Can you believe this? Sachin dedicates his century to those killed in Mumbai attacks.

Just after India beat England by six wickets at the Chennai a report said that Sachin Tendulkar dedicated his century to the families of those killed in the Mumbai terror attacks following.

Big deal. For a person who has lost his kith or kin in those tragic attacks, I wonder what difference Sachin's announcement of "dedication of the century " makes to his life. Or for that matter even the won Test Match.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not for a moment question Sachin's patriotism or his willingness to express solidarity with the affected people. Simply dedicating a match or a century is going to be only a lip service and would be of no use to the bereaved family members. More appropriate gesture would be something on the lines of donating the earnings of this Test to the bereaved families. Or playing out a charity match.

Even the Government gives a token amount to the affected families and washes its hands off the whole issue quickly. Pretty sad.

At times it rankles to see a gross disparity in "what is" and what was possible. Just the other day i read something that caught my eye.

• An Olympic shooter wins Gold (just a game) & Government gives him Rs 3 crores. But another shooter dies, fighting terrorists (during Mumbai attacks) & government pays his family Rs 5 lakhs. Gross disparity.
• The elite NSG Force that eventually fought off the Mumbai attackers on 26/11 were transported by ordinary BEST buses, whereas our cricketers are transported by state of the art luxury buses.
• Imagine jawans lay down their lives to protect every Indian and including these cricketers who are worshiped like demi-gods and get paid even if they lose a match. We worship the cricketers and forget the martyrdom of these brave jawans.

Victory in cricket is a great thing. But I wish victories are also attained in greater arenas of life. Sports especially cricket & cricketers can do much more than lip service. In fact pure lip service is more hurting. In contrast silence is more soothing. At least it hides a hope.

When affluence of one positively impacts the less fortunate ones that would a true victory for the humanity - by the
humanity.