Bikas Pal

A football freak, an optimist that politics would change in the country #indianfootball

[Indian Football @IndianFootball]

Happy 42nd birthday to a timeless treasure of the nation. 💎

#IndianFootball

[Sunil Chhetri @chetrisunil11]

It takes a lot to be a stakeholder in Indian football. It has been like that for some time now. But when everything around looks like it will crumble, you bank on family to hold on to each other. And more often than not, it is the elders in the house that you turn to, for assurance. All of you at the TATA Group, through TFA first, and then @JamshedpurFC, have been one of our pillars.

To know that Jamshedpur has folded first team operations is a punch to the gut. The players and staff will be without clubs, and they might find one by the end of it all. The League will have a team less, but the season will go on. However, not having the TATA group involved in the top tier of Indian football - that would be a disaster with no alternative.

I understand that some tough decisions in sport are down to what makes sense in the board room. But I can only request and hope that the think tank at TATA picks their heart over head and reconsiders this call. It might be a poor business decision, but it will be the one Indian football needs the most at this hour.

[Joe Morrison @joefooty]

Bcos this happened the same weekend as the @FIFAWorldCup finals it got lost in the noise but these young boys now deserve their turn in the sun. Well done to @minervapunjabfc youngsters not bcos they beat a Brazilian team and lifted the trophy but bcos these youngsters played across Scandinavia (lifting the Helsinki cup as well) away from home …..some of them leaving India 🇮🇳 for the very first time….different culture, climate, conditions. This experience will stay with them for LIFE! 👏🏻👏🏻 #SansPareil

[Shaji Prabhakaran @Shaji4Football]

In America TV - they are discussing Youth League problems and issues - how parents behaviours are driving away referees from the youth sports.

Sports in America gets featured and discussed every second and there are tons of sports channels and even news channels have many programmes/ contents on sports.

This is where we in India struggle to find sports in the main stream media. Youth sports and grassroots is a rarity in discussion and as long as we don’t discuss these key aspects of our sports we are not helping our ecosystem to grow.

[Sanjeev Sanyal @sanjeevsanyal]

World Cup 2034 - we will be there. Very well done lads, very well done!!!

[Khel Now @KhelNow]

Talents from all over the world are announcing themselves at the biggest stage of football, i.e., the FIFA World Cup!

Whereas the Indian football team players are struggling to go beyond the Asian Cup. That brings us to the question: Does India lack talent in football??

@7negiashish answers!

#IndianFootball

[Khel Now @KhelNow]

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 on and teams like Haiti, Cape Verde leaving their mark on the biggest stage, a question persists!

If they can, why not India?

@7negiashish answers! A tainted federation with misplaced priorities and administrative disasters have added to the misery!

Watch the whole video on KN TV/ YouTube!

#IndianFootball

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@Nkamwesiga39863 @thehouseoffootb But nobody in the Portugal team trusts Cristiano Ronaldo.

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@annamalai_k Sir, if BJP sided with AIADMK, that didn’t mean party sidelined you. One needs to lose short term goals to fulfill long term ones. I am sure Delhi will support you in any way they can. Love from Mumbai!

[Erik Solheim @ErikSolheim]

In defense of Indian 🇮🇳 democracy!

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi most successful visit to Norway a minor incident happened. A Norwegian journalist demanded that the prime minister starts holding press conferences. She claimed that Indian democracy is in bad shape.

May be its time to pause? May be its time to be a bit curious to the world’s largest democracy?

Two weeks ago five Indian states and territories held elections. The turn out in the battlefield state of West Bengal was 94%. In the last local election in Norway it was 62%, in many European local elections turn out is below 50%. Can voting in massive numbers be a signal Indians trust their democratic process?

In the same election BJP won big in Assam and West Bengal. It lost even bigger in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Can this diversity be a signal that Indian democracy is reflecting the will of the people?

The journalist referred to a democracy ranking putting India at 157 in the world, behind many dictatorships and deeply troubled states. When a ranking is so obviously contrary to common sense, why not ask critical questions to those making the ranking rather than demand that leaders shall comment on nonsense? I recommend Salvatore Babones book “Dharma democracy”. The book debunks convincingly the flawed methodology of these rankings.

It was referred to a ranking claiming it’s very dangerous to be a journalist in India. Reality is that it is more dangerous to be journalist in the US and far more dangerous in the vast majority of other nations in the world.

Let’s be real. India is not perfect. Of course there are incidents. India has a population the size of North America, South America and Europe combined. But India is much more peaceful than Europe or the Americas. That’s remarkable - given the ethnic, language and religious diversity of India and the many development challenges.

Unless we consider democracy a form of government only suited for some very small, peaceful and homogeneous Western European nations, may be we should commend Indian democracy?

India is the only major former UK colony which became and has remained a democracy. Its sometimes claimed that the Brits taught India democracy. If that was the case why isn’t Myanmar or Pakistan or the Gulf kingdoms democracies??? Reality is that Indian democracy is both homegrown and extraordinary successful.

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

When great powers stop respecting rules,
everyone else starts recalculating.

Greenland, tariffs, Diego Garcia —
signals that the rule-based order is fading.

What should India’s response be?

Full video 👇

#India #Geopolitics #StrategicAffairs

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@bhogleharsha Fans will be fans! This is what was prevalent during the days of Sunil Gavaskar & Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar & Saurav Ganguly & now Ro & Ko. The only point being, there were no social media during the playing days of Gavaskar & Dev and Tendulkar & Ganguly..

[FIFA World Cup @FIFAWorldCup]

After 19 years of service, farewell, @chetrisunil11. 🇮🇳​❤️

#WCQ | @IndianFootball

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@TimesNow @JaiMrug @DEKAMEGHNA It's Kalyan & not Kalyanpur.

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@TimesAlgebraIND How does BJP finds such gems! 3 cheers to the one who recommended to take on-roll @annamalai_k Ji. 👍

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@MattooShashank Exactly how strong countries operate! They build a net as well as nest of spies to get the 'real' information & then act accordingly. So soothing to know we are doing what we should rightfully do. Albeit these are all secretive & under the carpet kind of situations.

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

Where are we moving as a society, in pursuit of some cheap thrills.. And reels..

[HasnaZarooriHai🇮🇳 @HasnaZaruriHai]

Delhi Metro अब Oyo वाली सुविधा भी प्रदान कर रहा है, वो भी निशुल्क
जनहित में जारी
😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

What a way to waste time!

[Joe Morrison @joefooty]

I can’t stop laughing: 😂😂😂

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

@GabbbarSingh And that too when we haven't even caught up with the football fever! Imagine that day.

[Bikas Pal @bikaspal]

We just need one freakish win at this level to elevate! A one, freakish, fucking win at the @afcasiancup @Qatar2023en