As that line from Poltergeist goes “They are here.” Or more precisely, as the line from Poltergeist 2 goes “They are back.”
As predictable as a Veena Malik publicity stunt, as inevitable as a Shahid Afridi retirement, as irresistible as a Musharaff speech, and as destructive as Nargis Fakhri’s acting.
Pakistan is back here. And this time they are not coming in a boat.
For those of you who don’t know yet, India will, if we are to believe the good news, resume cricketing (we have been playing other sports with them though) ties with our friendly neighbor, where “hero Ajmal Kasabe”, according to a band from that country itself. [Video]
And IPL will once again be graced by the presence of the great Pakistanis. Not a bad idea, some may say, because after the amateurish spot-fixing misadventure of the last edition, professional guidance from the experts is needed if only to show the novices how it is to be done.
So let the Asha Aman commence with a “Arre so jao naheen to gadda zameen pe beecha do” (GoW 2 reference) passion.
The usual bromide one gets to hear in this context, from the Aman ki Asha or Asha ki Aman crowd is that sports should be delinked from politics. Well and good I wonder but if that is a general principle, why were South African sportsmen debarred from participating in all competitive sports for decades? Why were those who went on rebel tours treated as mercenaries and sell-outs rather than as heroes who took a stance against the politicization of sports? Why indeed?
Now South Africa, because of the racial nature of its laws and institutions (and no one condones racism), was the world’s problem. Hence the sanctions were more or less universal and morally never questioned.
Pakistan is primarily India’s. It is a country that has waged continuous overt and covert war against India and while realpolitik constrains us from actually taking Pakistan on in a field of battle (the human costs would be just too immense), as normally happens in history when one side wages battle without apology, there is really no reason why we should be “Tohfa Kubool Ho” extra gracious and try to save Pakistan’s floundering cricketing infrastructure which desperately needs an infusion of cash.
No real reason that is. I absolutely get why those in power want resumption of cricketing ties under the guise of “normalization of relations” and “people to people contact” (which I believe should be a ministry under the great Bhatt since no one has done more with regards to people to people contact than this champion of cross-border koochikooing). There is good money to be made on the Indian side (BCCI as we all know are never shy of making a bit of green) and no matter how many uber-patriotic messages people share on Facebook regarding not forgetting Mumbai and remembering Saurabh Kalia, ultimately Indians do come to watch Pakistanis play (and great cricketers they are, at least some of them) just as they go weak-kneed over Atif Aslam (not so great singer as he is).
I mean look at me. After all this hot air, I am pretty sure I will be tuning into IPL 6 as old “Hinduon ki zehniyaat” [Video] Sohail Tanveer bowls off the wrong foot and Afridi, he who cannot decide how old he is or the nature of Hindus, hits a few sixes.
So, honestly, who am I to say anything?
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
First!
GB
In my humble opinion you interpreted that pakistani band video ,wrongly. They are not supporting ajmal kasab at all. they are in fact mocking at a nation that treats ajmal kasab as a hero.
would be better if you revisit the lyrics once.
Divyanshu,
Maybe it would be better if you revisited my post once more? I am not saying they are saying Ajmal Kasab is a hero. I am saying they accept their country says Ajmal Kasab is a hero.
They do sponsor terrorism or provide asylum. That’s definitely global problem.
gaat it. 🙂
GB, also back with a bang… “Pakistan is back here. And this time they are not coming in a boat.” Too good.
Hi Arnab,
Experts say….. ““Cricket diplomacy” has always been one of the great staples of the relationship between India and Pakistan. The two countries have tried and failed before to use their shared enthusiasm for cricket to build bridges, right back to the days of Pakistan President Zia ul-Haq, if not earlier…but this common platform of interest will definitely yield results someday”
Reading ibid lines we tend to think “After all the past experiences with our sooo friendly neighbour we still havent learnt”
Well….the only thing i can say is that cricket diplomacy is “BullS***”, its not about any bloody Aman ki Asha…
Those Bhikari pakistanis will get chance to earn good bucks out here and the Media will get loads of Advertisings due to the expected TRPs that will be generated…
F***…its not bot any relations…its just economics… on a very simple logic…Hostility… as it generates all the way more audience from both the countries….that is why as you rightly mentioned…we all will be tuning our TV for IPL6.
