In the recent International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, inaugurated by Mrs. Pratibha Patil, Viswanathan Anand was invited to play chess with 40 other mathematicians. The ICM also decided to honour Anand with a doctorate.
Suddenly the Ministry of Human Resources questions the nationality of Anand and therefore denies to give permission for this doctorate to be awarded! The ministry dragged the case for months, questioned his nationality, chides the organisers for “holding a special convocation ceremony just to accommodate the convenience of foreigners” (Anand was to awarded this doctorate, along with another professor from Harvard).
What a shame! Is this how we treat our world champions? Is this the respect our bureaucracy accords to those who have been pioneers in their fields of sports? He had to wait all day for some crook in the ministry to decide whether he was an Indian or not. What is the country doing when a man who makes the country proud today cries in front of the media- “I want my country back!“
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 