India prepares to show the world a ‘New India’

Unlike the Olympics, the first celebrations of the Commonwealth Games did not appear on stamps. The first Commonwealth Games to be commemorated by a stamp issue was Cardiff in 1958.

The first British Empire Games, were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada ~ this event was recorded on New Zealand’s 1990 issue, one of which showed Jack Lovelock running in Hamilton in 1930.

India Post has marked the 2010 games with several stamps, and a miniature sheet outlining the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay, which visited 71 Commonwealth territories en route to Dehli.Although the baton passed through New Zealand in May, our country seems to have disappeared off the edge of the world - or maybe we are the green blob below Tasmania ? The R20 stamp shows the baton and the R5 stamp ‘Shera’ (a tiger ~ the games mascot) holding the baton as it approaches the ‘Gates of India’ in Dehli.

Whilst India’s preparation for the games has been the subject of much controversy, it should be remembered that Suresh Kalmadi, the Indian Olympic Association President, had wanted the Games to be held in Mumbai. It was only when the government of Maharashtra State decided it could not afford to stage the event, that Delhi was confirmed as the host city.

The 2010 Commonwealth games were promoted as being the event that would showcase the “new India” to the world. Indian authorities hope that the Games will demonstrate India as a multi-cultural land that is becoming one of the world’s economic leaders.

Construction of the games village was bogged down by legal delays which arose due to the fact that it has been built on the banks of the Yamuna River. Citizens nearby, feared that construction of the village would damage the floodplains, making periodical flooding of the river a risk.

In November 2009, the matter reached court threatening to destroy India’s hopes of hosting the Games. However construction, never actually stopped, and while the situation is not yet over,after a mad scramble, it appears that the village will be habitable in time for the opening ceremony.

In the mad rush to meet long-delayed deadlines ~

• Authorities dropped plans to clean up several city slums, opting instead to plant bamboo groves to shield them from view.
• The much-touted ‘civilising campaign’ of levying fines on activities such as littering, urinating, defecating and spitting in public places has been abandoned.
• Plans to teach security staff, taxi drivers, and waiters English and International Etiquette to make athletes and visitors feel comfortable, have been cancelled.
• With threats by Maoists, and various Islamist groups to disrupt the games, security poses a major challenge. Authorities have declared an unofficial curfew in Delhi and ordered the closure of all educational institutions for the duration of the games.