The Orwellian description of sport as war minus the shooting seems to be taking shape in India — with a difference. Unfortunately, it is turning out to be a battle between an insensitive government intent on protecting one of its own and women wrestlers seeking justice against the accused, the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, who is alleged to have committed serious transgressions. What must be noted is that this battle for justice, as is often the case with such endeavours, began as a rather lonely tryst. Vinesh Phogat, one of the leading faces of the protest, took off the proverbial veil of this collective indifference when she enquired about the silence of India’s feted cricketers — men and women — to their cause. It is true that the wrestlers in the agitating have received support from some serving and former sportspersons. But the solidarity was markedly sporadic in the early days. Politicians, smelling a plot, have made their presence felt. But that, too, was done after they sensed that the protest was gathering a momentum of its own that could be used to reap dividends. Irrespective of the response of the powers that be, the citizenry should lend support to the wrestlers’ demand for scrutiny; basking in the reflected glory of their success and then turning away from them in their hour of need is not proof of conscientious citizenship.

The crux of the matter remains the vicious hold of colluding administrators and politicians on the sporting fraternity. The structure of Indian sport is a classic example of the perverse nature of the patron-client relationship. The patrons — the State and its minions — are expected to be granted licences for the crumbs that they throw at players. What has been added to this toxic arrangement is the rhetoric of hollow nationalism. P.T. Usha, a nominated member of the Rajya Sa­bha by the Bharatiya Janata Party, stated that the wrestlers have sullied the country’s image with their demonstration. Perhaps in Ms Usha’s opi­nion, the brazen refusal of the government to address the sportspersons’ concerns, the mischie­vous deployment of institutional heft in aid of the accused — FIRs were filed only after the Supreme Court’s intervention — the delay in the publication of a report probing the charges et al redeem India’s image in the eyes of the world. True nationalism cannot be divorced from the quest for justice. Ms Usha and her likes must take note.