Why I should have broken my TV after India lost to Pakistan
June 19th's India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match was not just a game, it was war. The command was in the hands of news anchors who skillfully gave the digital patriots a chance to fight and defeat the enemy.
There was hardly any chance to be tuned in for the pleasure of the game. Those watching had to side with the country, any other probability would have been seditious.
Tension and anxiety engulfed drawing rooms for the decisive cricket final, which was set to determine nationalism and love for Mother India (surprisingly made Father by Sehwag). The cricket, it was expected, will infuse pride for India, and expose the partisan passions running abound.
The game has gone beyond winning or losing. It is a surgical strike, an affirmation of national strength. The cricketers will take revenge for what the political leadership has not resolved till date.
The matches were never between two teams, they were between two nations. Passion for the game has paved way for bitter abusive slangs.
I too unwantedly became a part of war, but had to quit because of my inability to hold on to hatred and anger for a team that really played well. I miserably failed in demonstrating my vocabulary of verbal abuses and swear. I feel bad that India lost, but feelings are not counted unless complemented with obscene swear.
Worst of all, I did not even break my TV. That certainly calls for introspection over my patriotism. I recalled Bal Thackeray’s statement, where he wanted Indian Muslims to have “tears in their eyes every time India loses to Pakistan” to prove their loyalty.
The tear part was a little too much for a girl like me who didn’t even cry at her wedding. To undo the damage, I solemnly resolve not to participate in entertaining gatherings and will wear only black in solidarity. It’s mere coincidence that black happens to be my favourite colour.
We pledge appreciation for good sport for every other country, but not the enemy Pakistanis. It’s acceptable to be defeated by any other team but Pakistan was never a sports team, it is a terror gang, the murderers of our Armymen.
Let us resolve not to let cricket be another sport. Let us collectively kill the sportsmanship and passion. Collectively, we will succeed in spreading bitterness and hatred, hurl mother-sister abuses and destroys even the slightest chance of cordial diplomacy.
Never mind if the spirit of the game has been crushed. We have entrusted our cricketers the responsibility of resolving the 70 years of enmity, the pain of Partition and the redemption for Kashmir. Till time for the next occasion of proxy war over the pitch approaches, peace, please rest in peace.
Indian satellite TV has clearly been the winner, with around 400 million unique viewers, and 10 times above the normal advertising rates in their kitty, collecting TRPs by fanning the animosity.
And the morning after… the middle class Indian wakes up with a hangover, to find himself again in the never ending pursuit of food, water, shelter, security.