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I  been wondering what to write about when Today as I was reading the news , I got so ashamed, at the way Indian Government treats the citizens.. What made me even more ashamed was the fact how we the Indians treat each other.

With the recently concluded Rio Olympics the whole nation was going on and on and ONNNNNNNNNnn about how we won a couple of medals, there were posts being dedicated to the winners .. How they made it blah blah blah.. Some celebrities were coming out of their holes doling prize money .. I even heard Mr. Salman khan who earns Millions gave a sum of One lakh rupee to the Wrestler.   (I just read so please don’t shoot me if it right or wrong)..

Now lets come to the On going Paralympic going on in RIO,  India so far has won 8 .. yes you heard right EIGHT medals ,

 

medaltally

 

WE have Two Gold , Three silver and 3 Bronze …..

BUT the question that I have is to the comment made by our Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday, According to a leading Newspaper he refused to commit if medallists of the ongoing Rio Paralympics will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — the highest sporting honour in the country. An Olympic medallist directly qualifies for the Khel Ratna award but Mr. Goel said there was no such policy in place for the Paralympians. “Our Paralympians have made India proud by winning four medals so far in Rio. But on the issue of awards, there has been no decision on any such policy for Paralympians. We will take up the matter,”  ..   How Sad is that for a country

We sent a delegation of 100+ sports men/women to the Main Olympics, who came back with 2 medals , almost all the media was hyping about it all, no end of sponsorships, leading sports people including Mr. Sachin Tendulkar were the sports Brand for olympics..

In contrast to that, look at the delegation sent for Paralympics , who have already won 8 medals including 2 Gold, Don’t see any sponsors running after them, maybe because all the sports authorities could not go along with the delegation for ANOTHER Holiday to RIO with all expenses paid.

Even the Twitter handles are quiet Sleepy , no furore on the winnings  not even the insults that flew around earlier against the authorities , people just seem to be oblivious to this event going on,  Whatsapp groups are quiet too.. Very Strange… Blogging World is QUIET too, dont see any blogs written.. 

It is indeed a shame for us too as citizens we cry hoarse at everything but now that the time is there to be proud of these brilliant sports men/women who have gone through MORE hardships then some of the ABLE Athletes we are not even ready to acknowledge their feats let alone feel proud of their achievements.

Well done to all the Athletes who made it to the games , Really proud of you guys. Brillaintly Done Guys, you deserve many many accolades fingers crossed and I hope.  sorry for the Way we as a nation Treat the sports personalities.  Thank you for making us so proud.

 

 

 

Comments
  1. supercalifragilisticexpialidocious says:

    These guys do deserve all the cash prize and bmw cars that Rio Olympians won. Being a normal person and winning award is different. These guys have come up in life inspite of their difficulties and yet there is nobody to praise them!

    Like

  2. sash21 says:

    Thought provoking. I didn’t watch a single meet because I usually watch the games to see Oscar Pistorius. Paralympics deserve the same attention if not more than Olympics.

    Like

  3. Prajakta says:

    I agree it is indeed sad to read about the Ministry’s stand for the award. But on social media, my FB feed is full of news and inspiring stories about them. I am not sure of other mediums but in my memory, this year actually threw more light compared to the earlier years.

    Like

    • Bikramjit says:

      Yes this year there was moree light i agree to that .. lets hope it keeps increasing and soon these athletes get as much acknowledgement as the able bodied ones…

      Like

  4. Not related to this post, but an interesting thing – In the 1500m long-distance running, the top four finishers of the Paralympics event beat the timing of the main Olympic gold medal winner! That tells us the training levels these athletes undergo and the importance of this event.

    Destination Infinity

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  5. ugly truth & hypocrisy :/

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  6. It’s shameful. Now, you know the reason why we can’t make it big in Olympics? Lack of political willingness to give our athletes facilities and earnings. You are right, my friend!

    Like

    • Bikramjit says:

      But vishal its not just the lack of political willingness, it is our fault too as citizens too, we don’t support too, at least those who can. For example if Salman khan can give some money to the able bodied wrestler.. Why not to one of the paralympic athletes.. Which goes to prove that his was just a stunt based on his movie on wrestling.

      Why cant someone like Ambani’s take over they have made enough money from the citizens of the nation .. they are happy to make money but unwilling to do their bit.

      I wish I had that much money … 😦

      Like

  7. I’m going to be honest. I tried watching it a few times and I just drifted away….I don’t feel any obligation to watch because they are paralympians because that would be patronizing. Although it was well presented and really interesting to see the myriad of ways the sports people worked around their disabilities I tried a few times and didn’t return.
    I have asked myself a number times why and to be honest I think it is Olympics fatigue. We have the first one and then even though I was quite looking forward to the para one I missed the opening ceremony and then didn’t bother watching later and the malaise just set in. Also I think we need a few more stars like Bolt to make people want to go out of their way to tune in. A cracking personality can come from anyone, para or non para and there just were no Mohammad Ali’s that made it a must-watch for me – at least none that I have heard of.

