The captain crisis for the Indian cricket team is finally over. Indian team’s face for the ODIs is chosen. He is the dynamic and prolific hitter Mahendra singh Dhoni.

The announcement saw celebrations in various places in Jharkhand- the state the stylish batsman represents. The people of the state deserve the celebrations, as the boy has brought good name to his home state.

Celebrations also took place at many places in Uttarakhand. Here also people danced and distributed sweets. People deserve these celebrations as well as India finally got an aggressive though thinking captain and also for certain unofficial reasons.

But what about Mr Prakash Pant, honourable minister of the Uttarakhand Cabinet, congratulating Dhoni and adding the fact that Dhoni has his birth place in the state, and thus brought good name to his birth place?

It is alright to congratulate a player for his achievement, but is it right to claim the fact that he was born in the state?

The statement of the minister is poor as the said player never officially linked himself to the state. It may be that he may have his birth place in the state, but that is a personal piece of information. At preset he represents Jharkhand and officially belongs to that state. And this is the fact.

What Mr Pant did, showed not only him but also the entire state in bad light. His predecessors didn’t have a better record in this regard either. They had also rewarded him earlier and in the process tried to stake the claim on the player.

Why stake a claim on the achievements of a person, when he or she never wished to share the pie.
It’s not innocence; it is lack of confidence on our part. For how long we keep on looking at the people who have made their mark by living in other states. For how long we’ll make people like Vivek Oberois our brand ambassadors, only because they shoot their films in the state.

It’s nothing but lack of self esteem. There’s no dearth of achievers in our own state. We have world-renowned scientists, authors, academics, sportspersons; we have countless youths who are excelling in every field and working for prestigious firms both in India and abroad. We have people representing almost every field, whose expertise and contributions can be compared to the best not only in India but also the world. The people who make the state a part of their identities whenever they venture out; and also feel immense pride in doing so.

Why not introspect ourselves? Why not Honour the people of this illustrious state and make them the face of the state?

Believe me; the time has come to do so.

If you also feel strongly about the situation or have something that we can share in this regard, kindly have your say.Regards
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