FOOTBALL IS FOR ALL -- EXCEPT INDIA

Of the many realities refreshed by the ongoing football frenzy, two are revelatory for India. First: Kicking a ball around is an instinctive urge of all humans which explains both the universality and the irresistibility of football. India fell off the grid because of the willingness with which it surrendered its soul to the concocted colonial game of cricket. Second which follows from the first: In a world festival where even countries like Saudi Arabia and Tunisia are stars, India is nowhere to be seen. These fundamentals will not change in the foreseeable future, India being what it has become.

The extent of "filthy lucre" that cricket makes is one reason for the game's anomalous growth in India. The BCCI is known as the richest cricket club in the world. Naturally it attracts politicians and business tycoons as administrators, making a bad situation worse. It also makes the unnatural natural. An honest BJP leader cannot stand the sight of a 24-carat Congressman and both of them will see an NCP leader as a betrayer. Yet Arun Jaitley and Rajeev Shukla and Sharad Pawar are bonded buddies in cricket.

The combination of political weight and money power has helped the BCCI stay above normal democratic scrutinies. It goes its way despite the Supreme Court's ruling that it's not a private body, the Law Commission's proposal that it be brought under the Right To Information Act and the Lodha Committee's recommendations for sweeping reforms. The man who lifted cricket corruption to the level of genius, Lalit Modi, remains beyond the reach of law thanks to the abetment of law-makers.

Football overtakes cricket in corruption because football money is bigger than cricket money. BCCI's net worth is under $ 300 million. Real Madrid's is around $ 3500 million. Even Manchester United, though no match to the Continental or South American giants, has a net worth of $ 2800 million. Individual earnings reflect the same chasm. Virat Kohli, the only Indian in the Forbes list of highest paid athletes, ranked 89th in 2017, with a total pay of $ 22 million (of which 19 million is from endorsements, not cricket). Messi's earnings in this season is $ 146 million and Ronaldo's $ 108 million.

That both Messi and Ronaldo got involved in tax evasion cases is a minor detail. The big story is corruption under the almighty governing body of football, FIFA. Sap Blatter, long-time president, was so powerful that he was considered unshakable -- until 2015 when a $ 1.7 million bribery scandal did him in. The crowning piece was awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, obviously for major kickbacks. America's FBI also got involved in investigations, finding that well above $ 150 million was paid in bribes for marketing rights. Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials. What was revealed was a tale of "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted corruption, racketeering and conspiracy".

Yet football marches triumphantly on. Because football is human nature. Football is owned by people whoever they are and wherever they are -- by Icelanders and Algerians, by Africans and Scandinavians, by the Japanese and the Mexicans. If cricket produces heroes like Tendulkar, football produces gods like Pele. And Pele said it all when he said, "Brazil eats, sleeps and drinks football. It lives football". To all mankind, football is heartball.

Even its sordid moments have a touch of class. Who can forget the drama of the 2006 World Cup final when the incomparable Zinedine Zidane floored Italy's Marco Materazzi with a mighty headbutt. It was Zidane's last-ever match as a player. Gossip that the Italian had insulted the Frenchman's sister has been rejected by the Italian. But he did admit later that he had used "stupid words" to rile Zidane. The unforgettable incident ended Zidane's career on a sour note, but it did not affect his profile as a football great. (Marco Materazzi later had a stint in Chennai as coach for Chennayins).

This year's World Cup is remarkable for the preparations completed by Russia on time -- 12 stadiums, some of them brand new and considered architectural masterpieces. Remember the 2010 Commonwealth Games when we could not get even toilets completed? Small wonder that Bhaichung Bhutia and I.M.Vijayan believe India won't play in the World Cup in the foreseeable future. How can it when football is in the hands of a politician like Praful Patel, remembered for crippling Air-India when that airline was in his hands? We should be grateful that we can at least watch other countries on the screen.

THE URGE TO SERVE THE NATION!

What makes Indian politics unique is its focus on the self. Every politician is convinced that it is his right to become a minister. Every minister believes that it is his right to remain a minister as long as he lives. Every minister wants his son, too, to become a minister by right. These verities of democracy are again kicking up storms in Karnataka and Kerala -- Karnataka because it is still in the process of settling down after an election, and Kerala because some of the country's most crooked brains are re-inventing the technology of party politics.

To understand how retrograde this political culture is, we must look at what happens in mature democracies. In Britain, for example, there are four former prime ministers still around. The oldest of them, John Major, lives quietly, acknowledging old age at 75. Tony Blair keeps himself busy running a think tank called the Institute of Global Change. Gordon Brown, a PhD, holds unpaid positions in organisations devoted to education and economic policy. David Cameron contributes his time and energy to Alzheimer's Research UK and the National Citizens Service. None of them interferes with politics or with the affairs of the parties they once led. When they retire, they retire.

When Indian politicians retire, they don't. Consider the case of H.D.Devegowda. At 85 he is frail but playing politics fulltime. He has made one son chief minister for the second time, another son a senior minister and is busy grooming a grandson for Parliament. All these are secondary manoeuvres for the grand finale of himself becoming Prime Minister again.

