Why I started watching cricket again!

I was very young when this happened. Ajay Jadeja and M Azharuddin were allegedly involved in match-fixing. I didn't believe it. How can the Indian cricket team get involved in what can only be described as betrayal? I refused to believe it.

Me and my uncle used to watch cricket with great zest! I still remember a match in which Javagal Srinath took 2 wickets in one of his initial overs. I was having lunch when this happened and I jumped over my dining table, twice. I had memorized names of all the players. Well, not only India but also Kenya!

So, when I discovered the match-fixing scandal, I was devastated. I stopped watching all forms of cricket. I must have missed many of Sachin's innings which would have been memorable for many fans.

Eventually, the 2003 world cup tournament started. It was difficult for me to start watching team India play. But, I followed the Indian team till they reached the Ausis in finals. It was happening again! I saw the finals with my Uncle who used to jump with me at every wicket's fall. We lost the finals. But, I was again a great fan of the Indian Cricket team.

Enter IPL. Indian cricketers wearing bright colors and playing against each other was not a very pleasing sight for me. I was not willing to see Harbhajan bowling to Sachin Tendulkar. But, eventually, I started following IPL and supported Mumbai Indians.

In 2011, India won the world cup. I was elated! I was in Mumbai where the finals were organized. I was staying in Malad and watching the match on our hotel's TV with friends. When India won, we rushed to the street only to discover thousands of people going crazy. I have never seen such euphoria! That night, I couldn't sleep due to the overwhelming joy!

I was a fanatic fan by now. But, in 2013, the IPL match-fixing scam surfaced. I hated Shrisanth for that. When the scam was unearthed, I was in Mcleodganj staying with the monks. I decided to again stop watching cricket.

Cut to enter in 2015. India wins 7 consecutive matches. I didn't see the first 3 matches. But, I started watching from the 4th match on-wards. By the time we reached the semi-finals, I was again a fanatic cricket fan.

India lost the semi-finals. But, I saw the match ball by ball. If nothing else, I have now started watching cricket again. I swear if one more match fixing scandal is discovered. I will never see cricket again. However, I have said the same twice before. 

A Stalwart Political Personality - Dr Shyam Prasad Mukherjee

In the history of Indian Politics, many stalwart personalities have existed. The only names which we might be aware of have their hands dirty, either in scandals or controversies. The other names we know because they build our general knowledge. For example, 1st president, 1st PM and so on.

One major motivation for me to start a blog on Politics, was to spread awareness about these personalities and their contribution to the Indian Society. This blog post is dedicated to a personality who stood against Mr Jawaharlal Nehru. A personality who was the youngest vice chancellor of any Indian University at an Age of 31. A personality who formed the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Dr Shyam Prasad Mukherjee.

I will not go in great detail about his profile because you can easily Google for it. Here I am going to emphasize on the events from his life, due to which Dr Shyam Prasad Mukherjee acquired respect in Indian politics.

Dr Shyam Prasad Mukherjee had an amazing personality. He was a great orator and decided to plunge into mainstream politics by joining Congress. After Independence, Dr Mukherjee was made the Minister of Industries. As a part of his responsibility, he played a pivotal role in setting up Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), Bangalore.

Dr Mukherjee had differences with PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Hence, when Nehru agreed to sign the pact with Liaqat Ali Khan, his Pakistan counterpart, Dr Mukherjee was the only one to oppose it. The reason of his opposition was the terms of the agreement. The terms were considered to be uneven as they were providing rights to minorities beyond what was adequate. These rights included reservation for Muslims in government services and representative bodies of states, in proportion of their population.

Eventually, Dr Mukherjee resigned from the Cabinet and formed Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later brought BJP into existence. The considerable point here is that when the whole Cabinet of Ministers, in Nehru Government, knew that the Liyaqat-Nehru pact was uncalled for, why nobody opposed it? The only Cabinet Minister who expressed disagreement was Dr Mukherjee.

Another achievement, as I would describe, of Dr Mukherjee was his contribution in merging Jammu & Kashmir with India. It is a known fact that Sardar Patel played pivotal role in merging all the states but J & K. Dr Mukherjee decided to eradicate the mandate of not hoisting tricolor in J&K. Yes, it was not allowed to hoist Tricolor in J&K and if any Indian wanted to enter the state, he required special permission. The India  president was also not barred from this.

Dr Mukherjee led a rally of 1000+ volunteers in Jammu and vowed to remove the non-applicability of Indian Constitution in J&K. In this movement of Satyagrah, many were arrested along with Mr Mukherjee. After the arrest, Mr Mukherjee was detained in a house situated in the outskirts of Srinagar. He fell seriously ill here and died under mysterious circumstances. However, the state of J&K was merged in India by abolishing the post of "J & K Prime Minister" and J&K Flag. But, the seperate constitution of J&K still remains.

Dr Mukherjee had contributed substantially to the country. Because of his strong believes, the country currently has a strong national party, BJP.

In subsequent posts, I will throw more light on such eminent political personalities and events associated with them.