MUCH ADO ABOUT????
Even before the Olympic torch was lighted,the fire of protests against the ongoing Tibetan crisis was burning bright.People holding banners against the Government,Women standing firm,ready to face the onslaught of the raging army and police officials,who are doing everything in their ‘might’ to curb the agitation.These are the pictures that would greet the world to the Beijing Olympics 2008.
What was supposed to be the biggest event for China,is turning out to be an agnail for the authorities.And it’s no secret that the going hasn’t been very smooth from the onset of events.The awarding of the Olympic games to China raised quite a few eyebrows.Ironically,though,the people most concerned were the environmentalists,who feared that the polluted city of Beijing would play havoc with the participating athletes.And soon we had reports and quotes coming from every corner of the world from people, whom we never knew were environmentalists or even existed.
So does this place me in the group of very few people who support the policies of the government concerned here.The answer is a plain “no”.Rather what amazers me is the way International Olympic Federation was handling the issue, or should i say,it was not handling the issue.The only thing it did was to buy time and hope that the matter would be buried in the fanfare once the games started.
But the IOF ran out of luck at the crucial time.With the eruption of violence in Lhasa and the inability of the authorities to handle the situation amicably,the Olympic games seem to have run into troubled waters once again.And it’s no surprise that the IOF has kept mum and is still insisting that the games would be organized ‘peacefully’(God knows what that word means for the IOF,’coz the present scenario is certainly defying all claims) and that it would be a success.
So, has the success of hundreds of year old tradition gained more significance than the attainment of basic human rights and the practice of humanity.In this rat race to became a major economic power and to be a political force to be reckoned,at the international level,nations forget the very essence and reason of human existence.Even in this 21st century, we have not learned to respect the right of people’s freedom.
Olympic games send a message of peace and harmony among the people of 5 inhabited continents.But then what is the use of preaching a message that one cannot follow himself.This personification of hypocrisy is doing no good to the image of the host nation.The Olympic torch that burns bright to spread this very message of peace and harmony has to be extinguished(for the first time in the history of torch relay)to save it from protesting groups.Have we reached a point, where human conflicts and ego have overshadowed the might of this eternal light.
Doesn’t yhis send a clear signal to the hypocrites and people alike,that the air today,not only in Beijing,but around the globe has thickened with polluted thoughts.And that ,to such an extent, that the warmth of eternal fire has diminished top the glickering of a weakened flame…..