And dont forget this is Cricket Politics and “Aaj kal Gundagiri aur Netagiri ek hee baap ki doh harami aulad hai”. (from the Colossal “Gunda”)
Mera Bharat Mahan
The obvious solution is, ofcourse, to tune IPL out of our lives completely. At some point of time, we have to take a stand with our wallets, and this is as good a time as any.
BTW, I have never understood the conundrum of de – linking sports with national policies of a sovereign nation. By the same token, economic cultural, scientific & educational activity should also be de – linked from national policies of nations, so what remains then? Only the military might of nations?
The purchase of oil from Iran should be treated on the same platform as cricket with Pakistan. Which brings up an interesting question in my mind:
What is behind this decision (apart from BCCI’s apparent greed)?
Forgive me for sounding like another conspiracy theorist loony, but,
Does the United States’ recent re^n kindling of amour with its old mistress, have anything to do with this decision?
After all, I live in a country, where neither Congress nor BJP are bothered about the ‘Whistle Blower’ Act / Bill, when RTI activists get routinely murdered mercilessly, but FDI in Retail is a life and death bone of contention for both. The connect here is, that FDI in Retail is so important to “INDIA’s” development that Shri Shri Barack Obamaji is losing sleep about it in the White House!
Interesting, our (country’s) well wishers and the effects of their wishes on those who run our country. Hence my doubts, what prompts cricket with the nation of stateless actors?
BTW, are their cricketers state actors or non – state actors? Or are they the one while playing and the other if caught match fixing? Too many questions here.
A clarification to a part of my above post, the Congress is desperately trying to push through the FDI in retail while the BJP is opposing is tooth and nail.
Without getting into merits / de-merits of the bill, my question is what or who is driving the Congress’ desperation on this matter? Are there reasons behind the scenes that we, common people, are unable to visualize?
Who or what is behind our elected representatives’ decision to play cricket with the country that trained, sponsored and sent across killers to India, most recently on 26/11?
Nice analogy with apartheid because Pakistani sponsored terrorism is also a form of religious apartheid,I can understand other countries like Australia,New Zealand not having problems playing Pakistan in neutral or home venues beacuse as of yet they aren’t affected by Pakistan sponsored terror directly.But BCCI & Indian Govt. doing it just for the sake of money and minority appeasement is shameful.
pakis will be on stand by for 2013 ipl if the kiwis decide that tests with england are more important. One day matches are most probably the same “thank you, come again next year” that the sri lankans get after each ipl.
I think ‘Poodle’ Underachiever thinks this is his last shot to be counted as a ‘Statesman’. And hence this new found love for Pakistan. And anyways 26/11 is 4 years old right?
GB … its not so long ago that you wrote that your motivation to write is on the wane and a post already on Indo Pak cricket ties within hours of the official announcement !!! Hmmm !!!
i am shocked shocked to see India learns nothing from the past.
Sports is never played in a vacuum. Whatever context the times provides will surely have impact in sporting relations and events. So talk of de-linking sports & politics is gobbledygook. So what though…
Of course Pakistani cricketers should come and play in India. If Pakistanis in other walks of lives (singers, actors, businessmen, etc) are allowed to come to India and engage in commerce, there is no reason why cricket should be stopped. Their presence offers immense entertainment potential and makes commercial sense. So let us deal with the friction their presence creates – I am sure no one other than Shiv Sena/MNS will be eager to organize a riot because they are playing here.
Shame on a nation called India, it doesnot care about loss of lives of its people. We should not keep any ties with a nation who plotted 26/11.
Just see Tavleen Singh’s column on 1st July 2012. What the prominent people in Pakistan feels about 26/11, ‘you have milked 26/11 enough’.
Pakistan should be ‘kicked’ whenever possible
“and this time they are not coming in a boat”
you knocked that one right out of the park, buddy!
I strongly recommend the cricket game between the two nations. That is not because of improving the crisis but for the reason that sports is far away from all these stupid thoughts. This is not for only one or two nations but for the whole world. We all should show our sportsmanship. As a matter of fact that we all enjoy the match especially when it is between the two neighbouring countries. Enthusiam more than 101%. Whosoever wins but the match is viewed by the people of both sides, right from the toss till trophy handover to the winning team.
