Much ado about...

Sometimes, When you're in the public eye, the smallest, most harmless of your comments are blown up by the media and become a huge, huge, issue. One of the recent examples is Matt Hayden calling India a third world country. Now I think this is kinda like the n-word.. you can call someone else a nigger if you're one, or something like that. Wasim Akram, bless him, has "come to India's rescue" saying India's no more a third world country than his wife's mother's sheep's droppings, and Australia is probably now a village compared to India.

Now, national pride and all that aside, that's one of the most ridiculous things I've heard. On the other hand, Hayden's comment was uncalled for. Blaming his team's slow over rate on "problems faced in third world countries" is a reasonable reason, and he probably meant no harm, but it was just inappropriately phrased. He has been quick to reiterate his stand, by standing by his original statement that India IS indeed a third world nation, and he meant no harm by his statement. Comments on various forum and blogs range from aspirations to do things of a crudely surgical nature to his genitals to reminding him that Australia, was after all, a large large prison used by the Englishmen to dump criminals. Arguments on the internet usually escalate to such levels.. and thus the whole thing has become a furore.

However, he was right. According to a UN Human Development Report, 21-40% of Indians live on less than $1 a day. On the other hand, India's economy is one that is of global significance, and India's GDP's the 12th highest in the world. Still doesn't change the fact that a large portion of India, live below the poverty line. If you look at that objectively, around 28% live below the poverty line, but consider this extract from Wikipedia:

"A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 77% of Indians, or 836 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day (USD 0.50 nominal, USD 2.0 in PPP), with most working in "informal labour sector with no job or social security, living in abject poverty"

I doubt with this in mind, if we can even be called a developing nation, sounds more underdeveloped. In reflection, I feel... the term "Third World" has become obsolete, and cannot apply to countries such as India and China, and indeed, the UN has come up with a term "Newly Industrialized Country" to classify such countries.

However, controversy has always been adored by the media, and such anti-controversy and anti-confusion measures are belittled, and will continue to be treated that way. Nothing like starting the day with a steaming cup of tea and verbally colourful articles and headlines. In the meanwhile, it'd be helpful if the Australian team exercised better self control,and were more responsible as public figures, instead of just spouting off of the top of their heads.. Cricket valayada vandhiya? seri.. valayadu. Win panniya? seri sandosham. thothutiya? vaya moodittu odi poidu. Otherwise, you will lose the respect this cricket adoring, star-crazy, and indeed, foreigner-arse-kissing country has for you, plus the monetary losses from all the endorsement deals you lose.