Booting the Aam Aadmi out of the Box

BCCI booting out Harsha Bhogle summarily reeks of the mindsets of Kings and Nobles of medieval Europe and India who would have you beheaded just because they don’t like your face. And in this case, on recommendation of a Bollywood actor who prides himself on being a gentleman, apparently. There is also the suggestion that Harsha had an argument with some powerful BCCI personnel and rubbed them the wrong way.

In India power gets you what you want, money makes it easier to get to power or power centers. The BCCI is run as a fiefdom of the powerful where the moneyed have to queue up to have their shot at being considered to be part of the inner circle. The common man who makes Indian cricket what it is and therefore lends all the clout to BCCI is at best playing usher to the Badshahs who control the game today and those who feed their fiefdoms in exchange for a share of the power.

In this context, Harsha’s achievement has been two fold. One, entering a commentary box which has been largely the reserve of ex-players who love holding a mike, two, breaching a largely impenetrable bastion of powerful people who have never held a bat professionally yet control destinies of some incredibly talented young cricketers. For youngsters who grew up wanting to wear India whites, and mostly failed, Harsha was their voice on the field, their voice on air, their conscience keeper of the game. His earnest approach (which did fade away to mostly cocky humour), grip over history and humility laced with a certain curious innocence made him that quintessential face, apart from Sachin, who was default on tv whenever India was playing cricket, any format, anywhere in the world. His commentary was balanced, thorough and while it did not have the magic of a Benaud or the drama of a Grieg, you could trust him to tell you what was real, and not take sides, ever.

So when Mr. Bachchan (I still have a little respect left for him, very little though) decided to go jingoistic and point fingers at Harsha indirectly for speaking too much about foreign players he was in effect pointing fingers at the common man who made him what he was. The same common man who prayed no end at temples around the country when he was injured shooting Coolie. The same common man whose dreams he played with and made pot loads of money off using Kaun Banega Crorepati. The same common man who believed that their legendary hero who bashed up villains on screen, was a good guy off it too. That common man feels let down because one of their “heroes” who succeeded in being the face of Indian cricket commentary through sheer hard work, talent and the right set of values now has been arbitrarily dismissed just because “Mr.” Bachchan felt so.

Mind you this is not just about cricket; it is about the social structure of this country, where class is the caste in urban India. Anybody who does naukri (derived from naukar of course) can be asked to pledge their lives to their rich employer toe their line, do as they are told. The slightest breach though can get you thrown out, with ad hoc reasons, or in cases like Harsha’s without. Won’t be surprised if the BCCI even expects an apology from Harsha Bhogle! Welcome to the new India, which by the way, is still the old India with some new clothes