Commonwealth Games India's Tragicomedy

Oh the Commonwealth Games. Here it seems to be a source of amusement for everyone. They gather around and laugh at the news reports of rampant corruption 100s of millions of dollars worth of rupees stolen in the construction of this or that, which falls apart or crumbles because of shoddy workmanship. Understaffed facilities that are unhygienic, ceilings that cave in, bridges that collapse over major highways. Just as a test of security, an Australian film crew carried a bomb into the main stadium just to see if they could. no one noticed. Needless to say, it is no surprise to anyone that many of the star athletes have already decided not to participate. And with last week's attack on a tour bus in Delhi, I imagine a large number of spectators have already cancelled their trips as well. Oh, and don't forget the flooding - not that the government is responsible for the rains.

Yes, here in India this seems to be a comedy as everyone knew this would happen. They knew their government was corrupt and that the wealthy people involved in making these contracts would steal as much as they could from the tax payers in the process. So now, as the catastrophe unfolds, they laugh. And I laugh with them and weep for them; it is a tragic comedy of epic proportions.

However, what I hadn't thought about is how quickly the rest of the world is going to compare China's Olympic success with India's complete failure. For the rest of the world this shame is less amusing and more disturbing. The fragility of the Indian infrastructure has been exposed to the world in a way that I think it hadn't previously. What I don't think anyone here is ready to admit is that the negative effects of this fiasco are going to linger in International opinion for a long, long time. It's hilarious, right?