Of sports and Haryana’s cultural evolution

By

Amar Nath Wadehra & Randeep Wadehra

For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks – not that you won or lost –
But how you played the game.
------Grantland Rice (1880–1954) US sportswriter

It is true that every society develops its own moral precepts and practices. This development takes place over centuries and several factors like economic, political etc contribute significantly to the process. It goes without saying that no society can afford to remain stagnant. If it wants to survive it has to evolve according to its contemporary needs as well as the prevailing external as well as internal socio-economic-political environments. However, this is easier said than done. For various reasons status-quoism gets embedded in the psyche of a traditional society, resulting in resistance to change. This phenomenon has been quite manifest in the region – more so in Haryana.

The consequences were there for all to see. Superstition, bigotry and ignorance began to rule the roost. Periodically, certain positive factors did enter the Haryana society, nevertheless. For example the reformist Arya Samaj movement, during the pre-independence period, loosened the orthodoxy’s stranglehold on the common folks. This introduced several progressive ideas into the society that challenged the caste-based stratification as well as other retrogressive practices. Consequently efforts, albeit tentative, to educate and empower women and other vulnerable sections of the society were initiated.

Even as this phenomenon began to gather momentum after the independence, the Green Revolution proved to be a harbinger of economic progress. Gradually, the resultant affluence paved the way for Haryanvis’ progress towards modernization of the mind. The introduction of new technologies needed progressive mindsets for handling ultramodern production techniques and machines. Consequently, the demand for educational institutions increased phenomenally – not merely for imparting science and technology related skills but also the soft-skills that enable fostering of social relationships.

The opening up of the economy to international business, industry and educational institutes has had a salutary effect on Haryana’s socio-economic profile. Yet, much needed to be achieved, especially in the fields of character-building and social liberalism; this is where the self-esteem factor comes into play. This factor got phenomenal boost thanks to the Commonwealth Games. Much before the Commonwealth Games were held the country invested heavily in the training of its sportspersons for the competition, which paid dividends in the subsequently held Asian Games in China, too. And, Haryana was a major beneficiary of this effort.

There is a lot in sporting ethic that can reinforce a society’s moral and ethical evolution. It comprises the classic principles of pleasure, duty, virtue, obligation, perfection as well as complete and harmonious development of the human potential. These principles are identical to the ones governing a culture’s moral evolution. Today gymnasiums and other sporting facilities have sprung up in various parts of Haryana. This has resulted in a positive physical culture that encourages the state’s youth to participate in various healthy activities. At the same time it weans them away from such unhealthy and anti-social acts as drug abuse, heinous crime and moral depravation.

The training of a sportsperson involves not merely acquisition and honing of the requisite skills but also development of certain positive attitudes. Sportsman spirit teaches us that there is a fundamental difference between sporting rivalry and enmity. Tolerance of, and respect for, one’s opponent is deeply ingrained in the psyche of a sportsperson. At the same time unflinching attention is paid to perfection – both of body and mind – in order to excel in a particular sporting discipline. Thus, one’s ambitions are reconciled with the respect for one’s rivals, as well as a well developed sense of discipline and self-restraint. Such ethic, consciously or unconsciously, gets translated into other fields of human activity – be it politics, business, industry and governance in general.

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