Indian F1 Circuit and Bhagwan Buddh

Leave it to the BBC and foreigners to lament Indian poverty and pose this question: How will the Grand Prix change India? We leave it to them because it is too painful for us to search for an honest answer. I will step forward with my two paisas and say that it will change nothing for the aam aadmi. The cost of this abomination is $400 million dollars. It was made on land which was taken from landowners who were compensated well. However, the poor landless farmers who used to work on that land are now out of a job. The last race is over. Indian glitterati have had their fun. Bharat Ratnas like Sachin Tendulkar (who recently moved into a modest 70 crore house) was there as well. Metallica, Lady Gaga and Shahrukh Khan had a ball. But now what?

The car circuit was made under Behenji Mayawati’s care. She named it after Bhagwan Buddh. Yes. The same guy who was of the opinion that:

“Greed is one of the Three Poisons that lead to evil (akusala) and that bind us to suffering (dukkha). It also is one of the Five Hindrances to enlightenment.”

Is it not ironic that such a testament to greed and ego was named after a man whose teachings are an exact opposite. But what can we expect from a woman who has a private road to office, has seven cooks, two tasters, shoes flown in on private planes and an obscene amount of wealth. We have a park costing hundreds of crores opened in the name of dalit pride and a car racing circuit in the name of divine man of peace and extreme enlightenment. One could choke on this kind of irony.

While something of this sort is expected from our politicians, what does it say about the people who paid Rs 2500 to watch cars burn fossil fuel at an extremely high rate. If the foreigners can see the dichotomy of having an F1 circuit and poverty outside why can we not see it? Have we become numb to it? Have we accepted it as part of our lives and national landscape? Because if we have then the solution to this problem will elude us and it will continue to grow until it engulfs us all.

How will the Grand Prix change India?
By Andrew North BBC South Asia Correspondent, Delhi
Proof, says Vijay Mallya, the billionaire co-owner of India's F1 team, of the growing disposable income of India's "aspirational middle class".The private Indian company, Jaypee International, has been trumpeting its success in getting the new Buddh International Circuit, as it is known, outside Delhi, ready on time. Jaypee chairman Jaiprakash Gaur predicts the Grand Prix will banish "the shameful memories" of the chaos and corruption that marred last year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi. "The world's perception of India is going to change after the Grand Prix," he promises. Critics fear it is just another sign of India's wealthy elite getting ever further ahead of the rest. "This is polo for the new generation," says Ashis Nandy, an academic and social commentator, describing the millions being spent on the Grand Prix race as an "utter waste" and "totally insensitive" - with the majority of Indians living on less than a dollar a day."Why does the international media keep focusing on the poor part of India," complains Formula 1 team owner Vijay Mallya.