Behind India\'s Olympics Controversy

Manish Swarup/Associated PressA security guard closing the gate of the Indian Olympic Association headquarters in New Delhi, on Dec. 4.

“The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday suspended the Indian Olympic Association for chronic violations of the international Olympic Charter, creating one of the most embarrassing episodes in Indian sports history,” Gardiner Harris and Hari Kumar wrote in The New York Times.

The suspension, which cuts money to Indian athletes and prevents them from competing in the Olympics under the Indian flag, comes because “most of India's sports leaders are politicians who are either too old or have been in power too long to meet international leadership guidelines,” Mr. Harris wrote. “While the international committee has been warning Indian leaders for years about such problems, those leaders would have to surrender power to meet the international demands. That has not happened.” The controversy has been building for some time.

On November 15, the International Olympic Committee sent a letter warning the Indian Olympic Association that its plans to ignore International Olympic Committee rules would “not be acceptable.” The letter reads, in part:

we have noticed with great concern that the so-called “provisions governing the elections in the sports code of the Government of India” would be applicable for the IOA elections and would prevail in case of discrepancy with the provisions of the Constitution

The controversy has become a battle between India's Olympic's committee, the central government and the Delhi High Court. “We can't go against the high court, we can't go against the government of India, and we can't go against the International Olympic Committee,” acting president of the Indian Olympic Association, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said Thursday evening.

The complexity of this situation is illustrated in another letter available on the Indian Olympic Association website dated November 21. Written by Mr. Malhotra to Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, it expresses surprise over a letter written by the Indian Ministry of Sports to the International Olympic Committee:

This letter is a bizar re testimony of the half-truths and distorted facts by the very senior officials of the Government of India.

To start with, the fact that Mr. Dev has directly written to you and the IOC, bypassing the Indian Olympic Association, shows the Government's intentions, interest and interference in the affairs of the IOA.

The double speak of the Government of India is clear….

The Indian Olympic Association's elections for officers are scheduled for Wednesday. The group has not yet said whether they will be held or not.