Kabaddi is often under fire amid allegations of breach of visa conditions and even human smuggling involving players from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.
In early 2018, Ashleigh Kelly, Advisor, Office of the Deputy Immigration Minister, Canada addressed a memorandum titled ‘Kabaddi Pilot Program Outcomes 2015 to 2017’ to the Immigration Minister.
It claimed that 261 players from India were facilitated to enter Canada to play Kabaddi between 2015 and 2017 but 123 failed to return back.
A quarter of the players obtained work permits suggesting they came to Canada primarily for long-term work unrelated to the game.
This memorandum was obtained by well-known immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, who runs Canada’s leading immigration publication, Lexbase.
A Kabaddi promoter from Toronto who doesn’t want to be named told SBS Punjabi that the scandal comes with repercussions and has brought a ‘bad name’ to the Kabaddi clubs.
Circle style Kabaddi is the regional sport of the region of Punjab in India-Pakistan (Photo by Anirudh Kaushal). Source: Photo by Anirudh Kaushal
“We worked hard to get Kabaddi to this scale but the future looks bleak. With this scandal, we could be seeing difficulties to bring legitimate players from India,” he said.
“Mindfully, I am only against the misuse of the visa process. At the same time, I’d urge authorities not to be overcritical as there is nothing illegal in obtaining work permits."
'Kabaddi Pilot Program Outcomes 2015 to 2017' report also went on to explain the reasons behind the unintended use of the visa process - "Kabaddi players applying through Chandigarh are typically young, single, unsalaried males with limited economic prospects in their home country."
"Most belong to rural agricultural families with modest land holdings which may be held in common with several persons. Most applicants play for their village club which is usually supported by local patrons. It is difficult to gauge a player’s skill or standing in the sport as there is no formal structure at this level," it underlines.
The report also pointed out that the misrepresentation and fraudulent documentation submitted by the Kabaddi players or their respective federations were also a matter of concern.
It reads - ‘Fraudulent documentation, including photo-substituted evidence of applicants playing Kabaddi, have been encountered among the supporting documentation submitted with applications.’
Pilot programs for Kabaddi were implemented between 2008 to 2011 and then 2015 to 2017.
According to a report published in , in 2011 alone, 670 visas were issued to players from India, where 91 failed to returned home and another 27 lodged refugee claims.
Historically, case-by-case processing of such applications has resulted in a high refusal rate. In 2014 when there was no Pilot program, the refusal rate had climbed to 65%.
Know more about Kabaddi
As for the game’s history, no one surely knows when it originated.
It was originally meant to develop self-defence, in addition to responses to attack, and reflexes of a counter-attack by individuals, and by groups or teams.
It is a rather simple and inexpensive game, and neither requires a massive playing area, nor any expensive equipment. This explains the popularity of the game in rural India.
Kabaddi is played in various styles and formats, with National Style and Circle Style or Punjab Style Kabaddi being the most famous ones.
It is played on a circular pitch with a line through the middle of the pitch.
There are two teams of 8 players; one on one raid; and no player leaves the field. The raid is played on a 30 sec time basis.
Whenever any player is touched out, he does not go out of the court but stays inside, and one point is awarded to the team that touched him. If two stoppers attack a player, a foul is declared.
Circle style kabaddi is the regional sport of the region of Punjab in India-Pakistan.
