Common Wealth Games 2014

Common Wealth Games (CWG) reminds most Indians of the notorious CWG scam, 2010.  While the games paved way for restructuring of the dilapidated infrastructure of the capital city with the relentless services of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) receiving major boost, it ensured drubbing of congress party in Delhi. CWG at Delhi were marred by several controversies wherein India earned poor reputation for its incomplete and timed out preparations. But the games will be forever cherished by Indian sports freaks due to the excellent performance of Indian athletes who finished second after Australia.

CWG is back again after 4 years and the venue for 20^th CWG is Glasgow, Scotland. The 11-day long sporting event, third after Olympics and Asian will be officially inaugurated on July 23^rd. Scotland previously hosted the games in 1970 and 1986 in Edinburg. Mascot for the games is Clyde, a thistle, named after the river that flows through Glasgow. Nearly 4900 players from 71 Common wealth countries would contest in 17 sports categories. The underlining values of the games are unity, equality and destiny.

Common Wealth group includes all the states which were territories of the British Empire. It functions as an intergovernmental organisation and operates by consensus of member states. Members have no legal obligations towards each other. But they are bound by the values of democracy, human rights and human law enshrined in the Common Wealth Charter and the ties are fostered by the quadrennial Common Wealth Games. Zimbabwe was the only country whose membership was suspended in 2002 on grounds of human rights violation and misgovernment. Gambia erstwhile member of the group has retracted its membership recently. Common wealth constitutes nearly a quarter of World’s area and spans all continents. They account for third of World’s population and represent 17% of World GDP.

Leaders of the countries meet once in two years at Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to discuss issues of mutual concern and agree on collective policies and initiatives. The group was formally constituted following the London Declaration of 1949 wherein member countries are recognised as free and equal. The Queen Elizabeth II is the head of Common Wealth. She is head of the state of other 16 countries also known as the Common Wealth Realms. Common Wealth Secretariat facilitates consultation and cooperation among the members. It also represents Common Wealth as Observer at the UN General Assembly. Due to their shared culture and heritage common wealth countries don’t treat each other as foreign. Hence while engaging in bilateral meeting they exchange High Commissioners instead of Ambassadors. In Caribbean to honour the spirit of the group, Common Wealth citizens are granted right to vote.

The first CWG were held in Hamilton, Canada in 1930 where 400 athletes from 11 countries participated. Earlier these games were referred to as British Common Wealth Games but were rechristened as CWG in the year 1978. Much like the Olympic Torch Relay the Queen’s Baton travels around 70 countries before reaching the host nation. Within the host country, the torch would tour 4000km in 400 cities and towns for 40 days before being handed over for the final inauguration ceremony. This year para-sports have registered phenomenal participation and they are staged concurrently with the regular sporting events. A 215- strong Indian contingent for CWG will be led by Vijay Kumar Olympic Silver Medallist. India aims to seek a top three finish after its unprecedented medal haul in 2010. Unfortunately, team India may not be able to repeat a 2010 magic as Archery, Tennis were scrapped and medal events in shooting and Wrestling events  were reduced in Glasgow games.

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