Same shame story

Embroiled in a nasty scandal, India women’s hockey team coach MK Kaushik has been crying innocent, saying he is paying the price for refusing to compromise on his selection criteria of merit. He insists Ranjitha Devi has maligned his name by claiming sexual favours were solicited for granting her a place in the team.

His guilt, as yet unproven, has, however, been accentuated by similar allegations by other players — including an Arjuna awardee who was unceremoniously dropped after raising this issue a few years ago.

The probe, instituted by an already cornered Hockey India, will show its own results but it doesn’t need an investigation to know this. There have been too many other such incidents in the past.

The scandals have made newspaper headlines but done little to improve the lot of young sportswomen desperately seeking only to showcase their mettle, since money, women and Indian sports don’t go together.

We cannot make Kaushik the lone scapegoat. He is, after all, merely exploiting a position of power much like many other men (and some women) in his situation do. All the exploitation may not happen on the hockey field, but expecting sexual favours as the price for a professional fillip seems to have become a way of life.

Head honchos across industries have been named in this shame game, and have emerged with little more than a fig leaf as a face-saver. But, individual bashing aside, nothing has changed.
Sexual harassment laws have been modified — there is a sudden flurry to include sportswomen in the new law — but this problem isn’t fixable by amending any rulebook. The way Indian sport is run has to change and the road ahead isn’t rocket science. It’s simple do this: hire professionals to do the job. If a man is to handle a woman’s team, ensure he has a clean reputation and put in place a monitoring mechanism. Build in transparent selection and promotion processes — no one should have any reason to sell her soul (or her body) for a job.

That is the big picture. In sight, in the present, is Kaushik. With teammates supporting, and players locking horns with him, his fate and reputation remain undecided. But, for the nth time, Indian hockey has got the excuse to clean up its act. Can it surprise us?