Ehtesham Ali Khan for Hyderabad Youth Mirror #
Usually when one writes articles such as these the tendency is to keep saying we should do this, we should do that and so on. However, an alternate way to put things together is to convey benefits and I think that makes more sense than the former style. This write up is articulated in such fashion.
Let’s dedicate few lines to emphasize role of sports in current economic times. It’s more than a 500 billion dollar plus industry and growing .So what does it do promote sports for advantageous purposes, which is by creating platform for expression of energy in meaningful ways with returns in the form of awards, recognition, respect, acknowledgement of talent , creation of jobs etc.
In all this, where does Muslim participation and contribution stand? A closer look at micro level exposes reality in ways we do not want to see and wish we could change things around. Our youngsters standing on day to day basis in front of girls colleges dressed up to catch attention or at movie theatres with late night parties etc. and in addition to this armed with money power at hand due to parents working in gulf countries, there is more freedom and ways to spend time and money.
A total lack of direction at young age when it matters and later we seem to be paying our way through professional courses and move on into global markets then comes the struggle to make ends meet at home or abroad. Could be sheer waste of talent when there lays the potential.
Why is participating in sports so meaningless to such a vast chunk of Muslim population? Is it lack of will or day to day survival to make ends meet that they find beyond reach to get into this lane that becomes too unaffordable for many or too many?
So lethargic that after late night or weekend activities they simply do not have will to get up early morning and go through the grind on day to day basis. There could be so many pros and cons in vast population and food for thought for those who want to enable so much for many aspiring youngsters who simply do not know how to navigate.
To be concise and direct I believe it’s a two way effort. Encouragement to participate, identify potential, Psychological consultation and development procedure initiation .This is one side of the coin: Communication strategy. The other side is the receptor and needs to understand and respond. If this situation can be rolled out I believe we have something to look forward to. We may look forward to seeing more of Hashim Amla , Azharuddin , Muhammed Ali, etc.
At grass root level motivation to both parents and children to look forward to a meaningful activity rather than phobia of losing out on academics and at youth level competitive attitude for a goal oriented activity. This is what we desire and rather than say our youth have lost direction we need to find ways to give them the same (take ownership), monitor, make corrections, set bench marks and bring about improvements for a satisfactory contribution to the society.
(The writer is a former Ranji Cricket player who played as a wicket keeper from Hyderabad.)