Hazaron Khwaishen ! (thousands of wishes!)

Anna Hazare has stirred a sleeping, often whining, nation into action. Support has been gathering for his protest and it’s been heartening to see that it hasn’t deteriorated into hysteria or mob fury at any time. It’s been perhaps the most technologically aided protest ever, what with supporters pouring in through media coverage, mobile phones and social networks.

The Jan Lokpal bill, for which they are protesting, seemed to take a back seat for a while. For about 2 days, it seemed all about the Government not allowing Mr. Hazare to fast and how fasting at a particular location became a goal in itself. There was bizarre media coverage on how fasting is actually good for health in certain respects and how the Government can’t stop free Indians from fasting. There was also a comparison of how Shaheed Bhagat Singh fasted for more hours in one year of imprisonment prior to his hanging, than perhaps Gandhiji did in his entire lifetime of Satyagraha. Finally, after the Hazare fast at Ramlila grounds has actually begun, we see the focus shifting to the bill itself, which is as it should be.

However, it is unlikely that the Hazare-version of the Lokpal bill will be a panacea against corruption. In our country, it has sadly become a way of life. Let’s not look at how we can proceed against corrupt people, but ask why there’s corruption in the first place. I reckon it’s because of the myriad procedural issues that as a nation we’ve built into every official activity that there is corruption. Licence Raj has been done away with but the administration procedures that has replaced them has only complicated matters. Everything from a marriage certificate to a customs authorization takes time, hence needs brokers/consultants who can get your work done faster and more efficiently. These are legitimate channels for illegitimate money flow. Even in business, we seem to love procedural hassles and revel in how we got over a potentially difficult set of procedures in quick time. In our operating procedures too, we tend to complicate matters – the more complicated they are, the better drafted they seem to be, and hence the need for the wise men who can interpret it for us. Entire generations perish in interpretational issues while our legal machinery piles on the backlog.

Contrast it with some other countries which don’t have corruption – or have very little corruption. I can speak from experience about Singapore, which has some of the least complicated laws and procedural hassles. Every little detail on any administrative matter is available on the net, explained clearly by way of visuals, your estimated waiting time is usually well within an hour, and the men/women at the counters are wonderful to deal with. You’ve forgotten to take photocopies?, no issues, they do it for you, lah. They encourage you to drop smileys in the slot if you find their service to have been good. Waiting itself is a pleasure in air-conditioned surroundings with entertainment to boot.

We need to get the intellectuals going to actually read our laws and procedures and contribute to simplifying them. If anything, this protest is against bad, toothless law making. Let’s join in then, to simplify procedures, show our parliaments that we can contribute effectively to law-making. Let’s protest to get the disposals of pending cases done in time-bound manner and hold accountable all those who delay the process. If that happens, this protest would have really led to something meaningful.

England on Fire, India Cooked !

England was on fire, in more senses than one, this week. Like fans are left praying for weather gods to interfere when Indian team faces defeat, this time one was almost hoping that the riots would spread and the tour would be called off. Alas that didn’t happen and yet another thorough rout followed.

In either innings, the team couldn’t collectively manage to score as much as one English batsman – Alistair Cook. Watching him bat, one couldn’t figure out how he would ever lose his wicket – his footwork was precise, he was smothering swing very well, his placements were impeccable, he had all the time in the world to compile his runs and he had a hapless bowling and fielding side at his mercy.

Praveen and Ishant did bowl their heart out – they would at best be 1st change bowlers for other test sides. Without Zaheer, the bowling side is clearly out of its depth. Sreesanth’s antics, are intolerable even when he’s in prime form. They get deplorably irritating when he bowls those half-trackers and gets smacked around. Can’t bowl, can’t field and can’t bat, that’s his updated Resume.

Is it talent that’s in short supply? On the evidence one has seen, one has to say ‘Yes’. The Fab 3 – Dravid, Sachin & Laxman, have definitely been better than the others, but definitely way below par when compared to their own prowess. Dhoni had said he would prefer Sehwag in the side even if he could barely walk. Sehwag walked in and out twice and didn’t actually give anyone time to comment on his fitness. He’s too good to miss out for too long, but openers who take the long flight out to join a team seldom seem to do well – remember Siddhu in ’91-92 against Australia? Gambhir seems ill-equipped to handle swing and bounce. Mukund / Vijay would not have faced such bowling and are too loose in their stroke play to qualify at the top at this level. Raina, Yuvi and Virat are good stroke players when the ball does nothing, but in these conditions, they simply aren’t good enough to inspire any confidence. You look around and find that if the Fab 3 retire, as they must very soon, the middle order would be barren and one would wager any leading bowling side to slice through even in slightly helpful conditions. The tail is too long and that finishes the batting line up.

Zaheer is 32 and is not getting younger, Munaf, Ishant, Sreesanth and the others we’ve seen of late like Unadkhat, Mithun are hardly test-class. Bhajji seems to be have lost his off spin and is struggling. Mishra, Chawla and Pragyan have done nothing to prove that they can bowl well to good batsmen; taking wickets is another matter altogether. If these are not helpful conditions for bowling and our bowlers can’t take wickets in these conditions, then things don’t seem too bright.

Talent is, however, only half the problem. In England, it’s been intent. In fact one has to go back a few weeks and see the way they finished off the Caribbean tour. After being in wonderful position to win the last 2 test matches, they squandered the advantage and actually chose not to chase victory in a ludicrous, safety-firt, move in the last Test. I think the slide began there. Fortune favours the brave, and it must be said, punishes the coward. Dhoni has now got punished enough for that decision.

Going by the magnitude of the English onslaught, it may be some time yet before one sees a strong Indian side emerging victorious on foreign soil. One only hopes that a conscious effort is made in the interim to bolster the bench-strength and youngsters learn how to play the real game, Test Cricket. If we continue to applaud the slog over third man or the swing around the cow-corner, Indian Cricket would continue to experience the slide.