Howzzat for identity?

Who am I? Many have become philosophers by asking this. From the 8220;I think, therefore I exist8221;, explanation of Descartes, human civ...

Who am I? Many have become philosophers by asking this. From the 8220;I think, therefore I exist8221;, explanation of Descartes, human civilisation has come a long way. After the expulsion-readmission of Bengali Sourav Ganguly into the cricket team, this humble Syrian Christian Marthomite from Malayalam speaking southern Kerala has suddenly been faced with a few questions of identity.

The last time I felt a similar urgency was when Graham Staines and his kids were murdered. My Christian blood boiled. Some days later, after a protest march, I ran to church. It was after a break of years. Delhi8217;s punishing weather and the early church timings convinced me, however, of the futility of identity politics. But the recent chapter in Indian cricket made me wonder whether India would survive as a 8220;multicultural, secular nation8221;. As always, Bengal has taken the lead, this time by questioning the representative character of the Indian cricket team, our most secular pillar.Cricket is what knits the corporate honcho to the rickshaw puller; K.P.S. Gill to Dawood Ibrahim; and even Uma Bharati to Arun Jaitley. Isn8217;t it time for India8217;s subalterns, then, to be part of the game?

For starters, let me take up the cause of my own state, Kerala. Isn8217;t it discrimination of the highest order, an Aryan conspiracy, to keep the most literate state out of the cricket team? If all of India8217;s states cannot be accommodated in a 11-member team, shouldn8217;t India persuade the ICC to increase the size of the cricket team? Alternatively, we could consider a rotational system 8212; Mathew plays one week and Yadav, the next.

But regional representation is not good enough. What about the SCs, the STs? Religious and linguistic minorities? Unless they are all properly represented, how can we call our cricket team truly Indian? To this end, I propose a committee under the chairmanship of Laloo Yadav, former chairman of the Bihar Cricket Control Board. The committee should come up with proposals for ensuring adequate representation . Once a truly representative Indian cricket team is achieved, the next step should be to elevate cricket nationalism further. We must have equivalents for howzaat, LBW, gully, stump, wicket, etc. How long can we live with this imposed nomenclature of imperial masters? Culcutta, LBW, Bombay, stump8230;?

This New Year, I resolve to work for an Indian cricket team, where a Malayali Christian has a place. Only then can I truly belong. If successful I shall shout from the rooftop, 8220;I shout, therefore, I exist.8221;