JOIN USMaster Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, whose maiden attempt to start a discussion on sports in the Rajya Sabha was disrupted on Thursday, took to Facebook to emphasise on fitness for a healthy India.
On Friday, in a video, Tendulkar said from a sport-loving nation, "we need to become a sport-playing nation for it has a telling impact on the economy" and "an unhealthy India is a recipe for disaster".
Tendulkar is the first parliamentarian to take to FB to air his views after not being given an opportunity to speak in the House.
Tendulkar, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012, said, "India is set to emerge as the youngest average age nation in the world by 2020. So, the assumption is that young is fit. But we are wrong... We are the diabetic capital of the world, with over 75 million people being affected by this disease. And when it comes to obesity, we are sitting at number three."
"Yes, you heard that right. But we can get this number down," he said. "If we all try to stay fit, exercise or play a sport, a lot of this can change. But for that, we need a plan to help us become a sporting nation."
Tendulkar lamented that "our fitness sessions are becoming lighter while eating sessions are becoming heavier". "We need to change this habit. I think that in this world of mobile phones, we have become immobile."
"Each child should have the right to play a sport at school. Parents have always asked their children if they ate and studied well. It will be the biggest day for me when they start asking if their children played during the day or not along with the other two things."
The three 'I's
He proposed a framework of three 'I's - Invest, Insure and Immortalise. "We must invest our own time and effort, and ensure our wellness, and each one of us must start adopting one active sport and play regularly."
"Our citizens and schoolchildren should have access to more sports infrastructure. Open spaces and playgrounds should be retained and along with smart cities, we should look at building smart sport cities."
Tendulkar drew attention to the fact that "before the Olympics or any major sporting event, our expectations go skyrocketing. Along with identification of talent, we must also have a dedicated squad guiding our athletes' preparation. And, winning medals should become their target as well."