Images that will live long after instant festivity is history

 

Forum Report

 

Friday, 24 October. Pakistan beat India by a record 10 wickets in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Dubai. For almost all cricketing pundits India was the favourites while Pakistan was being consoled as the underling capable to cause an upset anytime but not against India.

 

Playing first India scored a restrained 151 in the allotted 20 overs. Pakistan’s stellar bowling attack kept India’s otherwise robust batting lineup remarkably fettered with Shaheen Afridi denting the Indian defences in the very first over. Apart from Kohli and Pant, no Indian batter impressed their selectors or supporters.

 

Au contraire what impressed the fans and foes alike was the record opening partnership between Pakistani skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. They remained unbeaten despite Kohli employing all of his bowling combinations. This was the first Pakistani win against archrival India in any of the World Cup encounters. India went into shock while Pakistan came out onto streets to celebrate as if the opener was the final.

 

With approximately two billion spectators in South Asia and many more million-cricket lovers watching globally, India and Pakistan encounters are the best sporting fixtures anywhere on the planet. But sadly, both countries do not play bilaterally these days. Politics has impacted the game over the years to an extent where India refuses to play with Pakistan at all unless forced by the International Cricket Council to face the South Asian neighbour in ICC-mandated tournaments.

 

Defeat is considered a national insult. TV sets are smashed. Public property is vandalised. Citizens remain demoralised and angry for days and vent their feelings in various ways – mostly negative. In India, hatred against Pakistan has risen to new heights under Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Politicians’ narratives duly propagated through electronic media has heightened toxicity to unbelievable levels. The obnoxious acidity invariably turns towards fellow citizens – primarily Muslims or anyone perceived to be a Pakistani-team supporter.

 

International media reported similar incidents last week too. Many prime personalities had to come out in support of India’s only Muslim player, Mohammed Shami, who was subjected to a “torrent of social media abuse” after his side was crushed by Pakistan.

 

Violence against Muslims in India was also reported. An Udaipur schoolteacher in Rajasthan was fired after screenshots of her Whatsapp status saying, “we won” went viral on social media. “Forget her job, She could have lost her life,” an Indian journalist said without agreeing to give her name.

 

Shami remained the main target of the vitriolic commentary on social media even though Indian captain Virat Kohli acknowledged that his side had been “outplayed” by Pakistan. Hundreds of messages were left on Shami's Instagram account saying he was a “traitor” and should be thrown out of the Indian team.

 

But many fans and politicians also urged support for him, calling on Indian players to reject the hate messages just as they had backed the Black Lives Matter movement by taking a knee. “Team India your BLM knee-taking counts for nothing if you can't stand up for your teammate who is being horribly abused and trolled on social media,” Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of the Muslim-majority Indian-occupied Kashmir, said on Twitter.

 

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, also a Muslim, also spoke out in support of Shami, saying he had been part of India vs Pakistan matches where India lost but had "never been told to go to Pakistan".

"THIS CRAP NEEDS TO STOP," he wrote.

 

Ex-Indian opener Virender Sehwag termed the online attack on Shami as "shocking". "He is a champion and anyone who wears the India cap has India in their hearts far more than any online mob. With you Shami," he tweeted.

 

People on the Pakistani side of the border also expressed solidarity with Shami. Author and granddaughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima Bhutto tweeted: “I’m horrified by the vile abuse heaped on Mohammed Shami by his compatriots. The rot of hatred seems to have infected everywhere there.”

 

People set off celebratory gunfire in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan and Karachi after the robust win, while hundreds ignited firecrackers in Srinagar, in occupied Kashmir, where troops are fighting an insurgency.

 

Gautam Gambhir, a former India Test cricketer who has become an MP for the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP, said it was “shameful” that people were celebrating Pakistan's win.

 

In Indian Punjab state, students from Kashmir said they were beaten up.

A student at an engineering and technology institute said dozens of men armed with hockey sticks and batons attacked them as they watched the closing stages of the game. “They entered our room, switched off the lights and beat us. They destroyed our laptops,” the student told international media, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears of more trouble. “We are safe now and we have support from our college. But we didn't expect this at all. We are also Indians.”

 

The match also sparked violence in neighbouring Bangladesh. India fans beat two Pakistan supporters as they celebrated the win in one southern district, media reports said.

 

But what was heartening to watch was when Kohli hugged Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan and congratulated him for hitting the winning stroke. He also congratulated his Pakistani counterpart, Babar Azam – currently the second best T20 batter in the world.

 

The hug & smile picture was shared and commented on by hundreds of thousands of cricket lovers, praising the sportsman spirit of the two sides. Hopeful messages were all over social media to see normalcy return to the two South Asian neighbours sooner than later – in sporting grounds if not in political corridors.