India is patting itself on the back at the seemingly smooth running of the Common Wealth Games 2010, after all the bad and negative publicity it received prior to the opening ceremony. Yes, events have gone on smoothly but was it worth all the effort, time and money that was poured into it? Empty stands, tickets found in a recycle man's bag and not to mention the on going issues, like players experiencing stomach ailments, scoreboards falling off etc. The damage done to India's image is going to stay there for a long, long time to come. The same money could have been utilized to improve infrastructure services, education and accommodation. Perhaps, just like the BJP sponsored hogwash of "India Shining" we want to declare to the world that we are a super power, when in fact, we compete with sub-Saharan nations in poverty, malnutrition and human development. The way Common Wealth Games was preparations were finished, especially the last phase, tells us how the dictatorship and fascism operate. While the big, the influential and the wealthy made millions, the poor labor class was forced to out-stretch themselves beyond humanly possibly limits to complete the work on time and lived under hazardous working conditions. Then, as the foreign athletes, delegates and tourists started arriving, the poor people were rounded up by the police and packed off to their native lands. Instead of spending the money spent on Common Wealth Games, India could have very well carried slum-rehabilitation program, instead they chose to put artificial wall to cut out the sight of dirty, unsightly slums in the national capital.
Anybody, who condones the games has his/her priorities misplaced. Sorry!
