C section: Congress, cricket & crowds
By Shashi Tharoor
Weekly Column "Shashi on Sunday" in "The Times of India"
May 27, 2007

Cows: Are as much a symbol of India as of Switzerland, though ours do not contribute to a flourishing cheese and chocolate industry. But the veneration of the cow and its ubiquitousness have become something of a cliche, masking the often depressing reality of the conditions in which Indian cows live and die.

Let's return to our occasional glossary of the assumptions and shared reference points that make up the idea of Indianness. Last time we left it halfway through the letter 'C'. That's where we will resume.

Congress: Was the name of our national movement before it became reduced to that of a political party, and new generations of Indians are continuing to discover how vital is its magic. Shorn of its associations, 'Congress' is even a faintly absurd name, for all it means is 'assembly', but it is the association with the freedom struggle that makes 'Congress' such a sought-after suffix even for opposition parties (from the Tamil Maanila Congress to the Trinamool Congress). No other political party in the developing world has as old or as seminal a history, as agglomerative a nature and as many offspring (with Congresses-I, O, R, S, J and even U at one stage). The Indian National Congress even inspired the African National Congress in South Africa and a host of lesser parties around the globe. That is why, even as it is reduced to heading a minority government, the Congress — as a movement and a model — should remain a source of pride for Indians, even those who utterly reject its performance after Independence.

Corruption: Is endemic in our society, even if it is never quite as all-pervasive as we ourselves proclaim it is. Indians are givers and takers of bribes, adulterators of foodstuffs, black marketeers of cinema tickets, resellers of train reservations, payers of capitation fees. Our soil nurtures bootleggers, smugglers, hoarders and touts of all descriptions. Perhaps this is because there are so many laws and regulations that some will always have to be violated; perhaps it is that in any situation of resource-scarcity, temptation will always be reinforced by need; perhaps it is simply that we have so many underpaid officials exercising power out of all proportion to their earnings that some are bound to want to narrow the gap by profiting from the power to permit. Perhaps, as Gibbon remarked about the Roman Empire, corruption is merely "the infallible symptom of constitutional liberty" — how else can politicians afford to run for election, after all? Or perhaps we should stop making excuses and find within ourselves a Hercules to clean out our Augean stables.

Cows: Are as much a symbol of India as of Switzerland, though ours do not contribute to a flourishing cheese and chocolate industry. But the veneration of the cow and its ubiquitousness have become something of a cliche, masking the often depressing reality of the conditions in which Indian cows live and die.

Cricket: Was not considered our national sport until quite recently (when I was growing up, that was supposed to be hockey) but the crowds at cricket matches and the media coverage of the game confirm the new reality. In how many countries would work crawl practically to a halt during a major match, crowds stay awake till the wee hours of the morning to hear a result from abroad and pilots interrupt their passengers' reveries to announce the latest score? The range and subtlety of cricket, its infinite variations and complexities, its vulnerability to the caprices of the weather and its inability to guarantee a result make it perfectly suited to the Indian temperament. Now that our players' performances are beginning (World Cup aside) to match the spectators' enthusiasm, now that talent scouts and coaches are moving to the villages, now that the money in the game is attracting players of ability from all walks (and runs!) of life, now that 80% of the sport's global revenues come from India, it is time to celebrate the truth in Ashis Nandy's claim that cricket is really an Indian game accidentally discovered by the British.

Crowds: Are an inescapable feature of Indian life. If foreigners stepping on to Indian streets for the first time were asked to name what struck them most about India, it would not be the heat, the dust or the poverty but simply the crowds — the enormous pressure of people on every available space. Pavements and parks, maidens and markets, buildings and buses are all full to an extent never seen elsewhere. There is no such thing in India as a deserted street, an empty train or even a secluded spot. Every act that takes place in public, from a farewell kiss to a film shooting, immediately attracts an audience; every inch of open space has at least two claimants; open air offers no release from claustrophobia. The fact that Indians manage to live, function and order their creative energies even in these circumstances is a remarkable feat of social organisation.

And before we leave the letter 'C', a further thought about caste, which featured last time: Who could have imagined for 3,000 years that an 'untouchable' woman would rule India's most populous state? It's all to the good that this has happened not once, but thrice, with Mayawati in UP; it's even better that Dalits have served as President and Chief Justice of India. Caste isn't what it used to be, an ineradicable stigma that could make or break your prospects. Perhaps the most important 'C' word of all in our glossary should be Change.