Just like how religion plays a crucial part in pulling the strings of the Indian voters, even sports have emerged as a thread in the puppet show.
The term "sportswashing" has become the talk of the globe over the past few years. The dictionary describes it as a term used to describe the practice of nations, individuals, groups, corporations, or governments using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. The concept has opened an entire world of thoughts in front of us as a society.
It is said that "man is a social animal," and emotions do play a crucial part in his or her life. "In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins", this is how Drew Westen, an American psychologist, describes a political battle. Especially in democratic nations like India, emotions are perhaps the biggest campaigners. Just like how religion plays a crucial part in pulling the strings of the Indian voters, even sports have emerged as a thread in the puppet show.
"First is the ideology that you call Hindutva; second is nationalism; third are the beneficiaries; and fourth is their organisational and financial strength. If you want to defeat the BJP, then you will have to break three of these four strong forts and gates." Prasanth Kishore, a household name to all the political observers in India, had these words to quote when he was asked how to beat an incumbent government within a democracy. Still, the ideology that you can use sports to evoke nationalistic emotions and, in turn, convert them into votes remains a less aware political route in India.
Sportswashing, however, is relatively new to the world as a whole. The term first gained immense popularity when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was used to buy a majority stake in Newcastle United FC in the English Premier League, which is the most watched football league in the whole world. Questions were asked towards Borris Johnson, the then UK Prime Minister, on how a state alleged for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi could be allowed to invest funds worth billions of pounds into the country's sports.
We had just seen the top of the iceberg called "Sportswashing" by then. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) later went on to purchase majority stakes at leading Saudi Arabian football clubs in June 2023—Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli, and Al-Ittihad, namely. They were hence able to bring in global icons like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. (only to name a few) into the kingdom. Saudi Tourism, with the brand name "Visit Saudi," was spotted on the advertising boards of the IPL (Indian Premier League), which is the most-viewed sports league in India.
A few years ago, "visiting Saudi Arabia" was a far-fetched dream for an average traveller, but now it has become quite the opposite. Saudi Arabia was also recently announced as the host country for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. While globalisation is something that is on the rise through such acts, does it wash away what happened in the past? Does it remove the human rights violations and oppression of the past? Sportswashing seems to be the way moving forward in other parts of the world as well.
There seem to be emerging signs of such a practice in India, especially in the context of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which recently concluded. While it is true and natural to see the leader of a nation at the stadium in a crucial final, the question remains: how many videos of leaders in the dressing rooms of teams have surfaced before on the internet? The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was filmed talking to the Indian contingent after the devastating final loss with clear audio. Such a gesture was greatly appreciated by the citizens of the nation, whereas on the other hand, a section claims signs of minor "sportswashing" to have spread roots in India.
A few months ago, the women wrestlers of the nation protested in the streets of Delhi, demanding action against the "Wrestling Federation of India" president, Brijbushan Singh, who was apparently a BJP MP at the Lok Sabha. The wrestlers, including Olympic medal winners like Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, demanded the arrest of Brijbushan, who was accused of committing multiple sexual offences against the wrestlers. All that these wrestlers expected then would have been a similar gesture from the Prime Minister or at least an assurance, which never came.
The viewership and sponsorship numbers between cricket and wrestling are not even worth a comparison. Is that a factor in deciding the emotions of the authorities towards the athletes who play for the same name on the field? Cricket is often described as an emotion among the 1.4 billion population of India. Is this emotion in the process of being converted to poling booths through sportswashing? The 2024 general election can, of course, give a general glimpse of the same.
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