The Border-Gavaskar trophy was proudly handed over to Mahendra Singh Dhoni last evening by the “two legends” of Australian and Indian cricket, Alan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, after India’s stunning 4-0 brownwash of Australia in the four Test match series.

But look closely at the trophy which Dhoni received and held up.

You will find a map of India with half of Jammu & Kashmir missing; a map which looks like the maps that foreign publications use, on which the censors then dutifully put their stamp: “The borders of India are neither correct nor accurate”. Or something to that effect.

Is this a trophy created by Indians or Australians?

Did BCCI (which presumably represents the nation) okay the use of such a map? Did BCCI, many of whose high functionaries (from Sharad Pawar to Rajiv Shukla to Arun Jaitley to Laloo Prasad Yadav to Farooq Abdullah) are top politicians, agree to its use?

Is the proud uber-nationalist, Sunil Gavaskar, who refused the membership of the MCC when asked his identity, who walked out of an Australian ground because of a dodgy umpiring decision, OK with it? Couldn’t the commentators and the super-smart cameras which can spot a sweatdrop on a forehead, see this?

Or does it not matter, as long as the wallets—of the board, the cricketers, the ex-cricketers, the channels, the commentators—are overflowing?

Or is it all OK since even Gujarat’s borders or of the peninsula’s, are not what they usually are?

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Hat tip: Rajeev A. via Abhijeet Harolikar

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Also read: Narayana Murthy and the anthem row

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