‘Butcher of Punjab’, You’re Fired!
Poor KP Gill. The ‘butcher of Punjab’ lost his cushy government position, after having been President of the Indian Hockey Federation for fifteen years.
Bribery, corruption, and mediocrity – this is Gill’s legacy as President of the Indian Hockey Federation. After failing to even qualify for the Beijing Olympics in field hockey, for the first time since field hockey’s introduction in 1928, and then finding himself in the midst of an expose where his handpicked Secretary-General was videotaped(!) accepting a bribe to select a player on the national team, the calls for Gill’s dismissal had become too loud. Others had called for his resignation, but the ever prideful Gill has a track record of being unceremoniously dismissed.
Crying as usual, Gill responded:
“Am I to resign based on a concocted sting operation, or simply because some players or a section of the media wants me to? There is a rule of law, a democracy in the country, I am not going to resign when I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. [link]
Really, what is he going on about? Was his cushy bureaucratic position an ‘elected’ seat? What does democracy have to do with anything in this context? Rule of law? The fact that Gill should ever utter the phrase ‘rule of law’ or appeal to it is beyond absurd. Unfortunately the tragedy upon those families he destroyed prevents me from laughing at the irony. Where was the rule of law for the tens of thousands he made ‘disappear’?
“It is a painful decision that we made today. But it had to be taken since there were corruption allegations. ,” IOA president Suresh Kalmadi told a packed press conference in the Capital. “Gill was there (at the meeting) throughout. It was a unanimous decision and no one spoke against it. We have great respect for K P S Gill and it is not personal.” [link]
Well, I have no respect for the ‘butcher of Punjab’ and I choose to make it personal.
Providing some context, a former hockey Olympian and new selector noted:
“Till 1960, Indian hockey was in good hands and we dominated the world, but that year when India lost to Pakistan in the Rome Olympics, the reigns of Indian hockey went to the police officers of Punjab. In a way Punjab is the culprit for the present fate of Indian hockey,” former selector Aslam Sher Khan told IANS on Tuesday.
“The worst time in the history of Indian hockey was when Gill became the (IHF) president in 1994. He raped the national sport. Jothikumaran is just the tip of the iceberg,” he added. [link]
It is strange that Aslam Sher Khan’s usage of the word ‘rape’ is a very apt description to be employed for KP Gill. Although this incident does little to bring justice to those that suffered due to his bestial impulses (in fact in the Punjab Police, he is remembered as ‘Baba Balathkari’ (The Baba of Rape)), I am glad that he further suffers public humiliation. Hopefully this public humiliation further erodes the government-crafted fictional myth that surrounds him.
13 Responses to “‘Butcher of Punjab’, You’re Fired!”
nice to know it takes a hockey scandal and not the atrocities he committed to take him down. good job india!
nice to know it takes a hockey scandal and not the atrocities he committed to take him down. good job india!
Kprincess what song are you referring to? Thanks.
Never mind, got it — Sardar.
yeah, you can get all the justice you want in India.
Reminds me of Babu Mann's song. only if he had shot a deer, then they could of given him some prison time for killing the endangered animal. darn.
yeah, you can get all the justice you want in India.
Reminds me of Babu Mann’s song. only if he had shot a deer, then they could of given him some prison time for killing the endangered animal. darn.
Balmeet – I completely thought the same thing when reading the blog. It is ridiculous that India cares more about its hockey reputation than being a democracy that has committed genocide. I guess they don't care too much about that reputation, you know as long as they "dominate the world" in hockey.
Balmeet – I completely thought the same thing when reading the blog. It is ridiculous that India cares more about its hockey reputation than being a democracy that has committed genocide. I guess they don’t care too much about that reputation, you know as long as they “dominate the world” in hockey.
Kprincess what song are you referring to? Thanks.
Never mind, got it — Sardar.
KPS Gill's ouster brings cheers to people of India. He was the police officer known for cruelities. People know how he grabbed the post of IHF chief 15 years ago with power of his gundas. He had totally criminalised the game. People like him deserve this treatment. He has been fired to save the national game. This is the biggest achievement of S. Manohar Singh Gill, the new Sports Minister of India.
KPS Gill’s ouster brings cheers to people of India. He was the police officer known for cruelities. People know how he grabbed the post of IHF chief 15 years ago with power of his gundas. He had totally criminalised the game. People like him deserve this treatment. He has been fired to save the national game. This is the biggest achievement of S. Manohar Singh Gill, the new Sports Minister of India.
why this about it. proiest