Indian victories at Wimbledon: Aren't we making too much of them?

From Daily Post India 

By Raj Machhan

It’s really overwhelming, the kind of euphoria generated by triumph of Indian players in the events that essentially lie at the fringe of Wimbledon. What clearly is a case of overdo, officials right from the Prime minister and ministers in Central government to the CMs and sports body officials of various states – are out in full force to bask in what really is a very ‘feeble’ glory of Indian victories in the doubles section. Contrast this with the manner the Swiss setup is taking the victory of Martina Hingis, who actually deserves double the accolades that we are showering on Indian players. What reaction will we show if we ever win the singles championship?

What is worse is that this kind of an unprecedented euphoria is really showing India in a very poor light.It only goes to prove that despite being a country of 1.2 billion people, our systems are so inefficient that we still remain incapable of producing true champions, that we are so deprived of sporting laurels that we tend to turn events like doubles wins, internationally perceived as routine affairs in an individual game, into mega spectacles. It also shows that we really do not expect to win a singles crown - we should consider ourselves blessed and ought to really thank our stars and express  joy unrestrained when anyone comes home with any kind of triumph. Are these the kind of standards we are setting for our future generations? Come on guys, we know we are better than that.

Perhaps, the roots of this kind of a reaction lies at a much deeper level in our national psyche. As we look around, we find that we are increasingly adopting the tendency to glorify each and every one of our actions - real or perceived, whether in the past or the present - that smells of victory. In the process, we are taking to a false reality that is fuelled by an unprecedented jingoistic verbosity. Might is right, especially when it comes to the controls of our channels of information. What else can explain the unbridled glorification of our culture and history without placing things into perspective? Can these blowers of their shallow trumpet care to explain that if our culture was so great, how come all foreign invaders, from Alexander the Great in 326 BC to the Chinese in 1962, have managed to expose us to the ignominy of defeat? Have we ever defeated even a single foreign force? (Pakistan was a part of India not long back). Are great cultures easily conquered by outsiders?

By inventing false grandeur and ignoring the reality, these individuals are doing a great disservice to the nation.  Instead of working on our weaknesses, they are leading us to a false sense of pride that comes from an invented reality. And history very clearly outlines the final outcome of such an approach.

High time we worked on the lacunae in our system and produced champions and victories really worthy of all the accolades.

(Note: The writer is Head, Digital with Daily Post newspaper. The views expressed here are personal.)