The Equestrian Federation of India continues to be shaken at its very foundations.
The latest news that has rocked EFI is Kishore Futnani’s resignation from the executive committee. “Over the years the governance of the Federation has been fast deteriorating with no transparency in the functioning and decision-making,” he cited in his resignation letter addressed to the remaining members of the Executive Committee.
EFI has not had a President or Vice-President (Administration) since Justice Naveen Chawla of the Delhi High Court restrained Lt. Gen. SS Mishra and Lt. Gen. MKS Yadav from acting as interim President and Vice-President respectively. EFI nominated them after they took charge as the Army’s Quartermaster General and Director-General, Supplies & Transport.
Despite that, in December 2020, Vice-President (Finance) Harish Khokhar revealed that the DGST was behind EFI’s flip-flop on letting six riders from Punjab compete in the National Junior Equestrian Championship. This allegation was a part of his resignation. It is another matter that Harish Khokhar appears to have been persuaded to take his resignation back.
It is not the first time that an Executive Committee member has resigned citing lack of transparency. Back in July 2018, Brig. GS Puri quit as Vice President (Technical), drawing attention to what he termed marginalisation of the Executive Committee members. But that call appears to have fallen on deaf ears, leaving the athletes’ at the their wits’ end.
An example of lack of vision among the administration is the fact that in November 2019, EFI told the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports that it had no plans to send a team to the Olympic Games. Barely a month later, it became known that Asian Games silver medallist Fouaad Mirza had qualified for the eventing competition in Tokyo2020.
In April, it appointed a committee to investigate the circumstances under which five Indians competed as the Nepal team in the World Cup tent-pegging qualifier in Greater Noida. The committee was appointed many weeks after the sham unfolded. And now, more than three months after the unseemly episode, nothing has been heard about the investigation.
It has had a running battle with a rider about the grading of another rider’s horse. In fact, that may have been a big factor in the Delhi High Court-appointed Observer SY Quraishi praying the Delhi High Court to consider a systematic reformation process of EFI.
He suggested that the Court initiate the process of amending the EFI Statutes to being it in compliance with the National Sports Development Code of India and then to hold elections in line with the model election guidelines of the Code. Worse, Quraishi suggested that these changes be brought about under a Court-appointed Administrator.
He pointed out EFI made conscious and concerted effort to make it difficult for him to gain access to its records. He also requested the Court to consider that he had withdrawn the no objection he had granted to the nomination of two persons as EFI President and Vice-President (Admin) since he had been misled to believing that no one else was qualified to hold the posts.
Even as recently as in April 2021, the Delhi High Court decided to keep pending the EFI prayer to vacate the stay on the nomination of the Quartermaster General as its President till the next hearing of the Rajasthan Equestrian Association petition against EFI on August 5 next. It will also take up the REA prayer to order the EFI to conduct elections as per the Sports Code.
Instead of gracefully paving the way for better governance, EFI has been clutching at straws. Even while a court battle is being fought, EFI has been hoping the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will grant it the licence to run the sport primarily as a club-based activity. Kishore Futnani’s resignation is but another reminder to EFI to get its house in order.