It's nearly a month since Karnataka's new chief minister was sworn in. But the cabinet is still not in place because the fights over seats and portfolios are in full swing. All except Jaffar Sherief, 84, and S.M.Krishna, 85, want cabinet posts. Roshan Baig, for example, has been a minister for many years, handling Home, Tourism, Infrastructure, Information, Urban Development. This time the Muslim seat was given to a newcomer and Baig organised a noisy rally of supporters in front of the Congress office. He is still sulking.

Another crowd of supporters raised slogans asking for a cabinet post for MLA Haris. This is the leader who was grooming his son for Congress leadership until the son led a pack of rowdies to attack a diner in a pub; after nearly four months in jail, he got bail. A minister given Higher Education revolted because he wanted Co-operation. CM's brother and PWD Minister Revanna, already dubbed super CM, ordered a mass transfer of officers including some in Irrigation Minister Shivakumar's kingdom. Result: Chaos. How powerful is the urge to serve the nation!

In Kerala there was no election and the Left Government is well entrenched. Yet, an earthquake took place following the manoeuvres of Three Musketeers of extraordinary talent in political plotting -- Oommen Chandy whose cunning is unmatched, Kunjalikutty, a Muslim Leaguer notorious for wiliness, and K.M.Mani who believes that God created the universe for his and his family's enjoyment. Mani has his own party which he uses for striking deals. Recently he left the Congress-led UDF and created the impression that he would join the Communist-led LDF while not ruling out an alliance with the BJP.

The Chandi-Kunjali-Mani axis struck a deal last week so secretly that their own party people were surprised. Mani rejoined the UDF and the UDF surrendered its Rajya Sabha seat for Mani's son Jose. The irony was that Jose was a sitting member of the Lok Sabha. For the first time in Kerala's history, a Lok Sabha member gave up his seat to become a Rajya Sabha member. Young Congressmen and respected leaders like V.M.Sudheeran exploded in righteous indignation. But they should be grateful that the Three Musketeers did not make Jose a member of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha simultaneously as well as a Central Minister and a state minister at the same time. (Rule out nothing. Cha-Ku-Ma's triple genius can work wonders).

Girish Karnad's Tughlaq is full of worldly wisdom. Without the shadow of a doubt his characters proclaim: "First, one must have power -- the authority to rape. Then everything takes on meaning". And again: "One should be able to rob a man and then stay there to punish him for getting robbed. That's called class".

From H.D.Devegowda to K.M.Mani, from Amit Shah to Sharad Pawar, they all have the gumption to do whatever it takes to get whatever they want. That's called class.

WEST ASIA MESS. WHERE IS INDIA?

Donald Trump's impetuousness often gets boosted by his ego. This makes him a dangerous player in conflict situations. West Asia, already on edge with clashing ideologies, has been brought closer to war by his eccentric pull-out from the Iran nuclear deal and all-out backing to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) policies of provocation at home and in the region. Add to this Trump's support to Israel's military adventurism, and we have a tinder box ready to catch fire any moment.

Has a side explosion already taken place? Although there has been no confirmation anywhere, month-long rumours of a coup against MBS have not died down. What is confirmed is that there was a gun fight in the royal palace in Riyadh. Officials claim it was guards shooting down a toy drone that flew too close to the palace. Unofficial reports said MBS had been evacuated to a nearby bunker. That a publicity lover like him has not appeared in public since April 12 is a fact; the gun fight took place on April 21. Assassination is an unacceptable solution to political problems and we must hope that MBS is safe.

That his policies had created unrest in the region cannot be denied. He is the prime mover behind the long and ongoing war in Yemen that he is unable to win despite US support. He organised powerful Arab countries to launch a boycott of Qatar for towing an independent line. He launched a purge within the royal family to consolidate his power: Eleven princes, four ministers, dozens of ex-ministers and military chiefs were detained. Prince Khalid, living in exile in Germany, appealed to his uncles and others to rise against autocracy and take over the country.

Alongside creating powerful enemies, MBS has also initiated policies that fill nations with apprehension. He wants to build 16 nuclear reactors with facilities for uranium enrichment as well. Trump supports this, saying that it would mean massive contracts for American companies. Saudi Arabia was the first country he visited as US President and he signed a $ 100 billion arms deal with Riyadh.

The implications of this bonhomie take on worrying dimensions when we realise that Saudi Arabia sees Iran as its primary enemy. Trump's view is along similar lines. For Israel Iran has for long been a personification of evil. This makes up a triumvirate capable of unpredictable action. There is already a war of mutual annihilation going on in Syria in which all these countries and Russia and Turkey are involved. A mess of this kind is rare in history.

It is a mess that involves other countries, too, because American pressure tactics include the threat of sanction against countries that do business with Iran. The threat succeeded the first time around, fifteen years ago. This time European Union has not repudiated the Iran nuclear deal a la Trump and it has officially announced that the European Investment Bank will back EU projects in Iran. China and Russia are also against the Trump initiative, so the idea of sanctions may not prove as effective as before. But it may cause serious dislocations.

