The Mumbai High Court recently delivered a historic verdict, ruling that all IPL games in May scheduled in Maharashtra are to be shifted out-of-state.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seem completely blindsided by the decision. Such a scenario was probably never envisaged by the cricketing body.
Arguments that non-potable water would be used to hose pitches, and contributions by state franchises and the BCCI to the Chief Minister’s relief fund should be adequate recompense in response to Latur farmers’ grief and pain didn’t hold up.
While the judgement won’t actually resolve the acute water shortage in the state, the public interest litigation drew national and international attention to the plight of ignored peasants in the country’s most developed state.
The real heroes of this story are not the BCCI, the players, or the franchises, but the litigator – Loksatta Movement – and the judiciary.
The dying farmers of Latur needed to be heard and the Loksatta Movement became their voice.
Others such as Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid may disagree, calling the IPL a “soft target” against which the ire of aggrieved or suffering parties is directed.
Public opinion that the government and the BCCI, whose executive committee consists of leading politicians such as Sharad Pawar and Anuraag Thakur, care very little for societal problems was at the crux of the suit brought to the notice of the bench.
Ironically, the esteemed judges were more aware than the BCCI – who runs the IPL much like a corporate entity – that molding perception plays a huge role in handling a ‘crisis.’
While not quite a crisis for the BCCI, the IPL management team can draw a leaf from crisis management texts to avoid such onerous situations in the future. Scanning the horizon for perceived threats must also be an integral part of scenario analysis and forward planning.
Linus Fernandes
Roar Rookie
The Olympics are not the IPL. And you seem to have missed the tone of my article. The moving of the matches is beside the point. That's tokenism at best. But the BCCI ought to have been more sensitive to the plight of farmers and public perception of the IPL as an extravaganza mostly enjoyed by the well-off.
Linus Fernandes
Roar Rookie
That's enough. Your comment has very little to do with my article. I'd rather not continue this discussion.
Sahas
Guest
Indian media are the ultimate Prestitutes. No one India believes in articles written by paid media especially National English media like Indian express
Sahas
Guest
Just imagine Olympics in Sydney and within 2 days of its beginning there is a water crisis in Sydney. Will it be feasible to move the olympics to some other state . No? How foolish would that be?
Linus Fernandes
Roar Rookie
While I'm not an expert on the drought in Maharashtra and I don't pretend to be interested in Indian politics, here's an interesting article that might answer your comment on sugarcane factories in Maharashtra. http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/marathwada-drought-maharashtra-water-crisis-in-fact-why-sugarcane-cant-be-blamed-for-marathwada-drought-woes-2754087/
Linus Fernandes
Roar Rookie
The point of the article was to show that the drought-hit farmers were easily forgotten and their concerns shoved aside. The suit against the BCCI brought their needs into national consciousness with the issue being debated on national TV. Where is that focus now that the verdict has been delivered? They'll probably be forgotten in another week.
Sahas
Guest
The author clearly doesn't understand Indian politics yet. The IPL is a soft target in this scenario. It has been created to hide the fact that many sugarcane factories owned by politicians are the real culprit here.
Linus Fernandes
Roar Rookie
The original article can be found here: https://maketimeforsports.com/2016/04/09/11947/