Don’t infect sports with politics

EXACTLY five months ago, India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire, bringing to a surprisingly quick end their nearly four-day-long war. India announced the ‘suspension’ of Operation Sindoor, indicating that it could be resumed if Pakistan failed to mend its ways. Subsequently, several political and military leaders have reiterated this tough stand.

The operation was conceived and executed with precision by our defence forces, especially the Indian Air Force (IAF), in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. Citizens of the country have all along been supportive of our Prime Minister’s leadership and his quick reaction. Adventurism of the cowardly kind that underlines terror strikes require such measured responses.

Op Sindoor achieved its main objective of hitting terror sites in Pakistan. The perpetrators and sponsors of terrorism got a strong message that there was a price to pay for their actions. Prudence and good sense dictate that India should avoid sabre-rattling and also resist the temptation of becoming complacent. However, recent statements by our defence top brass and the PM’s remark equating Op Sindoor with India’s win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket final are signs of attempts to politicise our defence services as well as sports. This is a regrettable trend.

Senior officers of the armed forces are not known to brag repeatedly on news channels. They prefer their achievements to speak for themselves. These feats are widely reported in the print and electronic media. The people of India are visibly proud of their troops. When military leaders are called upon to drive home a point repeatedly during TV talk shows and press conferences, the law of diminishing returns threatens to play spoilsport.

Politicisation of sports is, to a great extent, even worse. The Olympic movement was started in ancient Greece to bring together warring states — Athens, Sparta and their neighbours such as Macedon and Crete — in opposition to the expanding Persian Empire. Instead of Greeks shedding each other’s blood in wars to prove one state’s superiority over the other, sports competitions were organised to promote unity.

I admit that this analogy may not be apt for our perennial conflict with Pakistan. But what is certain is that even in the worst of times, Indian and Pakistani cricketers have maintained their personal friendships. Their battle on the cricket field never extended beyond the boundary. Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was present when former captain Imran Khan was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018. It was Imran who had invited Sidhu to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

A story narrated by a friend merits a recall. A Pakistani fast bowler had decided to keep his distance from then Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as he felt that the latter was a snob. One day, both happened to be in a hotel lounge after a match. Ganguly got up and poured himself a cup of tea. He poured a second cup, walked up to the bowler and offered it to him. The Pakistani player was left bewildered. He had misjudged the Indian and he told this to the great batsman himself. Friendship took centre stage.

Indian and Pakistani cricketers have shared such friendships off the field for decades. The cordial interaction between Ravi Shastri and Wasim Akram in the commentary box sums up this phenomenon.

Cricket is as much a passion in Pakistan as it is in India. Victory in an India-Pakistan match may not match a triumph on the battlefield, but the sporting rivalry has never spilled over to the dressing room or elsewhere. That is set to change now. Sporting culture will be compromised. Beyond that, basic human values will go for a toss with the refusal to shake hands.

The instructions to our cricketers to avoid a handshake with their Pakistani rivals before or after a match have set a wrong precedent. This decision must have been taken by our political leadership and communicated through the BCCI to the captains of our men’s and women’s teams — Suryakumar Yadav and Harmanpreet Kaur.

This gesture conveyed a message to the public in India and Pakistan that we are enemies in all aspects. That is unfortunate. The crime of unleashing terrorism and killing civilians is condemnable and unpardonable. The Army and the political rulers of Pakistan have resorted to this cowardly option because they are weaker, both militarily and economically. Pakistan’s leadership has condemned its country to the status of a pariah in the comity of nations. It is essential for the Pakistani people to open their eyes to this truth. Cricketers not shaking hands is bound to have an effect to the contrary.

It is necessary for our political leadership to assess the impact of politicising sports and exposing our top defence officers to the media glare. I doubt if world leaders will let such moves pass without scrutiny. It does not concern them, so they may not comment. But they will think poorly of us. Our refusal to shake hands must not have gone down well particularly with cricket-playing countries such as England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Our leadership should review its instructions to sports bodies because sports needs to be isolated from politics.

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