Mihir Bose's Blog, page 26
November 17, 2015
Modi’s visit
Mihir was interviewed by Adam Boulton on Sky News straight after his appearance at Wembley Stadium on 13th November. He stressed that Indian democracy is robust enough to cope with any challenge posed by Modi and his supporters.
November 16, 2015
Letter in The Times – 16 November 2015
A copy of this letter appeared in The Times today -
Decisions over who should lead India will be made via the ballot box, rather than by military action
Sir, Further to Philip Collins’ very measured article on the visit by Narendra Modi (Nov 13), we must remind ourselves that Indian democracy has always been robust enough [...]
Decisions over who should lead India will be made via the ballot box, rather than by military action
Sir, Further to Philip Collins’ very measured article on the visit by Narendra Modi (Nov 13), we must remind ourselves that Indian democracy has always been robust enough [...]
November 14, 2015
Can the Tories win back the Indian vote from Labour?
Spectator Coffee House
Nearly 50 years ago, soon after I first came to this country, my landlady, upset I was reading the Guardian and not her favourite newspaper the Daily Telegraph, said, ‘You must not believe Labour propaganda that they gave India freedom. Churchill would have done the same had he won the 1945 election.’ Had my landlady been alive and witnessed how Narendra Modi has been received by David Cameron, culminating in yesterday’s love fest at Wembley, she would have required little convincing that her beloved party is no longer a pariah for Indians in this country. For all the talk of developing ties with India to attract investments and create jobs, the most interesting aspect of Team UK-Team India bonding, to use Cameron’s favourite phrase, is how the Prime Minister has achieved what a lot of Conservative leaders have long desired: a take-over of Labour’s Indian estate.
Nearly 50 years ago, soon after I first came to this country, my landlady, upset I was reading the Guardian and not her favourite newspaper the Daily Telegraph, said, ‘You must not believe Labour propaganda that they gave India freedom. Churchill would have done the same had he won the 1945 election.’ Had my landlady been alive and witnessed how Narendra Modi has been received by David Cameron, culminating in yesterday’s love fest at Wembley, she would have required little convincing that her beloved party is no longer a pariah for Indians in this country. For all the talk of developing ties with India to attract investments and create jobs, the most interesting aspect of Team UK-Team India bonding, to use Cameron’s favourite phrase, is how the Prime Minister has achieved what a lot of Conservative leaders have long desired: a take-over of Labour’s Indian estate.
November 12, 2015
London 2012 Olympics were not ‘sabotaged’ by doping scandal, insists WADA chief Sir Craig Reedie
London Evening Standard
Among the many headlines to come out of the report into the Russian doping scandal was that the London Olympics had been “sabotaged” by the cheats.
That comment came from Dick Pound, a former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and head of the commission investigating Russian athletics.
It could be assumed that the current head of WADA, Sir Craig Reedie, agrees with the Canadian. But Reedie is a former chairman of the British Olympic Association and was on the organising committee of London 2012 and he does not think the golden glow of those three weeks has been destroyed.
He says: “It is hugely disappointing to know some athletes should not have taken part and quite clearly sanctions were not brought against them, presumably, so they were able to run in London. But I don’t think sabotage is the right word. Russia had a pretty good athletics team. The London Games were splendid in every way.”
Among the many headlines to come out of the report into the Russian doping scandal was that the London Olympics had been “sabotaged” by the cheats.
That comment came from Dick Pound, a former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and head of the commission investigating Russian athletics.
It could be assumed that the current head of WADA, Sir Craig Reedie, agrees with the Canadian. But Reedie is a former chairman of the British Olympic Association and was on the organising committee of London 2012 and he does not think the golden glow of those three weeks has been destroyed.
He says: “It is hugely disappointing to know some athletes should not have taken part and quite clearly sanctions were not brought against them, presumably, so they were able to run in London. But I don’t think sabotage is the right word. Russia had a pretty good athletics team. The London Games were splendid in every way.”
November 9, 2015
On the current crisis in athletics – Newsnight
See my interview on Newsnight (from 12 minutes 40 seconds into recording)
November 2, 2015
Why cricket is proving to be an unexpected bridge between communities
Adil Rashid may not have managed to save England from defeat against Pakistan in Dubai but his presence in the team, along with that of Moeen Ali, shows how cricket is, surprisingly, proving to be a great bridge builder in this country.
In Rashid and Ali we have two Muslim cricketers, both born to parents from Mirpur in the Pakistan part of Kashmir, who are so much part of the England cricket team that they are heroes not only to Asians but also many in the wider white community.
In a cricketing sense Rashid’s story is the more remarkable. He is a leg spinner from Yorkshire, a county which has traditionally distrusted leg spin. More significantly, he comes from a county which until a quarter of a century ago had never had a foreign born, let alone a non-white, player. Indeed it was only in 1990 that Sachin Tendulkar became the first non-white to play for the county. The reason he was chosen was Yorkshire felt that the Asians who lived in the county like in Bradford where Rashid was born, he was two when Tendulkar made history, did not identify with Yorkshire. Tendulkar’s signing was meant to be a bridge to the county’s Asians.