Rajesh Upadhyay – the difference between India and China/Israel is due to people like you. We should boycott and insist the world to do so like South Africa until they stop export of terrorism
It has been very frustrating to live in India. Me and my wife decided that we would plan on starting a family only if we get our visa to US or UK, and if we were to live in India, we would remain childless.
Mr Gowri, it has really become a worse than KSA sort of country.
No fairplay, most corrupted government [edited out]
The sad part is, after another “incident” they will stop playing again.They are making mockery of every possible thing here, would like India to have some kind of spine.
The bigger issue here, is that cricket is considered a tactical tool by both sides, and by the US.
A lot of what India and Pakistan do, is guided by pressure from the US. And a lot of this game is played in the dark.
The arrest of Jihadi Abu Jindal was facilitated by the US (via KSA). ISI possibly knew about it, but did not try to rescue Jindal and allowed him to fall into Indian custody.
Cricket was the gift that India was asked to give in return.
I say, we tell the US that we will start playing badminton with Pakistan in return for the head of Dawood Ibrahim.
For all those suggesting that Pakistan should not have been invited to play against India, what do you say about your “support” of their musicians, actors, etc.? If on the one hand, you can enjoy a Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song – which is recorded in India, is performed and sung across the length and breadth of India, and where Rahat himself sells out shows, etc. – why this “kolaveri” against the Pakistan cricket team?
Shiva,
I have problems with Pakistani artists, musicians, film-stars and businesses operating in India. The least India can do is to not allow Pakistanis to make money from it, the most peaceful form of protest.
There should be a total boycott of Pakistan be it musician, businessmen or some cheap actress. It should get SA treatment during apartheid era. Now see the fun Paki 26/11 mass murderers are being released on grounds of no ‘cross examination’ a thing agreed by so called elected govt of Pakistan. Actually their military masters do not want it.
Hinduon ki zehniyat hi aisi hai. 😉
This superb Indo-Pak cricket series only proves Sohail Tanvir right – “Hinduon ki zehniyat hi aisi” hai 😉 Why? Because we never learn lessons from history, even from recent years’ events.
This Awesome Cricket Series with Pakistan must be our secular Indian way of thanking Pakistan for the easy “deportation” of Abu Jundal a.k.a. Zabiuddin Ansari, his Pakistani passport notwithstanding.
See: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120706/jsp/frontpage/story_15697702.jsp
I congratulate the secular Indian authorities for providing Indo-Pak superhero Abu Jundal with a specially Air-Conditioned room along with Mughlai cuisine, while the rest of Indians, including his victims, sweat it out in the summer, with power-outages and food starvation.
If Aman ki Asha is collecting funds, I request them to please accept my 0.786 paisa contribution towards their great cause of Gandhigiri.
That is not enough. Our beloved Bapuji, father of present day India, would have also insisted that we send 55 Crore Rupees to Pakistan (along with compound interest since 1947)
Long live Secularism.
Long live Gandhigiri.
I wish I had the financial power to influence the sponsors of this series. But the best we can do is boycott it. Yes, it won’t be easy for committed cricket lovers but it is a very small sacrifice. After all it was a sacrifice to don homespun khaadi and not the soft UK made fabrics. Today, India is a bigger market with enviable purchasing power, let us channelize it AWAY from those who intend to hurt us.
A peaceful socio economic boycott with none of the Shiv Sena-esque vandalism in all spheres (cricket, entertainment) could go a long way if we Indians finally show some backbone and unity. I will do my part and boycott the match and GB’s posts (forever) should he chose to cover it.
Rishi Khujur,
On the contrary, the ISI lobbied hard with Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani with the then Prime Minister (Yousuf Raza Gilani) even made a Umrah-cum-Business trip to prevent the Saudi Mukhabarat from extraditing the superb-son-of-India Zabiuddin Ansari back to his motherland.
The Saudis were willing to play ball with Pakistan initially on the basis of brotherly Ummah bonds, and did not heed their own test results for the first blood sample of Ansari’s father that our IB team handed over to the Saudis for a DNA match.
