Tendulkar in a new controversy

New Delhi: When the elephant is down, even an ant kicks it. Or so goes a Chinese proverb.

Sachin Tendulkar, the darling of cricket lovers over the years but one whose fan club has dwindled in the recent past, is the big man everybody likes to have a shy at nowadays. His batting has left a lot to be desired and controversies are dogging him with his comments on coach Greg Chappell irking the BCCI enough to ask for an explanation.

As if his lack of batting form, the admonition by the governing body and the prospect of being dropped from the ODI team was not enough, he now finds himself attacked from a new front, being blamed for showing disrespect to the national flag.

This time, it is not the flag on his helmet or any other part of his apparel but a cake resembling the tri-colour that he reportedly cut just before the World Cup in the Caribbean islands.

A website - www.headlinesindia.com - has stirred up controversy, splashing pictures of the master batsman cutting the cake in Jamaica with colours of the Indian flag and the Ashok Chakra very much in place at the centre.

The function apparently took place on March 10 in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica, K L Agrawal.

The photograph shows Zaheer Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh standing near Tendulkar as he is seen cutting the cake.

Nationalists will no doubt say the disrespect led to India being knocked out of the World Cup at the preliminary stage and though the cricketers may not have realized the gravity, it was baffling to see a high-ranking Indian official being party to the act, which is in contravention to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

The Act stipulates, “Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”

The expression, "Indian National Flag" includes any picture, painting, drawing or photograph, or other visible representation of the Indian National Flag, or of any part or parts thereof, made of any substance or represented on any substance.

And the tri-coloured cake with the Ashok Chakra certainly fits the description.

While the players boast that they are a patriotic bunch and cry hoarse when they are asked to remove the tri-colour from their helmet, they don't think twice before cutting such a cake.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has come out in Tendulkar's defence saying that the incident should not be blown out of proportion. The BCCI added that Tendulkar is perhaps the last person who would disrespect the Indian flag.

"Tendulkar has spoken to me. He says that the function was organised by the India High Commission and with so many people around he did not realise the colour of the cake when he was suddenly asked to cut it," BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla told PTI.

Shukla added that Tendulkar cannot be held accountable for the incident when the event was organised by the Indian High Commission.

"The High Commission should have taken care of these things. Tendulkar will not do such a thing intentionally. He respects the national flag and had even sought permission to use the tricolour on his helmet. If an explanation is sought, it should be sought from the Indian High Commission," Shukla said.

"The person who made the cake should be held responsible for this," said the Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal.

Tendulkar finds himself amid a spate of controversies of late. He was taken to task by the BCCI for making a statement to the media against coach Greg Chappell. He was been served a notice to explain his act.

Yuvraj Singh, too, was pulled up by the Board's Working Committee for commenting on Chappell as this was in violation of the BCCI's Code of Conduct for its cricketers.