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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same...

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same narrative unfolded on a cricket field, the reaction would have been dramatically different. In cricket, even defeat often becomes a story of heroism. A hard-fought loss by the Indian team can dominate television debates, fill newspaper columns and trend across social media for days. A player who narrowly misses a milestone is still hailed for his fighting spirit. The nation rallies around its cricketers not only in victory but also in defeat. The narrative quickly shifts from the result to the effort -- the resilience shown, the fight put up, the promise of future triumph. This emotional investment is one of the reasons cricket enjoys unparalleled popularity in India. It has built a culture where players become household names and their performances, good or bad, become part of the national conversation. Badminton Fights Contrast that with what happens in sports like badminton. Reaching the final of the All England Championships is a monumental achievement. The tournament is widely considered badminton’s equivalent of Wimbledon in prestige and tradition. Only the very best players manage to reach its final stages, and doing it twice speaks volumes about Lakshya Sen’s ability and consistency. Yet the reaction in India remained largely subdued. There were congratulatory posts, some headlines acknowledging the effort and brief discussions among badminton enthusiasts. But the level of national engagement never quite matched the magnitude of the achievement. In a cricketing context, reaching such a stage would have triggered days of celebration and analysis. In badminton, it often becomes just another sports update. Long Wait India’s wait for an All England champion continues. The last Indian to win the title was Pullela Gopichand in 2001. Before him, Prakash Padukone had scripted history in 1980. These victories remain among the most significant milestones in Indian badminton. And yet, unlike cricketing triumphs that are frequently revisited and celebrated, such achievements rarely stay in the mainstream sporting conversation for long. Lakshya Sen’s journey to the final should ideally have been viewed as a continuation of that legacy, a reminder that India still possesses the talent to challenge the world’s best in badminton. Instead, it risks fading quickly from public memory. Visibility Gap The difference ultimately comes down to visibility and cultural investment. Cricket in India is not merely a sport; it is an ecosystem built over decades through media attention, sponsorship, and mass emotional attachment. Individual sports, on the other hand, often rely on momentary bursts of recognition, usually during Olympic years or when a medal is won. But consistent performers like Lakshya Sen rarely receive the sustained spotlight that their achievements deserve. This disparity can also influence the next generation. Young athletes are naturally drawn to sports where success brings recognition, financial stability and national fame. When one sport monopolises the spotlight, others struggle to build similar appeal. Beyond Result Lakshya Sen may have finished runner-up again, but his performance at the All England Championship is a reminder that India continues to produce world-class athletes in disciplines beyond cricket. The real issue is not that cricket receives immense attention -- it deserves the admiration it gets. The concern is that athletes from other sports often do not receive comparable appreciation for achievements that are equally significant in their own arenas. If India aspires to become a truly global sporting nation, its applause must grow broader. Sporting pride cannot remain confined to one field. Because somewhere on a badminton court, an athlete like Lakshya Sen is fighting just as hard for the country’s colours as any cricketer on a packed stadium pitch. The only difference is how loudly the nation chooses to cheer.

India’s Rural Lifeline Needs a Lifeline

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is too vital to be so neglected.

India’s countryside, once the fount of its civilisational vitality, still houses 65 percent of its people and supports 47 percent through agriculture. Despite rapid urbanisation, rural India remains the republic’s economic and moral backbone. Yet, its vast landscape is increasingly dotted with evidence of administrative neglect. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), once hailed as a revolutionary scheme for alleviating rural distress, now risks becoming a ghost of its former self - underfunded, underdelivered and underwhelming in impact.


This is not for want of money. The Ministry of Rural Development was allocated Rs. 1.90 trillion in the 2025–26 Union Budget - a rise of eight percent from the previous year and a healthy twelve percent annual growth since 2012–13. MGNREGA alone accounts for 45 percent of this budget. At its core, the scheme promises up to 100 days of unskilled wage employment per rural household per year. It has done more than merely provide income, functioning as an informal shock absorber for India’s agrarian economy, especially during lean seasons and post-harvest lulls.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of migrant workers trudged back to their villages, MGNREGA became a lifeline. The government allocated over Rs. 1 trillion for it, and person-days of employment surged to an all-time high of 389 crores in 2020–21. Even today, with economic recovery well underway, the scheme remains relevant with 312.18 crore person-days generated in 2024–25, supporting nearly 6 crore rural households and over 11 crore active workers. But cracks are showing.


The average employment provided in 2024–25 was just 45 days - far short of the 100-day guarantee. In industrially lagging states like Mizoram and Ladakh, the average was 81 and 65 days respectively. But richer states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana fared poorly, failing to leverage their stronger fiscal capacity. Wage levels under the scheme remain another sore point. In 11 out of 30 states and Union Territories, they fall below the minimum notified wages, despite clear recommendations by a parliamentary standing committee in 2022 to peg MGNREGA wages to national inflation indices. That advice still gathers dust.


Compensation for delays and unemployment allowances under MGNREGA remain largely undelivered. By January 2025, only 26 percent and 24 percent, respectively, had been paid. Just three states - - Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Assam - made any unemployment payments, with national disbursals rarely exceeding 10 percent since 2020. Meanwhile, only 56 percent of India’s 2,68,919 Gram Panchayats conducted social audits in the past year, revealing weak institutional oversight and limited capacity for reform.


Political friction adds to the malaise. The Economic Survey of 2023–24 rightly pointed out that a strong centre-state partnership is vital for MGNREGA’s success. Yet in practice, ideological clashes often trump governance. West Bengal is a striking case: the scheme has been entirely suspended in the state owing to a bitter spat between state and central authorities. Such brinkmanship only harms the most vulnerable.


The government’s own standing committee proposed extending guaranteed work to 150 days. That too has gone ignored. Meanwhile, many states, instead of strengthening MGNREGA, have launched populist welfare schemes like Ladli Behena, targeted more at political optics than systemic reform.


A way forward lies in demanding greater fiscal responsibility from states, which contribute just 10 percent to MGNREGA yet show little initiative. Making them true stakeholders could boost accountability. The scheme must also move beyond manual labour—upskilling even a fraction of its 11 crore workers could be transformative. The private sector, through CSR and laws like the Apprentices Act, can help. As seen during the Agniveer rollout, businesses are willing to hire trained recruits; a similar model could uplift rural employment.


Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has voiced concerns about the scheme’s execution. But as India marches towards its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, such schemes must become central to the development agenda. India’s per capita income remains just one-fourth of what is required to reach that goal. MGNREGA, implemented effectively and innovatively, can be a bridge to inclusive growth.


The rural poor deserve more than lip service. If India truly wants to lift its villages into the 21st century, it must stop treating MGNREGA as a relic and start treating it as the foundation it was meant to be.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant with a leading company in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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