India is directly affected by this mess, partly due to its own policy peculiarities aimed at pleasing Saudi Arabia. Only Muslims are sent as ambassadors to Jeddah, for example. Worse, not a whisper is raised against the flow of unauthorised funds from Saudi sources to India, nor about the open activities of Wahabi missionaries to radicalise the Muslims of India. Nearly 100 Indians have joined the ISIS operations in Iraq.

When Bush's America imposed sanctions against Iran and threatened action against countries trading with Iran, Delhi cringed and sought US permission to get Iranian crude oil on credit. This time India's Foreign Minister boldly declared: "India follows on UN sanctions, not unilateral sanctions by any country". Will Delhi have the political courage and the economic stamina to stand by that declaration? For one thing, India, in response to challenges in its own neighbourhood, has walked into strategic arrangements with the US. For another, corporate entities with profound interests in the US market are powerful in today's India and the Government is beholden to them. Iranian President Rouhani, in his recent visit to India, held out a clutch of cooperation plans, or "longterm strategic contracts" as he called them, covering the Chabahar trade route, energy, connectivity and security. Iran is a natural ally of India, geographically and historically. Our relations with it should not be at the mercy of fickle-minded third parties.

POLL RESULTS: THREATS & PROMISES

Never have byelection results made waves of the kind that last week's did. Only two out of fourteen seats were won by the BJP, the party that is generally projected as the unstoppable force sweeping across the country. Opponents were quick to proclaim its stoppability.

It would be a mistake to hurry to the conclusion that the BJP is losing ground and will be overtaken in next year's general election. The party has strengths that other parties do not have, and will not have in the immediate future. The most important of these are its booth-level organisational strength and its unmatched financial resources. To these should be added two significant factors: That the party is in power in Delhi, and that it is led by a fighter who is known to do whatever it takes to win.

Nevertheless, the picture that unveiled itself last week had its own implications. One is that the minor status of minor parties has been further underlined. Shiv Sena in Palghar, Maharashtra and JDS in RR Nagar, Bangalore became also-rans because they refused to cooperate with other groups. Sena is allegedly a partner of the BJP and yet became the main party fighting it in Palghar. It lost by more than 29,000 votes. Shiv Sena, an accidental party born of a 1960s sentiment in Bombay against non-locals, has no ideological validity today. Its best bet would have been to stick with the BJP and share bits and pieces of power or join an opposition grouping. Its chief says it will fight all future elections solo. Which means there won't be many future elections to fight.

The JDS in Karnataka, after joining hands with the Congress to form the Government, declined to face the RR Nagar election jointly. Patriarch Deve Gowda's self-centred ambitions were on display here. Cooperation only in the legislature, not outside, he said. That was a meaningless stance and his party ended up a poor third after winner Congress and runner-up BJP. What further devices will this narrow-visioned politician think up, endangering the ruling coalition between his party and the Congress? Palghar and RR Nagar demonstrated the foolishness of opposition parties ignoring the overwhelming advantages the BJP enjoys as the Prime Minister's party.

By far the most important outcome last week was the defeat of the BJP in two Uttar Pradesh constituencies. Noorpur went with the Samajwadi Party and Kairana with the RLD. Forgive those who ask: RLD? What's that? It is the inconsequential Rashtriya Lok Dal of the inconsequential Ajit Singh. But in Kairana, the RLD was backed by the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress. And its candidate romped home with a comfortable margin of 44,618 votes.

Let it be noted that Kairana is the third Parliament seat the BJP is losing in UP after the celebrated Yogi Adityanath became the state's Chief Minister following a celebrated victory. The Yogi could not get the support of people in his own constituency of Gorakhpur; the seat vacated by him was won by an unknown party (Nishad Party founded by Sanjay Nishad) which had formed an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

Yet, the real significance of the Kairana result is that the victorious candidate's name is Tabassum Hasan. The BJP opponent she defeated was not only another women, but the daughter of the sitting MP whose death had necessitated the byelection. Neither the sympathy wave nor the religion of the opposition candidate could help her; Tabassum Hasan won in a state where the ruling party had demonstratively declined to give a single ticket to a Muslim. She has now become the first UP Muslim to enter Parliament since the BJP came to power. If the BJP's losses in Gorakhpur and Phulpur two months ago were political setbacks, the Kairana loss is an ideological insult.

So where do we go from here? What is sure is that Yogi Adityanath is a loser. More or less sure, too, is that Amit Shah is not the magician he is reputed to be; his extremism is turning counter-productive. The dangerous connotation of this is that he might turn to more daring and unorthodox ways to get his numbers.

The most useful lesson to be learned is that opposition unity can work wonders. Sworn enemies like Mayawati and Mulayam family are joining hands. The Congress is accepting the reality that it must participate in coalitions as a junior party. All those who get together are deriving benefits. The moral lies in the familiar saying: Unity is strength.