Was Hockey’s Poignant Descent Triggered by Our Political Slide?

A poignant video went viral last week.

India’s hockey players, in hushed tones, castigated us for neglecting their splendid achievements over the year: beating the top 5 world teams, defeating Pakistan to win the Asian Gold, qualifying for the Rio Games; but, heart wrenchingly, “failing to qualify” in their own countrymen’s hearts. Many viewers blinked back evanescent tears.

Hockey Nostalgia

All of us have adolescent memories which endure - blurred, inexplicable, only half understood. One of mine is from around 1975 (don’t hold me to the date - that’s not the point). I can still hear Jasdev Singh breaking down and crying, his cracked voice floating over All India Radio, “aur yeh desh, yeh Indira Gandhi ka desh, Ajit Pal Singh key netrativ mein Hockey ka swaran padak jeet gaya hai”. I can’t quite recall if Emergency had been declared, which could explain that hoarse invocation to Indira Gandhi, but an emotionally overwhelmed Jasdev was articulating the joy of hundreds of millions of Indians on that historic day.

When I was a schoolboy at St Xavier’s in New Delhi in the 70s, my most prized possession was the hockey stick that I would sling across my bag for “after school practise”. Pardon me for sounding sexist, but “real boys” those days played hockey. Cricket was elitist, football was fun but we were not good enough in world rankings, tennis/squash was to impress the girls, and basketball was for the dilettante. Hockey used to be tough and rough, with swollen ankles and trophy injuries to show off, as we bayed for blood in every India-Pak encounter.

Which is why I was completely flummoxed by the terrible miss at The Quint’s sports-desk yesterday. We gave acres and acres to a guy called Satnam Singh Bhamara who got selected for America’s NBA, but missed out on flagging the India-Pak hockey semi final later in the evening. For my young colleagues, it was a blip of a mistake. For me, this tiny commotion triggered a cracker trail of political thoughts.

Parallel Between Indian Sports & Politics?

Is there a parallel between Hockey’s meteoric descent and India’s political slide? I remember the fire that would crackle in my grandfather’s eyes every time he took me to watch a Hockey match in the 60s. The old man had been uprooted from Pakistan/Punjab before 1947, and I suspect the hockey encounter ignited the pain and anger of Partition in him. He would egg on the fierce Sikhs in Punjab Police and BSF teams, enjoying the litany of cuss words and aggressive gestures that rose in crescendo every time the Balbirs and Prithpals swooped murderously down the right flank against teams with a larger sprinkling of Muslim players. It was raw, curdling battle — every clap, every hoot seemed to be a “thank you” message to the Sikhs for protecting Hindus like him during Partition’s pitched communal carnage.

It’s astonishing how India’s plurality was perfectly captured by the Hockey team in the 60s and 70s. Sikhs and Muslims dominated the ranks, accounting for roughly a quarter each, and Hindus, Christians and tribals carved up the other half among themselves. The Singhs, Iqbals and Khans would try to outdo each other in field aggression.

Then India changed. It’s economy weakened. The Cold War ended, Soviet Union collapsed, India got stranded at the wrong end of history. Political corruption, Bofors, Mandal-unleashed caste divisions, the decline of Indian National Congress that ended majority rule in parliament, the rise of regional and coalition governments, India’s bankruptcy in 1991 - we watched helplessly as we lost our voice in world affairs and our mojo on the Hockey field.

Changing Dynamics

An assertive West changed the rules of the game, at the UN and in Hockey. Normal grass gave way to hard, dry, frictional Astro turf. Bodyline and rough tackling were legitimised. Dangerous play, the cutting/rising ball, an above-the-shoulder stick swing - which were anathema and straight red cards in the days I learnt my Hockey, when India’s & Pakistan’s wizardry used to be unconquerable - even those were allowed. The magic of the South Asian game wilted. Western might had won. We had to mortgage our gold to pay our foreign debt; and we almost failed to qualify for the Olympics.

Then the Sachar Committee Report on Indian Muslims was published. It said they were not as much in the mainstream as they should be. I am not sure if it had a chapter on Hockey - but if it did, it would have noted that hardly any Muslim was now playing for India. Along with them, India’s well heeled too had turned away. Enticed by global TV, the Reebok/Nike/Hotstar generation was fancifully kitted out for cricket, soccer and basketball. Hockey who, what and why?

On the plus side though, India’s democratic empowerment at the bottom of the pyramid was equally fast and furious. Many more Dalits, Backwards, Christians and Tribals were entering the “national sport”. And majority rule returned to Indian politics. First in States led by strong regional politicians. And then, in 2014, in national polls, led by another strong politician.

Little wonder that Ramandeep Singh scored a fantastic reverse flick field goal last evening to equalise 2-2 against Pakistan.

The tide, mercifully, is turning; once again, as much in Indian politics as in Indian Hockey!