The following article was written for MyInd Makers. Pasting it here for reference:
Many on the social media have (rightly) claimed that one of the best positive side effects of India’s loss to Pakistan in the World Cup was that we got to see the celebrations that happen in India when Pakistan wins. For a very long time, Pakistan didn’t get to beat India, so an entire generation was almost growing up without knowing the fact that there exist many places where the victory of Pakistan over India is celebrated with full vigour. Sunanda Vashisht had articulated this back in 2014 itself, but that article was in the danger of being relegated as a relic of the past. The reality however is in stark contrast to the information that has been force fed upon us, all these years.
I am not the one making the claim of being force fed information. This revelation came straight from the horses’ mouths! Waqar Younus proudly announced that the best moment for him during the match was when Rizwan did Namaz in front of so many Hindus. The entire media gang in India were shocked at this statement. No, they were not shocked at the utter bigotry of the statement. They were shocked that Waqar had spoiled all their best laid plans of suppressing this bigotry. Harsha Bhogle wrote “A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.”
I don’t understand this terrible need to “play such things down” when “such things” can lead to disastrous consequences for the sport as well as to the country. Why would someone like Harsha Bhogle not want to call out this bigotry? How many times in the past has this lot tried to “play such things down”? Also, it would have been real enlightening to know who this “lot of us” are. However, in discussing about Harsha Bhogle’s tweet, I do not want to miss discussing the larger gameplan of the ringleader of this circus – Shekhar Gupta.
His disappointment with Waqar Younis’ tweet was on similar lines. “It’s disappointing only because it shuts up those few like us who’ve been batting for resuming bilateral sports with Pakistan.” Though it actually didn’t shut him up (I don’t think there is anyone born yet who can shut up the running commentary of Shekhar Gupta), this tweet actually baffled lakhs of people in India. Why would anyone bat for resuming bilateral sports with Pakistan? Has Shekhar Gupta forgotten that as recently as 2 months ago, the New Zealand cricket team flew out of Pakistan over scares of a terrorist attack? That the England team refused to travel to Pakistan because of terrorist attacks? That the Sri Lankan team was actually attacked on the soil of Pakistan? Is Shekhar Gupta yearning for such an incident to happen to the Indian cricket team so that he can then feast on that news?
With various police departments filing cases against those who celebrated the victory of Pakistan, this gang went about sharing the Chennai incident from 1999. Pakistan had beaten India in a thrilling test match by 12 runs. The Pakistan team was given a standing ovation by the crowd in the stadium when they did their victory lap. The ringleader of the circus sent out an abrupt and confusing tweet while recollecting this incident.
“That was a brilliant phase in India-Pakistan ties. Afterwards, India under Rahul Dravid toured Pakistan, won Test and ODI series there, and were similarly lionised and celebrated by crowds. Our pacer Balaji became a rock star of sorts there…the period was too good to last”
The ”brilliant phase” he refers to is from 1999 to 2006 (the Chennai test was in 1999 and India under Rahul Dravid toured Pak in 2006). Between 1999 and 2006, Pakistan or Pakistan backed terror organistions have:
- Attacked us in Kargil – nearly 500 Indian soldiers lost their lives and needless to say the untold burden that war brings on a nation.
- Hiijacked one of our civilian flights in 1999.
- Attacked Red Fort in 2000
- Attacked Indian Parliament in 2001
- Attacked Akshardham temple in 2002
- Attacked Mumbai multiple times in 2005
- Attacked various places in India (Ayodhya, Charar-e-Sharif, J&K etc.)
Doesn’t it baffle your mind that Shekhar Gupta terms this phase as “brilliant”? Well, it doesn’t baffle me. Unwittingly, he has (yet again) showed to us the worst side of Indian journalism. He has showed us the side that seeks to suppress information; the side that seeks to impose a narrative and expects us to follow it; the side that doesn’t’ hesitate to downplay loss of lives; the side that seeks to thrive on tragedy; the side that abhors any kind of criticism; and the side that can’t digest the fact that today’s India is better informed than they wish it to be.
It speaks volumes of their nature when members of the English media (circus) are sad that their best laid plans have gone haywire but are not sad that they supported or suppressed this bigotry all these years. Like everyone said – it’s good that we lost to Pakistan in this match – because it did expose many people outside the sport.
PS: If Shekhar Gupta was indeed referring to just a “brilliant phase” in cricketing ties between 1999 to 2006, then there is only one “brilliant phase” -Sachin Tendulkar hitting that bigot Shoaib Akhtar for a six in World Cup 2003.
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