Turmoil in Sports Journalists' Association as it faces 'battle of identity'

State Associations fielding two teams, each claiming that it is the officially recognized body, has been a common occurrence in Indian sport. But a Sports Journalists Association ‘fielding’ two groups, each claiming that it is the ‘real association’ is being witnessed for the first time at the AGM of the national body: Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI). The AGM, where election of office bearers is scheduled to take place, is slated for tomorrow in the capital city of God’s own country – Thiruvananthapuram.

The ‘battle of identity’ was set off after some members of the Sports Journalists Association in one of the southern states elected a new set of office bearers comprising scribes representing the four English dailies in the captial city of this state plus a few others from a news agency, one or two vernacular dailies and a vernacular sports magazine.

The ‘rebellion’ by these members started when the sitting office bearers, headed by a veteran sports writer of a prestigious English daily as the President and the Secretary, representing a national news agency, resigned. The group that elected new office bearers had been claiming that the Association was limping along without any activity, and it was time to ‘infuse life’ into it. After electing the new office bearers, they sought to legitimize it by getting the news published in the four English dailies in the capital city, and then decided to attend the next day’s SJFI meeting and vote. But the President and Secretary who had resigned termed the election of new office bearers ‘ad-hoc’, and the Secretary turned down their request to hand over the right to operate the bank accounts.

Both groups have hired the services of lawyers to ‘represent their case’ at the SJFI meeting tomorrow. Meanwhile it is understood that the SJFI has decided not to allow either group to vote in the elections.

Note: The identity of the Association in question has been kept anonymous.