Vishy Anand’s ‘Nationality’: Check, Mate!

“Pardes”, accuses one!

“Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani”, pleads another.

No, these are not 2 SRK fans arguing about which the better movie was. This is an exchange between the HRD ministry of India and a certain foreigner, Vishwanathan Anand.

Now, you may remember Anand as that unassuming lad who plays, what’s it called? Ah yes, chess! You may remember him representing a certain former British colony and bringing laurels to it. You may remember him as being this former colony’s single most successful individual champion, bar none. You may also remember that not long ago, when he won a tournament to become the undisputed champion of world chess, he was lauded and praised in all quarters and by all politicians, political allegiances notwithstanding.

You may remember him receive an Arjuna award way back in 1985, a Padma Shri in ’87, a Padma Bhushan in 2000 and a Padma Vibhushan in 2007. Oh! And there was the small matter of the first ever Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honor in the land, in 1992. You do? Of course you do! But wait; the folks who conferred these awards clearly don’t.

Here’s a quick run-down of what happened: Four years ago, the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) invited Anand to play against mathematicians in the ICM meet to be held in Hyderabad in 2010. Anand accepted. About a year ago, the Executive Organizing Committee (EOC) decided to honor Anand with a doctorate. This proposal was accepted by the Central University of Hyderabad (UoH). This was then sent to the Chancellor of the UoH for approval. This approval was obtained 3 months ago. It was then sent to the ministry of HRD (MHRD) for approval. Normally, this is not much more than a formality but no, not this time.

The MHRD director, R.D.Sahay apparently questioned Anand’s nationality (him being based in Spain was the bone of contention there) and said that clearance from the HRD and the external affairs ministries was needed. On hearing this, Aruna, Anand’s wife even faxed a copy of Anand’s passport to the EOC who promptly forwarded this to the MHRD. Clearly, this should have solved any issue (not that there was one in the first place). No, apparently not. This seems to have been the end of the communication channel.

The MHRD apparently did not push the papers through to the President in time. Why they were stalling is anyone’s guess but I have a theory; maybe it was the President’s packed schedule that the MHRD took into consideration and thus did not want to burden her over such trivial issues. And what was the President’s schedule? Why, attending the ICM, of course!

In what can only be described as a comedy (read tragedy) of errors, Vishwanathan Anand, perhaps the only truly great sportsman in India to have been seemingly untouched by controversy, had been dragged into one; and for what? A doctorate degree that he was offered?! Something went seriously fundamentally wrong. To err is indeed human but this, frankly, is not an error. It is beyond. The HRD ministry obviously smelt something fishy in this whole Vishy business.

Kapil Sibal, HRD minister, has indeed come out and said that there was a misunderstanding and that he urged Anand to accept the award but since Anand was not free that night, it would be conferred on a later date. So it’s almost Anand’s fault now? The line has to be drawn. Somewhere.

India seems to be one of those countries where, if there is no controversy, someone does not sleep properly. No one seems untouchable. When even the high and mighty ‘God’, Sachin Tendulkar has not been spared, what chance does a chessman have? Clearly, in a country now with a caste census, Anand has been cast aside by some unheard of consensus. We are a country that clutches onto straws; we hail a Bobby Jindal for being a beacon of hope for Indian Americans. We hail the likes of Lord Swraj Paul for being a leading light in Britain. We laud such other eminent ‘global Indians’ for doing us proud. Yet when it comes to honoring one of our own, well, we cause a stir.

The rain in Spain mainly falls in the plains is a saying. Anand probably lives somewhere in a rain-shadow area. ‘Give me my country back’, Anand was overheard saying. I bet he feels as invisible as Mr. India now. Somewhere, someone is reading this, shaking his head and saying, ‘we are like that only.’