New Delhi, May 12, 2005: A timely newspaper report on the other day brought back the limelight to how a constitutional IHC has become virtual, while the illegal IHF and IWHF are real.

Merger of men and women federations had been a headache right from the days of Rane Frank to Glitch, who between them ruled the FIH well over four decades. After so much happened with rival factions staging separate women’s World Cup and World Championships, the conservative mindsets were overcome with the merger deadline fixed for the Sydney Olympics.

Any country still having two separate bodies would not be allowed to send teams for the Sydney Olympics. Ruled the FIH mid way through 1999. The Indians were caught in a cleft stick.

By mismanagement of senior players, our women finished last in the 2000 Olympic Qualifier and hence the IWHF had no hurry to oblige. Men have qualified for Sydney by virtue of being Asian Champions. So the onus was with the IHF, so felt the IWHF. So the chase started. Indian Women played truant. They wanted a big — lioness – share in the spoils of the merged office.

A women at the FIH helm of affairs, and a decent global trend of women groups getting the top post in the merged bodies – like Australia and elsewhere – Indian women, whose hockey heritage is equally strong, were of course right in their ambition.

But the men’s federation who made even national team selection process close to a fraud — who will forget public demonstration for appointing Selection Committee before the Athens Olympics – was venturing another fraud, just a child’s play for those hardened veterans.

Both announced a merger, without actually getting merged, even without a merger plan or constitution in place in the late 1999. In the EC meeting held at Bangalore along side the now defunct U & I Cup, same day the Milton Keyness Olympic Qualifier team was announced, KPS Gill drew a lot of applaud for the efficient way he handled the situation and brought about the merger.

A dissent who raised a point was put to rest in the meeting when Gill told him that how badly he was treated by Vidhya Stokes. This was another proof how cleverly a discussion could be diverted. Instead of attending himself, Gill sent a Secretary of a Sports Board as his nominee to one of the merger meetings. Stokes, a high profile politician, refused to entertain him and cancelled the meeting. “This is how they behaved with you, you know well, still I managed the merger”, Gill stated and got a prompt applause from the House. The House — now you can understand why even a new comer like Foreign Coach Gerrad called mad house — then ratified the merger.

India took part in the Olympics after the paper merger. But the ‘fraud’ was not beyond the know of the FIH. Its president was believed to have summoned both the parties for a discussion on the issue of merger, after failing in its efforts to get the IHC constitution failed, before the Busan Asian Games. Even air was thick with FIH threatening of IHF de-recognition for the Asian Games. A journalist friend of mine even now vouchsafes that he had actually seen such a letter. While the IHF attended the meeting, Stokes who went up to Singapore, returned without going to Busan as she missed a connecting flight. At least this was the reason given to me that time.

Then all of a sudden the IHF and IWHF was forced to prepare the constitution, almost after a year of merger, and six months later it was posted it in the socalled IHF website, which I hope is still there.

The merger issue was very cleverly used by one of the IWHF officials to postpone an election. A Haryana lobby, headed by its president, threatened the prospects of ruling faction in the last IWHF election. Suspecting a rout, they procured a letter from the obliging IOA that they can’t depute their observer till the issue of IHC was settled. A year later — this writer does not know, how the issue was settled — the election was held in Una, where the present IWHF set up was re-elected for a record third term. The Haryana lobby by then melted, wore down and did not even last.

Did I perhaps unwittingly give that vital clue to the IWHF official as how to cancel the election? In a formal chit chat in the IWHF office in January 2002 (I went there to get permission for releasing Sita Gussain from a camp for receiving Hockey Year Book Player of the Year Award in the Book Releasing Ceremony), I mentioned that the Delhi Hockey Association could well add this merger (which was not ratified by the AGM of IHF then)issue in thier case to stall the IHF election, which was proposed to be held then five months ahead of schedule. In fact DHA had already filed the case to stall the Guwahati election, but failed to get the stay in time. With half an hour from that casual remark, I got a call from Mr.Gill, who wanted to know more about the details of the case. I was caught un