It was only after Uncle Sam put pressure on the Saudis that the Saudis relented but still asked for a second blood sample of Ansari’s father.
Please see:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/06/key_mumbai_plotter_a.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabiuddin_Ansari
And why did America turn the screws on Saudi Arabia to extradite Ansari? Because FIVE Americans were killed on 26/11, yes… FIVE. Not five hundred, not fifty, but FIVE Americans were killed on 26/11. And see how American seeks justice for her FIVE victims? Surely we Gandhigiri-lovers can learn a lesson from Uncle Sam.
India has lost over 80 Million people to Jihadi attacks since the attacks began, but still, we exhibit Gandhigiri.
A rare Bengali celebrity (other than GreatBong) who has constantly shown the cojones to resist Gandhigiri, by calling for a ban on Pakistanis waltzing into India to make money, is Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya.
Check out Abhijeet’s 6-part interview and other interviews on the right-side column. I only wish the TV host would keep his own pie-hole shut and let Abhijeet answer the questions in detail:
Long live Secularism.
Long live Gandhigiri.
@ Rishi Khujur,
You Wrote, “A lot of what India and Pakistan do, is guided by pressure from the US. And a lot of this game is played in the dark.”
I agree with you 100%, though ofcourse I do not have ANY evidence of this, it appears very unlikely that there could be any other reason besides the above.
@ AI
I don’t have any evidence either. It could be other reasons too.
@ Bengalvoice
I still think ISI could have saved the Indian Jihadi Zabiuddin Ansari (Abu Jindal) in KSA if they really wanted to. At some point a compromise was made under US pressure. But then again, given Pakistan’s poor economy and pseudo-secular India’s penchant for feeding biryani to Jihadis, they thought Abu Jindal was better off in Delhi than in Pindi.
Jokes aside, I feel that ISI treats Indian Jihadis in a step-brotherly way, compared to how it treats Pakistan born Jihadis. It would have never given away Lakhvi.
Alhamdulillah! 🙂
@ Bengal Voice,
I don’t know if we don’t go after Pakistan, because of Gandhigiri / Secularism or the Government of India, regardless of BJP or Congress, believes that average Indian lives are just not worth the bother.
1) So many terror attacks happened in India, bomb blasts etc., so many of our brothers & sisters perished, but I have never heard of the punishment meted out to the culprits. This happened in Congress’ Raj.
Personal experience: I travelled in the men’s 1st class compartment, right next to the ladies 1st class compartment on a partly overlapping route a few hours after the blast in the ladies 1st class compartment near Ghatkopar, blissfully unaware of any untoward incident till I reached home and caught the news!
We just lived Ram Bharose till we could move out of Mumbai & graduate to a car. What a solution, what a life, run away like a coward, because your government won’t do anything! Till today, I don’t know who did those blasts and am 100% sure they have NOT been hanged for it.
2) When Parliament was attacked, our troops were mobilized to attack Pakistan!! The BJP was in power at the time.
3) Our daughters / sisters get molested and NOTHING ever happens to the molesters. Guwahati is hot news now, but similar incidents happened in Mumbai & Pune some years ago, as usual no one knows what happened to the culprits. I am 100% sure nothing will happen in Guwahati too.
At Guwahati, there are secular party sympathizers and Mumbai & Pune there were Hindutva party sympathizers for the molesters!
4) An IIT trained engineer working on a part of the Golden Quadrilateral wrote a confidential letter about rampant corruption to the PMO / PM. After some time he was murdered. Some years later, some people were brought to justice & punished for the murder committed while robbing the Engineer!!!! REALLY? There was NO ulterior motive behind the murder?
BJP was in power when the Engineer wrote the letter to the PMO & Congress was in power when the verdict was delivered in the case.
5) A couple of years ago, the late Y S Reddy’s (then CM of Andhra Pradesh) helicopter went missing. I was shocked at the kind of army / rescue team mobilized to trace and bring back YSR to safety!
6) Today, 2012, large tracts of North East India are under water, dozens of people are dead, more maybe under threat. I wonder if even half the resources have been mobilized to rescue the remaining people, as was organized for YSR. The Congress was in power during both 5) & 6) above.
