"Indo-Pak", a word that creates a lot of buzz among masses whenever associated with cricket.
With the announcement of an India vs Pakistan match, the sense of enthusiasm that instills among the Indians and Pakistanis is undoubtedly different and stronger than even a world cup final match between India and some other country. On the day of the match, from a teenager to a senior citizen, every eye is glued to the TV set. This is the charm of the Indo-Pak match!
But have you ever pondered as to why do we get so much involved in this match? What do we achieve from this?
What I mean to say is that it is so logical that even if we lose, nobody from Pakistan is going to come and humiliate us nor do we remain in touch with them that such that it will affect our life in anyway.
I know if our country wins, it would be a matter of pride but why do we associate it with an anti-Pakistan feeling and where does this feeling go when India plays against some other country say, England, who ruled us for 200 years?
Why is it that Pakistan is so obsessed with Kashmir (which was never its territory) and not with Bangladesh (which was erstwhile "East Pakistan")? I think the Kashmir-dispute is more of an ego conflict rather than a land conflict.
I know Kashmir is still a reason of rift between the two countries but it is meant to be dealt on the border, not on the cricket ground.
Sometimes this patriotism can lead to some violent consequences because this has a slippery slope, people have no control over their feelings of Indo-Pak turning into a Hindu-Muslim rage.
Imagine a locality where Hindus and Muslims coexist. After Pakistan wins the match, there is some discussion in the locality and two persons from these ethnic groups slip into a verbal argument over the performance of the Indian team and the Muslim person takes the side of the winning team i.e. Pakistan. Now, this has the potential of erupting riots in that area.
I'm not asking you to shed your enthusiasm for the match but just want you to focus it on winning and not on defeating Pakistan on the grounds of humiliation. We should move ahead of this cheap patriotism and make our coming generations free from these prejudices.
With the announcement of an India vs Pakistan match, the sense of enthusiasm that instills among the Indians and Pakistanis is undoubtedly different and stronger than even a world cup final match between India and some other country. On the day of the match, from a teenager to a senior citizen, every eye is glued to the TV set. This is the charm of the Indo-Pak match!
But have you ever pondered as to why do we get so much involved in this match? What do we achieve from this?
What I mean to say is that it is so logical that even if we lose, nobody from Pakistan is going to come and humiliate us nor do we remain in touch with them that such that it will affect our life in anyway.
I know if our country wins, it would be a matter of pride but why do we associate it with an anti-Pakistan feeling and where does this feeling go when India plays against some other country say, England, who ruled us for 200 years?
Why is it that Pakistan is so obsessed with Kashmir (which was never its territory) and not with Bangladesh (which was erstwhile "East Pakistan")? I think the Kashmir-dispute is more of an ego conflict rather than a land conflict.
I know Kashmir is still a reason of rift between the two countries but it is meant to be dealt on the border, not on the cricket ground.
Sometimes this patriotism can lead to some violent consequences because this has a slippery slope, people have no control over their feelings of Indo-Pak turning into a Hindu-Muslim rage.
Imagine a locality where Hindus and Muslims coexist. After Pakistan wins the match, there is some discussion in the locality and two persons from these ethnic groups slip into a verbal argument over the performance of the Indian team and the Muslim person takes the side of the winning team i.e. Pakistan. Now, this has the potential of erupting riots in that area.
I'm not asking you to shed your enthusiasm for the match but just want you to focus it on winning and not on defeating Pakistan on the grounds of humiliation. We should move ahead of this cheap patriotism and make our coming generations free from these prejudices.
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