Much is being said about the victory parade we witnessed in Bengaluru last week and the way it was handled. That it resulted in the loss of 11 lives has totally changed the mood around the IPL. Administrative lapses are the core of this tragedy and the only hope now is that the people responsible are brought to book. Not just rhetoric and an apparent cover up, the real people who allowed things to happen should be nailed.
Many have since gone on to say that victory parades shouldn’t happen. Such a statement is actually barking up the wrong tree. One of the earliest victory parades in Indian cricket was organised way back in 1971 and it was after the team returned home from the victorious tour of England. With the team here at the moment, it is pertinent to recount what happened then.
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Back in 1971 it was initially decided to offer a simple welcome to the team members at the airport for they were due to land in the wee hours of the morning. The thought behind the simple plan was that most of the players would be tired after a long flight and would prefer to catch up on some much needed rest before they were felicitated by the BCCI and the Bombay Cricket Association. At no point did the BCCI anticipate 15000 fans to assemble at Santacruz airport to catch a glimpse of Ajit Wadekar’s warriors, clearly a first in the history of Indian cricket.
As reported in the Times of India, “They burst into a mighty roar as Ajit Wadekar and Sunil Gavaskar came out of the customs enclosure and mounted an improvised rostrum on the lounge. Skipper Wadekar was visibly choked with emotion as he waved to the ecstatic fans. Gavaskar too was moved as he held aloft a trophy presented by the Trinidad cricket council for his outstanding performances on the tour.”
While some fans had waited all night to celebrate the moment in 1971, dignitaries like the Union HRD minster Shri Siddhartha Sankar Ray had flown in from Delhi to receive the victorious team. It should be mentioned here that in the absence of a separate ministerial portfolio dedicated to sport, it was under the jurisdiction of the HRD ministry at the time, which explains the presence of Siddhartha Sankar Ray who was also an avid cricket lover.
The scene at the Santacruz airport was such that the Times of India described it as “an oven at 4am” in the morning. The TOI report went on to say that “the police had a trying time keeping the fans behind the barricades. Everyone was sweating profusely…None, however, cared for the discomfort. They had not only come in force but also brought with them garlands and placards and drums and crackers. ‘Welcome home heroes’, ‘All Indians applaud your grand victory’, ‘Sobers sobered’ were some of the bold placards that stood out in the crowd.”
This description could easily be swapped for a copy that was written on Sunday, only there was no untoward incident or tragedy. The administration was aware that it would be a trying day and had made every arrangement. And it is here that 1971 was better. No politician overruled law enforcement and there was never an issue of under-preparedness. In Bengaluru, things came to a boil with people not being treated with respect. Human lives did not matter and that’s what caused the stampede. In 1971 things were different. Cricket fans and their voice mattered and they weren’t taken for granted as now. Perhaps one of the evils of big money that the human touch in sport is lost in 2025.
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