    Like

    • Bikramjit says:

      No No its not a obligation and its not everyones cup of tea tooo, not everyone will like athletics.. but this was towards those who went all out t osee the ABLE bodied work their magic and now switched off .. and os true we need those stars.. and in UK we have some of those stars in paralympics hence all the media and coverage for them tooooo …

      Liked by 1 person

  8. SG says:

    Shame on the Government.

    Like

  9. The stand of the Ministry is indeed a hurting one, but I have seen lots of FB/Twitter posts about the great accomplishment of the Paralympians. Of course, no furore from the sides of the celebrities and I’m not sure if any of them has declared any prize for the medal winners this time. Discrimination is there, as you have pointed out….

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  10. Yeah… this is indeed saddening that these great fighters (in sport and in real life) don’t get the adulation or recognition they so richly deserve. I have been watching some of these events and the amount of effort that these athletes have put in is unbelievable and I can only salute their determination and heart.

    Like

  11. Beat About The Book says:

    This is definitely a thought Bikram. A lot of conversation of whatsapp and twitter is media led. And I think this one is just not glamorous enough. Such a shame that their achievements which are way bigger aren’t given attention or reward.

    Like

  12. Excellent post. Thank you for caring out this matter. Although I am not an Indian national, but I notice that discrimination keep happening to people with disabilities around the world. Is there any organizations that supporting people with disabilities speak up and bring out this issue?

    Like

  13. Akhila says:

    what is the need of ministry in this case.. better to shape it in some other forms..

    Like

  14. surindernath says:

    Thing to wonder is our players still manage to win some medals.

    Given the support staff which go with them and the kind of “support” they give,
    the most surprising thing is…… they still manage to win…..pure magic !!

    Like

  15. India’s performance in Paralympics is laudable indeed, but yes sadly the buzz has been missing in the mainstream media. Though I have come across blogs and social media posts. The damp response of the Ministry is most disheartening, as you have pointed out.

    Like

  16. Deeps says:

    It is a shame indeed. We have failed those Paralympians who have won us such glory and pride.

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  17. :(…is all I can say

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  18. This is a real shame Bikram. Let alone the Facebook applause, not many even knew about the ongoing event.
    Super proud of the participation and the medals 🙂 Thank you for writing this 🙂

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  19. It is very shameful. Not much media coverage also given to the Paralympics. And then we talk of giving them equal opportunities. I believe the medals were indeed won by the Paralympians and not by the country which does not have policies in place for them. We have all the time to merge the Rail budget with the main budget or to change the name of a certain Race Course Road to Lok Kalyan Marg, but we cannot find the time and need to include such important policies. Crazy!

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  20. Our athletes were not provided enough facilities for training, staying there etc. But money was poured on them once they won. If they had been helped before participation, many would have got medals and the athletes who won silver and bronze would have won gold. We are really weird people. Kudos to paralympics participants. They need more appreciation.

    Like

    • Bikramjit says:

      So true.. if only we had helped them before they would have surly done much more.. it is sad that money is all taken by the authrorities and office bearers who probably never ever have done anything for the nation…

      Like

  21. inquisitivegeet says:

    Yes, it created a lot of furore for not shouting out loud and cheering for the paralympics team and it’s really sad to the state like this! A very valid point put up by you Bikram!

    Cheers
    Geets

    Like

  22. joe says:

    I have no idea why they are treated as the under dogs.
    Any way, like you said : Well done to all the Athletes who made it to the games , really proud of you guys.

    Like

  23. In a bid to give increased recognition to their achievements, the medallists from the Rio Paralympics will be recommended for the Padma awards this year by the sports ministry.
    “Sports ministry will recommend the names of our star #Paralympians to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the prestigious #PadmaAwards,” sports minister Vijay Goel announced on his Twitter page.

    India won four medals — two gold, a silver and a bronze — at the Paralympics in Rio earlier this month.
    Thangavelu Mariyappan (High Jump) and Devendra Jhajharia (Javelin Throw) won Paralympic gold medals, while Deepa Malik (Shot put) had claimed a silver. Varun Singh Bhati (High Jump) had won a bronze medal.
    The para-athletes were welcomed warmly on their return from Rio and were hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence.

    Like

  24. Its just like CRICKET being a Celebrity Game and KABADDI being a poor man’s game.

    Like

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    Like

  26. Rajlakshmi says:

    I have echoed same thoughts previously.Their feat is remarkable, but our society failed to acknowledge their talent and determination. I wonder though how the other countries treated their champions.

    Like

    • Bikramjit says:

      other countries well in UK they got a tremendous welcome.. and WE saw the olympics Live .. a Lot has changed and We all see it happening.. Everyone is given equally…

      Like

  27. poojamahimkar says:

    such a well thought out post

    Like

  28. ladynimue says:

    Well said Bikram !
    Though to be honest , I am no sports fan so I had no reaction for any of the winners.
    but a difference in approach and awards is really weird !

    Like

  29. Seema says:

    The nations view towards para olympians is saddistic. Why para olympians only? Our approach towards specially abled has not been very encouraging. We as a nation need to be more considerate and accomodating with empathy.

    Like

  30. sujathasathya says:

    some food for thought there

    Like

  31. gc1963 says:

    This is a moving tribute to the Paralympians. Feel sorry and shamed too.

    Like

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