SPORTS IN CONFLICT ZONES, ARE WE MISSING OUT ON SOME CORRELATION

1. SPORTS IN CONFLICT ZONES, ARE WE MISSING OUT ON SOME CORRELATION? It was around the launch of SSFL 2015 that I got an opportunity to be part of a policy-level discussion on the development of sports in disturbed zones, especially Jammu and Kashmir. The day I got the brief, a parallel thought process started in the back of my mind. While through STAIRS we have been successfully showing the world how fundamental issues like poverty, hunger, and youth and women empowerment can be successfully addressed through sports- based interventions, the country is yet to establish a link between sports and the grave issues in Kashmir valley. Interestingly, and thankfully so, the meeting that I attended was not a forum that needed to be told how sports could help in overall development of communities and countries. It was a forum where some respected individuals in policymaking circles at the state level and the national level presented their ideas and thoughts on the development of sports in Jammu and Kashmir; they also expressed concern about those who were not concerned. It seemed that all of us entered the discussion with one non-debatable premise: ‘Enhancement of sports facilities in Jammu and Kashmir will provide opportunities to the youth of the state for engaging in sporting activities and help in weaning them away from militancy.’ To nobody’s surprise, the discussion started with the presentation of issues, which themselves were not at all new. Nobody had to identify them as they were right there: a) governments do have sports on their mind, but other priorities take over; b) there is a fund crunch with sports authorities; c) a few departments are challenged by corruption; and d) last but not the least, sports in India cannot grow unless it offers prospective career opportunities.

2. Hence, the discussion focused on long-term solutions and finding the first intervention point. Every individual on the panel had the same question on mind: from where shall we begin and how? With my years of experience with grassroots children as well as youth, my suggestion for the panel was quite simple. Experience showed that it was never an easy thing to change the mindset of the youth who was highly influenced, especially in conflict zones where extreme parallel ideologies were at work all the time. However, interventions in early childhood – at an age when the child is malleable and can be easily motivated – can lay the foundation of ‘positively influenced youth’. To begin with, as I suggested, how about starting some interesting sports programmes to engage the younger children in the valley and simultaneously remodelling the existing programmes, which unfortunately were not many? The first touch point could be all primary schools across the valley or other conflict zones, and the programme could be a long-duration tournament of games loved by young children and able to keep them engaged for over seven to nine months in a year. The programme need not be just another sports tournament but a grand festival that would create a sense of celebration amongst children and also among their families and teachers. Further, if such a grand festival were endorsed and encouraged by celebrity sports stars, it would be an inspiration for promising sportsmen at the grassroots. Such programmes or sporting festivals can also be used as talent-spotting platforms for the national and international sporting fraternity, especially the selectors of various games as well as privately-owned club teams. It is a known fact that just one successful sportsman from a village or a town is enough to popularise a particular sport among the entire community in that area. One star sportsman is enough to build a sporting culture – which is the culture of peace, positivity, togetherness, healthiness, and progress and prosperity – even in the remotest and most conflict-prone zone of the country. STAIRS’ quick search on Sports in J&K Team Stairs did a quick Internet search and found out that there were 11,766 government schools and 2,610 private schools in J&K in which 1,522,759 (over 15 lakh) children were enrolled. However, there was not a single major school-level competition for any game that involved more than a dozen schools. The National School Games that J&K conducts ever year see minimal participation. In 2015, at the 60th edition of the games, only 20 teams – for different disciplines –from 12 states had participated. This clearly indicates that local participation was negligible. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts various school-level tournaments for almost all games across all Indian states. It has a comprehensive calendar wherein almost every month one or the other sporting competition is happening at some school in India. We downloaded the CBSE sports events calendar from here and were saddened to see that the Board did not have even a single competition planned for J&K. Consequently, children in the

3. state are left with no opportunities to compete and showcase their abilities. They miss an essential platform to identify their own talents and channelise their energies. Infrastructure in the Valley J&K has limited sports infrastructure and the fact is that the majority of facilities is in Jammu region and not Kashmir. For example, there is only one swimming pool and one Astro turf in the state, and they both are in Jammu. Looking at the table here, one might think that there are at least a few facilities to begin with. However, we also learnt from various news stories that many of these facilities are defunct and unkempt. Current Sports Infrastructure under State Sports Council (Govt of J&K) Indoor Complexes 3 Playing Fields 42 Stadia Astro Turf Training Halls Swimming Pool 1 18 23 1 In 2014, the central government announced a major plan to overhaul the sports infrastructure in the troubled state. However, no public sector undertaking (PSU) showed interest in submitting bids for the projects. The reasons are perhaps understandable. Bidders would need more assurances, especially from the security point of view, rather than just lucrative tenders to work in the valley. Another interesting fact—and one that surprised me—was that even non-government organisations (NGOs) shied away from working at J&K’s grassroots. While many NGOs are using sports as a medium for social reform across India, we have not been able to identify even one such organisation operating in J&K. Knowing how such organisations can play a catalyst’s role in sports development, they need to be encouraged, rather welcomed, to bring their sensibilities and learning to the state. Maybe, to begin with, government bodies/departments can share their existing resources and infrastructure with such NGOs to promote and also support them, if not monetarily then by relaxing the procedures, for them to begin engagement with the grassroots children in the valley.