Reflections after watching Pan Singh Tomar

The other day, me and my family went to see a very nice film PAN SINGH TOMAR starring Irfan Khan.

I learnt about the movie from my cousins during a family function. Seriously, until then, I did not know about such a movie , forget about the sportsman on whom the movie was based. Nevertheless I decided to go for the night show on the very day, I learnt about it.

I cajoled my wife to submission to come with me. And tried my best to cajole my elder one to stay at home, so that we "miya-biwi" could enjoy some rare solitary moments,........which have long become bygone. But as it would be, the son ensured that his dad did not play any "stupid" tricks on him and took him along.

So there we all went; me, my love and the first result of my love.

The movie was excellent. I re-lived some of my military training days and gave some boring tidbits about the importance of discipline, to my son, who endured it with that "come On dad" look.

Well that is not the reason for this post.

The story of Subedhar Pan Singh Tomar from Morena region, in MP is a mirror to our society.

The fact that an international level sportsman and an Army man at that, like Tomar had to take up arms in his civil life for his fundamental rights i.e. right to live with dignity,

The fact that despite of his illustrous career as an athelete he was provided with little or no assistance from the police and local administration,

The fact that many incidents of harassment and death threats from his relatives he eventually had to turn to banditry and become a dreaded dacoit in the Chambal Valley,

The fact that a SEVEN times national steeple chase champion had to die as a dacoit, should shame each one of us Indian. Pan Singh Tomar died a violent death in 1981.

You would say, it happened then. Yes it happened then, but what has changed even now? The other day the world cup winning women's Kabbadi team (yeah they did win....God Promise) found no one recognising them at the airport, leave aside anyone receiving them at the airport. Search the net, one can easily find similar stories of apathy and neglect of our Indian sports stars.

Such is the state of affair, in the country that Sports has become synonymous with Cricket. No wonder people find it hard to differentiate between a Saina Nehwal and a Sania Mirza. I am talking about the somewhat famous women stars of India. Leave aside a Mary Kom or Preeja Shridharan or Veerdhaval Khade or Gagan Narang and others.

It reminded me of an incident, which I was witness to some years back. I was on a deputation to UN at GOMA in Congo DRC, in central Africa.

On an evening one day, we were returning to our camp from our work place. Suddenly we saw that the road near the local airport was choke-a-block, with people. Being a strife torn country and we being representatives of UN made us suspicious about the crowd collection.

But the mob was anything, but violent.

They were dancing, they were singing and they were screaming.

All this in a country, where death in form of a bullet or a machete or due to AIDS is round the corner. Congo is a country where the people hardly managed a single meal and violence could trigger for no worthwhile reason.
One of us asked someone in the crowd, as to what was happening. The lanky Congolese, whom my colleague asked the question explained in his French and Swahili laced English, that the town's UNDER 10 age group boys were returning home after winning the national championship in soccer. We all Indians were flummoxed. The incident passed.

Juxtapose that situation to Indian scenario. Forget about receiving them at the airport, we would not let our children to go to such a tournament in the first place.

A country of more than a billion can not produce many Olympic medal winners, we cry, forgetting the fact that medals and trophies at international levels are the culmination of a long drawn plan in a sportsman's life, right from his childhood.

we being hypocrites, when we say India can not produce champions?

How many times has each one of us gone to that field and watched our kids play?

How many of us make it a point, to be present for the our ward's school sports event?

Believe me, more than the money and fame, a sportsperson craves for recognition of his abilities and efforts. We can definitely make a difference by just spending some time watching kids play and enjoy, by going to the tournament our child so eagerly waits to come. Coming from a background, where sports was definitely encouraged, I can say with experience that watching a match of hockey or that of a volleyball would give you the same pleasure of watching a action movie.

Well all the blah blah is over. Sorry for trying to break the ingrained value: "Sports is useless for kids".

"Aadi...Aadi...where the hell are you? Come on get your bloody books out. Football Football Football.....Idiot that is not going to help you to lead a good life......I will not let you ruin your life playing that stupid game......Aadi........Aadi".

# The picture in the post is of Pan Singh Tomar and his family