JOIN USSports has largely been unaffected by the communal virus but unfortunately, this area is also getting infected. A sign of this is the attempt to run down veteran cricketer Wasim Jaffer and the levelling of allegations against him which have a bearing on his religion. The former Test player resigned as the coach of the Uttarakhand team after stating in public that the officials of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand, including its secretary and selectors, had been "pushing non-deserving players" to be selected in the team. The response to this from the officials was an attack on him on open communal lines. It has been claimed that he promoted Muslim players and tried to create communal disharmony in the team, called a maulvi to say prayers in the dressing room and changed the chanting of the team which had the names of Hindu gods in it.
Jaffer has denied the charges and no evidence has been presented by those who levelled them. No enquiry has also been instituted. He has said that if the charges were true, he would have been sacked but instead, it was he who decided to quit for the reasons he made public. An attack was mounted on him to destroy his credibility and to show that the charges he made were false. Wasim Jaffer has played 31 Tests for the country, has till recently played domestic cricket and has been a respected and admired player. There has not been any blemish in the record of his professional, public or personal life. To make serious allegations against him without making even an enquiry is wrong and unethical. These charges have not come from unrelated individuals but from responsible persons holding positions in the cricket establishment and that makes it especially bad. Taking a cue from it sections of the social media have started a vilification campaign.
Our social and political life has been badly vitiated by communal attitudes and sentiments. But areas like sports, science and business where individual merit is more important than any other attributes and qualifications, should be kept free of communal considerations. Cricketers from all religions and communities have played for the country and made great contributions. It is wrong to identify them by their religion and to weigh their contributions and to praise or criticise them on the basis of their religion, place of birth, language or other narrow considerations. This will lead to not only the poisoning of another field of national life but also to discrimination and exclusion in national activities. It is unfortunate that Wasim Jaffar has not got any strong support from the senior cricketing fraternity, except former India captain Anil Kumble and a couple of other cricketers. That is also a sign of the times.