Vishwanathan Anand on India Empowered

via Financial Express

Chess is one of the few games where gender is not a division. India has produced world-class players of both sexes. I think this has helped overcome preconceived notions and girls should be encouraged to participate more in school level events. After all, it was my mother who showed me how to play. What needs to change is the official bureaucracy in the form of various sports associations. Most officials forget that they represent the players.

For me, India Empowered is when I am not Mr Anand from the land of snake charmers and mystic eccentricities but Anand from a country whose intellectual capital is coming of age. India is a country where in every household there is a lamp of ingenuity, intelligence and perseverance. Now the light is on us and the world is taking notice.