Strange things happen in 21st century India, stranger in India’s arguably most benighted state — Orissa. A 4-year-old is made to run 65 km. This is not the first time that Budhia Singh has run such a long distance. Apparently, he has run the 60-km Puri to Bhubhaneswar route nine times in 2005 and everyone, including his ‘coach’ Biranchi Das, his doctor and Orissa’s Sports Minister, agree that his talent needs to be nurtured. But running that distance in the summer heat can never be a pleasure. And it probably wasn’t for an indigent child who is incapable of deciding what is good or bad at that age. Those who ought to have known better simply sat back to watch the gruelling tamasha put up, apparently for the sole purpose of getting his name in that compendium of best, worst and most bizarre — the Limca Book of Records.
Budhia may or may not have the talent that can make him a great athlete. But for that, he has to grow up and as per the rules of marathon, training should only begin when the child has reached the age of 12, and even then, he is not meant to do the kind of things that Budhia was being made to do.
Two issues emerge from this sorry story. First, why are the laws to prevent this kind of exploitation — sometimes to be found in circuses and street performers — not being implemented? The issue is not very different from the use of child camel jockeys in the Emirates. Second, if Budhia is talented, and his health has not been permanently damaged, a State agency should step in and ensure that he is properly taken care of. At the end of the day, don’t forget, he is neither a freak nor a prodigy — Budhia’s just a 4-year-old child.