My point is that in countries like the US, perhaps the government exists to look after the citizens, whereas in countries like India (and it appears Pakistan too) the citizens exist for the benefit of upper level government functionaries, especially ministers, MPs etc.
Is being entertained by Pakistani entertainers, Veena Malik springs to mind straight away = playing cricket with Pakistan?
Absolutely not.
The Pakistani artists, are performing in India in their personal capacity, the do not represent the state of Pakistan.
The Pakistani cricket team is their National cricket team, it is an official team visiting India for an official match recognized by India.
On an informal note, I think the more people like Veena Malik get a space in India, the more uncomfortable the mullahs across the border become.
However, despite the above, if we feel Pakistani entertainers should not be allowed in India, then so be it, I have no problems. However, regardless of whether we ban their dancers etc. or not, we should definitely not engage the Pakistani national cricket or any other national sporting team or business team from Pakistan.
In fact we should also cancel the MFN status which I believe we have accorded Pakistan.
Argumentative I..
Can you please resist the urge to jump at the keyboard so often?
For a while the output seems ok, but then it gets clouded by a perception of that of an ailment.. or a manic quest to be labelled as a ‘thinker’.
Also argument for argument’s sake = your first name, is not really a complimentary adjective. Or does it become fashionable because some leftist with a Nobel certification wrote a book?
Now for the bengalees in the site anandabazar.com published editorial (in sadhu bhasha) in support of cricket with terrorists (Pakis).
Shame on anandabazar for becoming a mouth piece of congress
Thesse pakistanis (and a lot of indians) want politics and sports to be kept separate, then how about pakistan and other muslim nations resuming ties and sporting relations with israel.
“and this time they are not comming in a boat” – classic weave. Loved it.
Your next book should be a collection of limericks with intended/un-intended puns, I am sure it will be a best-seller
The biggest issue I see is when our government grants visas to pakistani public for watching matches (specially when they are held in Mohali). Out of the thousands who come through visa, not sure how many are genuine and actually go back to Pak. I am sure many stay back illegally and then plan further strikes in India. This stupid diplomacy needs to be stopped immediately. Period.
@Yatin,
If Indians don’t buy tickets to any Indo Pak matches (or movies), write to the sponsors or actually make the sacrifice to boycott them, this and future matches will simply not be viable. Na rahega baans and all that:)
I don’t like excessive govt involvement in all this. This is our responsibility. Do we have the strength to ignore them?
What do you think about this, GB? PCB wanting a slice of pie.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120719/jsp/sports/story_15745891.jsp#.UAej-uOhldg
the author of the article raised a question about some policy of icc re: sauth africa , did not answer it, only stated that the policy was not questioned and then used it as a justification for this pakistan issue. This is very sloppy argument must say. There is no rational defense for two countries cricket teams not playing just because they are political enemies. Doesn’t really matter if ICC in the past or Don Bradman’s grandfather thought otherwise.
@sukanto–you must be a stereotype jholawala to whom anything remotely pro India or hindu is not acceptable…what GB has said is that we should boycott Pakisatn in the same way as we did South Africa. Terrorism is a more heinous crime.
So wat if Javed Miandad and India’s most wanted are Samdhis…
So wat if Amir Sohail claimed recently that the real secret of India’s booming economy is the revenue from tickets we charge to tourists on monuments built by Muslims…
So wat if the Umer Sharif earned money from Indian comedy show…went back and sponsored a Film supporting Kashmiri ‘Freedom Fighters’…
So wat if Ali Zafar says he is proud of ISI
So wat if Veena Malik’s father claimed RAW was behind her nude photoshoot..(Ok…lets give tht guy a break…but still..)
So wat Imran is in the lap of every extremist Jihadi group right now…
WE ARE ALL THE SAME PEOPLE!!
We hear propaganda against minorities from the extremist parties….they learn it from TEXTBOOKS…….no difference there!!
BTW…..has anyone concerned read reports about the Pakis who travelled to India as cricket fans for Reki mission before Headley came here??….
