Sports and Politics

TN chief Minister  has ensured that no SL players will play in the IPL matches to be held in Chennai  In the national media and SL ,people have aired views  that sports should not be politicized and sports should be looked as sports and it should be beyond the realm of politics .I feel sports has always been politicized all over the world and it is right to do so. There is nothing wrong in TN government 's stand on SL players vis-a-vis IPL matches in TN. Look at all the sporting bodies in India,be it state Hockey or Cricket Associations or All India Federations, most of them are headed by an active politician .Why on earth all politicians are interested to be at the helm of affairs in all sporting bodies ?.If we genuinely want sports to be devoid  of politics no politician should hold any office in any sporting body.It is also true many former sports persons are active politicians throughout the world. Politics and sports are intertwined. When nations employ sports diplomacy ,why cry foul over politicising sports for right causes. When sports diplomacy is resorted to improve strained relations between nations ,there is  nothing wrong in asking for exclusion of a particular nation's players as a mark of protest . Did not the world approve China-US Ping pong diplomacy ?On the same of token ,did not the sporting boycott of South Africa during the Apartheid ,bring the desired results finally ?Cancellation or resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan and India is always decided by our political bosses for essentially political reasons. Precisely for the same reason an IPL team owned by a TN franchisee also should not have SL players .

During the famous 1932 Ashes series where the infamous bodyline bowling was used by the England captain against the Australians,an Australian player termed it 'unsportsmanlike'. Diplomatic cables were exchanged between the two nations demanding  withdrawal of the insult.There were talks of a trade boycott. Finally after the intervention of the Australian PM the row was settled. In 1981 Australia bowled underarm to New Zealand to ensure the Kiwi's do not tie the series.The New Zealand PM called it as the "most disgusting incident I can recall" More recently IPL teams refusing to sign Pakistan players was considered a snub to Pakistan .

Olympics have been boycotted by many nations on many occasions for political reasons .Is it not politicising sports ?.1956 Melbourne Olympics was boycotted; by Netherlands,Spain and Sweden for Soviet invasion of Hungary. The same Olympics was boycotted by Lebanon and Iraq for Suez Canal crisis. 1964 Tokyo Olympics banned SA for its Apartheid oppressive policies. In 1968 Mexico Olympics two US athletes were expelled for raising 'Black Power' slogans on the winning podium . 26 African countries boycotted New Zealand's participation in 1976 Montreal Olympics. In the same Olympics Taiwan was barred from entering Montreal. US and 62 other countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. As a revenge USSR and 14 other nations boycotted the 1984 Los Angels Olympics. In 1988 North Korea boycotted Seoul Olympics . Cuba and Ethiopia joined the boycott with North Korea for solidarity.

More recently did not India cancel a hockey series with Pakistan because two Indian soldiers were beheaded at the border.? As a tit for tat ,did not Pakistan's Punjab Olympic Association urge all sports fraternity in Pakistan to boycott playing with India in all sports  ? Did not India issue a boycott threat to the recently concluded 2012 London Olympics ,because DOW chemicals responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy was a main sponsor of London Olympics ?

More than 1.75 lakh Tamils were massacred by the SL forces in the 2009 war .I am at a loss to understand why a big hue and cry is raised over the call for boycott of SL players in IPL matches to be held in Chennai . Are we so insensitive to what is happening to Tamils in SL and the sentiments of Tamils in India ? . We must admit there has always been a relation between sports and politics. It is as old as politics. I am afraid, of late problems related to TN are looked upon increasingly by other political parties north of Vindhyas and the media as an issue of TN politics and brinkmanship by TN politicians. My concern is that such attitudes should not alienate TN from the mainstream . I am sure any dispassionate observer would agree with me that ,no other Indian state would have tolerated a dumb and spineless union government for the indiscriminate killing by a neighboring country of more than 500 of our own fishermen. The inaction by the union government on this issue speaks volumes of their apathy on issues related to Tamils and TN. There is one similarity between SL government and our union government .Both governments are least concerned about the genuine plights of Tamils ,be it a SL Tamil or an ethnic Indian Tamil.