By Spriha Srivastava

Watching the spectacular opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, I couldn’t stop feeling proud of the vast diversity that exists in India. But just hours before the opening ceremony took place, the mood had been very different. Many were apprehensive about the event. With so much negativity surrounding the Games and after months of controversies, it seemed impossible that India would be able to hold the event successfully.

During my last visit to Delhi in March, I took a trip to the Commonwealth Games Village, where I was told that work was on track and the venue would be ready well ahead of the event. News reports around the world didn’t say much at that time because everything seemed to be in order. But in the past few months there seemed to be a media war over the games. Twitter ranked CWG as one of the top ten subjects that are being tweeted widely.

Suddenly, everyone started calling the Games a waste of time and money. The question is, where did things go wrong? Was it mismanagement due to the multiple chains of command in India? Or was it in some way invented to feed the news-hungry media houses? Or, as many say, was it Western arrogance that drove criticism of India?

Rohit Srivastava, who works as a human resources manager in Hyderabad, blames the media for creating this negativity. “I think to some extent the media has been irresponsible. Not to say that there were no shortcomings, but it has all been blown out of proportion by the media. But the organising committee also seems to have lacked efficiency and transparency. A lot of the work was done last minute. However, it is all going quite well now and I feel proud to see it that way.”

In a recent poll by The Times of India a majority of Indians blamed the authorities for the last minute crisis. Via television, newspapers and the internet, people increasingly showed their displeasure at the work of the Games committee. A new trend in Indian democracy which many have compared to the pre-independence mass mobilisation against the British Raj seems to have emerged as a majority of Indians blamed the authorities for the negative publicity.

But Parijat Garg, founder of GovernIndia, a non-profit social awareness forum, says the negativity played a positive role: “I don’t think the negativity was bad. If they hadn’t raised such a hue and cry about the entire situation then maybe it wouldn’t have been what it turned out to be.”

There was also a corruption scandal months before the Games started. News reports of bribery, forged invoices and overrunning work generated anger and apprehension among the public. International media used the scandal to portray India as a land of cheats and liars. The Indian government postponed an inquiry into the matter and concentrated on the games. GovernIndia’s Garg says: “Just because the show was good I can't condone or forget the embezzlement of taxpayers’ money.”

The negative publicity did not stop after the awe-inspiring opening ceremony. A senior organising committee official who wishes to remain anonymous says that the entire world’s eyes seem to be on India. “Due attention is given to the smallest of details and it seems like a world full of people were ready to pick on everything we do here. So whether it’s a snake in the room or an empty stadium, news channels will be ready to pick on it immediately. India is still a developing country, we have many problems and it is a huge task for us to have overcome all those roadblocks to host a world-class event. The world should appreciate our efforts instead of exaggerating every small detail.”

A report in today’s Times of India says that foreign journalists themselves feel there has been “negative and unfair” publicity around the Commonwealth Games. John McKinnon, a sports columnist from Canada, told an Indian news agency that athletes are quite happy overall with the “facilities in the Games Village, the food and everything”. But this doesn’t stop foreign media from pointing out glitches such as blocked lavatories, empty stands and so on. When an athlete fell sick a few days ago, the press blindly blamed the authority for the quality of food, even though he seemed to be the only victim.

The Indian authorities are largely to blame for overrunning costs and construction work, corruption etc. But adding to all this is the bad publicity that the media – both foreign and domestic – has given to the event, which seems to have been driven by news-hungry media houses and Western arrogance. The wave of negativity reduced immediately for the opening ceremony – even those Indians who had been endlessly blaming the authority lost themselves for a moment in pride and patriotism.

Once the games come to a successful end, everyone’s eyes will be on those accused of corruption. The CWG saga is not going to end soon. But the anger and resentment felt by many Indians before the Games started will slowly subside as we near the closing ceremony. We Indians tend to forget and forgive quickly. Once the event has been a success and we have enough to thump our chest and blow our own trumpet for the next 20 years, we will be chuffed.