Australian batting legend turned commentator Matthew Hayden slammed world media who have wrongly lambasted India with respect to handling the second wave of COVID-19 situation. Hayden in a letter cleared the air to give world media a reality check and asserted that India deserves respect.
India has been badly affected by the deadly virus, but, of late has been showing good signs of major recovery. In such times of helping and supporting each other, western media has been completely ignorant, disregarding India in every which way possible.
Hayden, was in India for IPL assignment as a commentator. In a write up for the Institute for Australia India Engagement, he wrote, “India is in the middle of the pandemic second wave’s battering, as never seen before. As it battles the alarming spread of the virus, the world media has spared no time in lambasting a country of a whopping 1.4 billion where the sheer numbers make the implementation and success of any public scheme a challenge.”
Hayden described his fondness with India as he has travelled all of it. He called Tamil Nadu his ‘spiritual home’. He further wrote, “I have been visiting India for over a decade now and have travelled all over the country, especially Tamil Nadu which I consider my “spiritual home”. I have always had the highest respect for the leaders and public officials who are entrusted with the task of running such a diverse and vast country”.
“Wherever I went, the people greeted me with love and affection, for which I remain in their debt. I can proudly claim that I have seen India up close over the years and that is why my heart bleeds to see it not only in agony at the moment, but also for the bad press that has been hurled at it by those who I am not sure to spend any time here to understand India, its people, and their myriad challenges,” he wrote.
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Sharing his thoughts on lopsided media coverage for India, Matthew Hayden wrote, “As a cricketer and lover of the game, I have maintained my association with the sport which has allowed me to come to India to cover the Indian Premier League (IPL). Many of my fellow countrymen have also been playing in the IPL for years. In this context, at a time when the world has been shutting doors on India and lambasting the Government, I thought of sharing my thoughts while in India, to give a perspective not available to those sitting thousands of miles away”.
Chairman of the Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, acknowledged Hayden’s column for India and admired the Aussie legend. He wrote on Twitter, “Extracts from a heartfelt blog on India by @HaydosTweets. A cricketer whose heart is even bigger than his towering physical stature. Thank you for the empathy and your affection…”
Extracts from a heartfelt blog on India by @HaydosTweets A cricketer whose heart is even bigger than his towering physical stature. Thank you for the empathy and your affection… pic.twitter.com/h671mKYJkG
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 14, 2021
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India’s Information Commissioner, Uday Mahurkar wrote on Twitter about Hayden’s article on India.
“Cricketer Mathew Hayden’s moving article on India at a time when a section of foreign media n divisive forces from within see an opportunity in the Corona pandemic to batter India rather than give honest advice. Must read”
Cricketer Mathew Hayden’s moving article on India at a time when a section of foreign media n divisive forces from within see an opportunity in the Corona pandemic to batter India rather than give honest advice. Must read
Incredible India deserves respect https://t.co/oIqzNLXJlg
— Uday Mahurkar (@UdayMahurkar) May 14, 2021