At that time talking to Asian community leaders it was clear they felt that Yorkshire cricket had a whites only policy. I was told by many Asian cricketers that they had been shunned by clubs, particularly the important clubs who always chose white players with the result that the Asians had been forced to form their own leagues. Yorkshire’s then almost wholly white membership disagreed arguing it was Asians who did not mix and racism was a myth. Rashid’s rise, along with that of other Asians, means that the argument as to whether Yorkshire was institutionally racist is now more for historians to debate.
In Rashid and Ali we have two Muslim cricketers, both born to parents from Mirpur in the Pakistan part of Kashmir, who are so much part of the England cricket team that they are heroes not only to Asians but also many in the wider white community.
In a cricketing sense Rashid’s story is the more remarkable. He is a leg spinner from Yorkshire, a county which has traditionally distrusted leg spin. More significantly, he comes from a county which until a quarter of a century ago had never had a foreign born, let alone a non-white, player. Indeed it was only in 1990 that Sachin Tendulkar became the first non-white to play for the county. The reason he was chosen was Yorkshire felt that the Asians who lived in the county like in Bradford where Rashid was born, he was two when Tendulkar made history, did not identify with Yorkshire. Tendulkar’s signing was meant to be a bridge to the county’s Asians.
At that time talking to Asian community leaders it was clear they felt that Yorkshire cricket had a whites only policy. I was told by many Asian cricketers that they had been shunned by clubs, particularly the important clubs who always chose white players with the result that the Asians had been forced to form their own leagues. Yorkshire’s then almost wholly white membership disagreed arguing it was Asians who did not mix and racism was a myth. Rashid’s rise, along with that of other Asians, means that the argument as to whether Yorkshire was institutionally racist is now more for historians to debate.
So what exactly did Blatter and Platini agree on Russia 2018 and why?
Inside World Football
Sepp Blatter’s revelation that there was a deal in the FIFA executive, and in particular with Michel Platini, to vote for Russia for the 2018 World Cup and Qatar for 2022 has raised a hue and cry that the vote was a fix with Greg Dyke demanding the return of the £21 million [...]
Sepp Blatter’s revelation that there was a deal in the FIFA executive, and in particular with Michel Platini, to vote for Russia for the 2018 World Cup and Qatar for 2022 has raised a hue and cry that the vote was a fix with Greg Dyke demanding the return of the £21 million [...]
October 29, 2015
Heurelho Gomes: How Watford helped me get over my Tottenham nightmare and why we will stay up
London Evening Standard
Watford have made an encouraging start to their first season back in the top flight for eight years but on Saturday they face the team who have really made their mark this term.
West Ham, third in the table after beating Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, come to Vicarage Road and Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes says: “They are on fire at the moment. We know what we are going to face. West Ham are the team who have impressed me so much this season. I didn’t expect them to do so well.”
The Hammers’ success is part of what has made this season, Gomes’s seventh in this country, the most unpredictable he has known. “I believe the clubs are getting more prepared, more organised. The big clubs are getting surprised by this. Chelsea are one of them.” Then, with a smile he adds: “Not bad this season for us so far — we’re ahead of Chelsea. We can surprise people.”
Watford are 13th — two points in front of Jose Mourinho’s struggling champions — and Gomes is quick to give much of the credit to manager, Quique Sanchez Flores.
Watford have made an encouraging start to their first season back in the top flight for eight years but on Saturday they face the team who have really made their mark this term.
West Ham, third in the table after beating Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, come to Vicarage Road and Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes says: “They are on fire at the moment. We know what we are going to face. West Ham are the team who have impressed me so much this season. I didn’t expect them to do so well.”
The Hammers’ success is part of what has made this season, Gomes’s seventh in this country, the most unpredictable he has known. “I believe the clubs are getting more prepared, more organised. The big clubs are getting surprised by this. Chelsea are one of them.” Then, with a smile he adds: “Not bad this season for us so far — we’re ahead of Chelsea. We can surprise people.”
Watford are 13th — two points in front of Jose Mourinho’s struggling champions — and Gomes is quick to give much of the credit to manager, Quique Sanchez Flores.
October 19, 2015
Franz Beckenbauer: Wenger is a legend and the Premier League can now boast three of the top five managers in the world
London Evening Standard
Ahead of one of the biggest European games of Arsene Wenger’s reign, the Arsenal manager has support from Franz Beckenbauer.
The 70-year-old is an unlikely ally given that Bayern Munich, the club he is so much a part of, will be trying to push Arsenal nearer towards the Champions League exit door at the Emirates tomorrow.
The Gunners’ record of having reached the last 16 for 15 years in a row is in danger following surprise defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos.
Ahead of one of the biggest European games of Arsene Wenger’s reign, the Arsenal manager has support from Franz Beckenbauer.
The 70-year-old is an unlikely ally given that Bayern Munich, the club he is so much a part of, will be trying to push Arsenal nearer towards the Champions League exit door at the Emirates tomorrow.
The Gunners’ record of having reached the last 16 for 15 years in a row is in danger following surprise defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos.
October 14, 2015
Mihir Bose wins lifetime achievement award
London Evening Standard
Standard Sport's Mihir Bose was honoured at the Asian Cricket Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Calcutta-born journalist was commended for his contribution to cricket journalism which includes writing acclaimed books The Spirit of the Game and A History of Indian Cricket.
Standard Sport's Mihir Bose was honoured at the Asian Cricket Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Calcutta-born journalist was commended for his contribution to cricket journalism which includes writing acclaimed books The Spirit of the Game and A History of Indian Cricket.
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