Cricket turns into a war game

MUMBAI: When Indo-Pak political tension spills over into other arenas, a lot is vitiated -- for instance, in the sphere of culture, where both countries share an organic bond.
The immense fan following of artistes like Lata Mangeshkar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan all over the subcontinent needs no reiteration -- but the attitude of officialdom has made it difficult for them to perform in the other country.The Indian government is more blameless on this count than its Pakistani counterpart: while India has hosted artistes from Nusrat to Abida Parveen to Junoon, Pakistan clamps down on all such activity.
Indian artistes can only perform at private functions, and even here problems could crop up—ghazal singer Chitra Singh reveals how, on a performance tour in 1979, she and husband Jagjit Singh were asked to leave even before their visas ran out. "This, despite the fact that the response of the people was mindblowing," she says.
Indeed, between the people, there are far fewer borders: ones hears tales from Indians visiting Pakistan about hospitality, discounts from shopkeepers and free rides from cabbies.
"My Karachi experience was wonderful," says billiards champ Geet Sethi,who reveals that he once went to the country without a visa but "got in in 10 minutes flat" thanks to his host. Adds hockey wiz Dhanraj Pillay, "Though there is a lot of pressure during matches with Pakistan, off the field we share a great relationship." Even in the highpressure zone of cricket, there are close friendships, and the world of culture has seen many legendary ones: Noorjehan and Lata Mangeshkar being the most cited one. Says Husain Naqi, an activist with Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission: "Lata Mangeshkar is listened to everyday—even when we are exchanging fire at the border."
So, where does the bhaichara vanish when it comes to cricket? Why is a game taken to this kind of hysterical pitch with often ugly ramifications? While it is true that sports is a routine vehicle of protest the world over, the politics-cricket interface in India has been especially direct, causing one to leak into the other. Even in the days when cricket pitches were not dug up in protest by political hoodlums and cricket was not the litmus test of patriotism, the political history of the subcontinent cast its shadow on the game.
The Indo-Pak wars and border skirmishes, for instance, caused cricketing ties to be snapped for 17 years, from 1961 to 1978. The flip side of the coin was demonstrated by Ziaul Haq when he visited Jaipur to watch the World Cup in 1987 with Rajiv Gandhi: political observers aver that at a time of spiralling tension, this move averted a likely war. The current-day jingoism characterised by offensive SMSs, luridly painted ‘Bharat armies’ and the rest is, however, a new story: a lethal combination of market-fuelled patriotism and growing fundamentalism on either side of the border. "In the first cricket match between the two countries in 1952, when we won we were happy, but that was all," says veteran sports writer K.N. Prabhu.
"All this build-up is because of ads which equate patriotism with winning a match. We had laughed at similar displays of ‘nationalism’ in Australia in 1980—and in retrospect those were far less offensive.What we have in India today is vulgar." Adds activist Teesta Setalvad: "The rise of the political right in India and increasing xenophobia in both countries has exacerbated the situation."
Pramod Navalkar of the Shiv Sena, the party that raised pitch-digging to a fine art, denies the charge. "India hasn’t vitiated anything," he says. "Our prime minister went all the way to Lahore for peace, but in return they gave us Kargil. Pakistani politicians continue to poison their people and encourage terrorism." Though Navalkar says this should not cast its shadow on cricket, K.N. Prabhu doesn’t agree. "I firmly believe that we should not be playing cricket when there is fighting at the border," he says.
Thirty-eight years ago, India’s and Pakistan’s cricket captains tackled this dilemma in a unique way. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Hanif Mohamed were playing in an England versus Rest Of The World match in Scarborough when war broke out on the subcontinent.
Mike Marqusee, author of War Minus The Shooting: A Journey through South Asia during Cricket World Cup recounts that the captains sent a joint telegram to their respective governments pleading for peace.
"We wish to express deep regret at the war between India and Pakistan," said the telegram. "We find unity on the cricket field by reaching for a common objective. We fervently hope both countries can meet and find a common solution."