Anyway…..Let the Insanities begin!!!!….:)))
Aniket – very good mail — thank you
Today’s time of India newspaper already reports around 20 Pakistanis from a larger group which came to India to watch the cricket matches, remain untraceable in Bangalore.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/22-Pakistanis-missing-in-city/articleshow/15036451.cms
@Aniket i feel like whacking aamir sohail’s face after reading that.did he really say that?i missed it.how can an educated ,well travelled person say something remotely close to that?this is the same person who negated afridi’s comments after his anti india rant after world cup.i m still seething!!!!!
@Pablo….Yes..as ridiculous as that sounds..he actually did! And yes…its a strange mix of anger pity and comedy when u see that level of ignorance..Have a look.
Here are a couple of lines pertaining to the above topic, excerpted from a recent write up by a strategic analyst.
” …confessions by terrorist Abu Jundal have revealed that many jihadis carried out reconnaissance of the likely targets when they came to India under the garb of cricket spectators!”
The full article is available here:
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-the-insanity-of-resuming-cricket-ties-with-pakistan/20120720.htm
why cant the two play together??? when india can play with ENGLAND then whats wrong with a throw of ball with PAKISTAN??? i am excited about the ODIs and the T20s… yeah!!!!!
Nicely written.
@Sugandha,
The circumstances that caused British atrocities (namely, their governing India and making economic gains at our expense) have been removed. The circumstances causing Pakistan to attack us (State collaboration with terrorists) have not been removed. Therefore, we as a nation must use all the tools available to us, limited though they are, to stop our friendly neighbors from attacking us. One such tool is embargo. An embargo of trade, cultural interaction and sports will at least send out the message that all is not normal between us. If your neighbor kicked you in the teeth, will you play cricket with him, at leaast until he showed he was contrite?
@ GB, I was kind of disappointed with your last sentiment – that at the end of the day, you will tune in to see the match(es). I was hoping there would be an embargo call from you, and from other people in India with an online (and other) fan following. You are setting the stage for the aam janta to shrug his/ her shoulders and move on.
we should not play with pakistan until it clears its policy on terrorism against INDIA I knw i sound rude but as an indian and a proud mumbaikar we should not play with pakistan till it act against injustice, MUMBAI ATTACKS DIDNT FORGET DIDNT FORGIVE
It appears that the Pakistani team would get a lot of support if they played in Gauhati cricket stadium. Assam is burning, as we speak, as Pakistan’s well-wishers rampage through the streets of Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Chirang districts.
You don’t have to believe me. Just watch these videos below. Rishi Khujur had predicted this years ago. The upcoming Second Partition of India will swallow Assam and West Bengal in its wake.
Infiltrators Mobs wearing skullcaps burning Indian homes in Assam (CNN-IBN)
Infiltrators hoist Pakistani flag in Sonaripara village of Assam (Times NOW)
Was imtending to post this on a 2007 article by Arnab on Noakhali, but found the comment section closed. Thought this was the only other relevent place to post. Just uplaoded this book online.
1946: The Great Calcutta Killings & Noakhali Genocides- A historical study
; 2011, Dinesh Sinha, Ashok Dasgupta
Click to access noakhali2.pdf
Thanks Rishi Khujur for the e-book … The testimonial of Labanyaprabha Majumdar is too painful to read. It is better than this book is BANNED to protect secularism in Bengal. Otherwise, it might unleash hidden memories of the people.
@Greatbong
Not allowing Pakistani cricketers and musicians to make money in India is hardly a protest and hardly makes any difference in addressing the real problem. Pak Army and ISI who actually discourage any sort of people to people contact which allows a normal pakistani to see a different India to what they have been taught in text books.
If I were a policy maker in India, I would make sure that the complete elite society of Lahore and Karachi have their businesses in Mumbai and Delhi and what happens in Mumbai and Delhi directly affects their livelihood, businesses and profits.
Once, I have the jugular in my control, I will pull the plug and start calling the shots.
Not allowing cricketers or musicians hardly has an affect on the real trouble maker. Pakistan Army.
On the other hand, once a sizeable cross section of Pakistani society is dependent upon Indian economy, that can be a good way of pulling the strings and calling the shots.
Kind Regards
Junaid