending on the norms used for judgment. But there is no rationale in singling out one agency like the BCCI for punishment, even if the society feels guilt for drought in Marathwada.  It is also not an issue that warrants the court’s intervention. The reasons for drought are different and are known, and should be tackled with common sense and realism. Frivolous and diversionary ideas will only adversely affect attempts to find solutions to serious problems. The BCCI may be bad in many ways and has many things to answer for, but it cannot be blamed for a drought.