Sports must unite, not divide

Matches are played between teams, not countries

While the chances of the Indian cricket team advancing to the semi-finals in the World T20 Championship remains uncertain, the responses its performance has drawn from various quarters has left no one in doubt over the poisoned social and political atmosphere in the sub-continent. Sports and games are supposed to unite peoples and countries, but they are increasingly being used to divide and create strife. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed thought the Pakistani team’s victory in the India-Pakistan match was a “victory of Islam”. Prime Minister Imran Khan said it was “not a good time’’ for talks with India after the team’s victory, as if the one had anything to do with the other. There was no need for religion or the relations between the two countries to be mentioned in the context of cricket.

In India, there were reports of celebration of Pakistan’s victory. The police registered cases against unknown students in two medical colleges in Srinagar under the UAPA and other laws for “cheering for Pakistan.’’ A young school teacher was sacked from a private school in Rajasthan after she tweeted “we won’’ after the match. In UP, the police arrested three Kashmiri students and slapped cases against four other people. They are likely to face sedition charges. It does not help that all those who are alleged to have supported Pakistan are Muslims, but it also does not help that they are being proceeded against under the most draconian laws. Cheering for another country in a game of sports is not a terrorist or seditious activity, and the cases are not going to stand in a court of law. While no-one would support cheering for Pakistan in India, heavy-handed police action against it is excessive and unnecessary. Yet another wrong response was the social media attack on bowler Mohammed Shami. It was clear that he was being targeted for being a Muslim and not for his failure.

While these are all despicable ways of responding to a sports event, every reaction was not bad. Captain Virat Kohli spoke out forcefully in defence and support of Shami, with a clear statement that “attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing to do”. Kohli also spoke for his team, and though his statement could have been made earlier, when it was made it was done well. Kohli also sent out a good message when he hugged Pakistan batter Mohammed Rizwan after the game. These are the messages that sports should convey, not those of division and hatred. Matches are played between teams, not between countries and peoples.