Cricket:Ind Vs Pak. Is that all we care about??

Statutory Warning: The following piece of writing is not a work of fiction. Strictly not for those academically motivated souls who feel entertaining faculties of dance, drama and sports value more than human life. Readers’ discretion advised.

“One can’t choose his neighbors’, but one still has all the power on this earth to choose how he decides to entertain them”

If you are a cricket fan, which I presume you being an Indian are bound to be, I apologize for hurting your sentiments by this article of mine. While I am all game for watching and participating in sporting activities SPORTINGLY, I detest playing with MURDURERS. While most of you will wince and wail at my outlandish suggestion of branding Pakistan as such, my dear gentle folks my only question: what kind of pleasures you derive playing with terrorists? Yes, I can hear you all cry, cricketers are not terrorist, but if an INDIAN JAWAN at border is as Indian as you and me, then a Pakistani cricketers are as Pakistani as Kasab. Post Kargil war, as many as 4000 soldiers have died in Proxy war attempts, probably much more than the no of runs scored between the two countries since. More than one life per run! A costly statistics by any cricketing standards. But then cricket is cricket. And the show must go on at any cost.

The famous cricket fan rhetoric ,that the general public of Pakistan does not support anti India militancy and it is the select few at the top who call the shots, is a complete BUFF and anyone who has the minimal understanding of how Pakistan functions will immediately rubbish it. The Public rallies of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, across many cities in Pakistan is a glaring testimonial to public support, such activities have in Pakistan. Had it been contrary, the gatherings would not have been so massive. The Anti-India Stand of leaders like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Zia and Benazir is well know and a sample of their Anti-India speech (available on you tube), is enough to put any Al-Quayeda operative to shame. Point to remember here, all these massively popular leaders made Anti-India stand a focal point of their political philosophy. A softening of such hawkish stand towards the end their political careers, and in came the army. These popular leaders were either driven out of Pakistan into exile or they got murdered, for Pakistan as a nation has never supported a moderate stand on India. What could be more alarming than a former cricketer turned politician and heart throb of many, Imran Khan has openly supported the “holy war” of Taliban in Afghanistan. Closet Jihadi, Mr Khan is a staunch supporter of Pervez Musahrraf ( the Kargil war fame) and Hafiz Sayeed,  and has never minced words to publically praise them.

Having made you, an Indian cricket fan aware of the ground reality in Pakistan, I resort back to my original question. Do u approve of playing cricket, with the nation of terrorist, perpetrators of 26/11 ? To most, who still are disillusioned by the glamour , let me ask you a simple question, what if out of the 4000 soldiers that died on border in proxy war, one was your friend, or of the many killed in the terror strike across the Indian cities one was your brother. You may wince at my grandiose comprehension of all Indians as one family and argue that a country is not a family.  But what if answer to any of my previous questions is yes? Will you still support a cricket match between India and Pakistan?

Forget the killings, for you, a gentle hearted sports enthusiast cannot bear to hear about death. But what about the callous remarks of a Pakistani Minister (chosen and representing the same people whom the national cricket team represents) regarding the torture and death of Capt. Saurabh Kalia. If those remarks do mean nothing to you, if they fail to make you look beyond cricket, then I think it serves us well, if our cities are repeatedly attacked by terrorist. For a country whose citizens do not respect its soldiers, who lay their life for the sake of it, deserve no better. Such a country has all the reasons to drink and dance and sing and play cricket while its citizens are systematically killed by organized terror activities.

A stop to such cricketing activities was first called by Indian side after the gruesome attack on Mumbai. The reluctance of Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to book, shows the commitment it has to fight the terror outfits, operating from its soil. The cricket stadium is not a place for diplomacy. A proper commitment from the Pakistani government towards the cause and some concrete action to match its talk is a must.

While you as individual choose to engage into merry making activities and sports, only when you feels safe and secure, why cannot this logic be extrapolated to society. After all, our cumulative individual choices define what a society is. While I am in no words suggesting that cricketing leads to terrorism, instead my only submission is why cannot we follow the same value system as a country, that we follow as an individual, surely not because none that died was our family?

If cricket is so important that we shall have it over the graves of our fellow countrymen then why cannot, the not playing of cricket be a pressure point? While playing or not playing cricket will have no material impact on the diplomatic ties between the two nations and the intensity of cross border terrorism, but we can do better to the memories of victims and our army-men.

 Let justice be served to those who lost their lives so that we can be safe, before the “resilient” Indian/Mumbaikar ,who participated in the “photo op candle march” ,and forgot the attack even before the candle burned out, finds himself standing at the Wankhede stadium and cheering the Pakistani cricket team.