The hate for Indian players was finely depicted in a gripping cartoon by a local daily: It portrayed a Kashmiri man singing Chaudwee kaa chaand ho ya aaftab ho (You are a full bright moon or the glaring sun!) to a black dark image of the West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.
Rashid Ahmad
Cricket, in Kashmir, has never been a sport. It has always been an exhibition of the political sentiment. And when Parvez Rasool, last week, got a call for the national team’s Zimbabwe tour, the discourse it generated was on expected lines. Many people viewed it as a political measure, though not denying the merit and talent Parvez holds for the call.
The exceptional media attention Parvez got has only but furthered this view. No other player ever selected from any state has caught the spotlight as Parvez. The entry of Suresh Raina and Vivek Razdan, who many people say are the first to be included in national team from Kashmir, did not get even passing reference of their Kashmir connection. It is through Facebook debates that one got to know about their Kashmir origin.
This is not to demean or demonize Parvez. It goes without saying that Parvez is a cricketing genius. His extraordinary performance, in Ranji Trophy last year, in warm up match against Australia in February this year and lately in the Indian Premier League (IPL 6), is all there to speak about his brilliance as a cricketer. From a player’s perspective, it is a moment of pride for him and celebration for his friends, well wishers and cricket lovers.
But it is quite hard to ignore the political message it carries.
Hate Always
Cricket and politics are so jumbled together in the subcontinent that it is impossible to segregate them. It is an undeniable fact that Kashmir is at the heart of politics in cricket in the subcontinent. This is also an irrefutable fact that the people of Kashmir have always sided with Pakistan in cricket. This support for Pakistan has been unflinching, and from all sections of social and political spectrum. It, on occasions, even united pro-India and separatist sections, and brought together prosperous businessmen who live half the year in Delhi and the shikarawalas who ceaselessly circle the Dal Lake. They would often go out of way to support even other teams playing against India.
In 1983 India played West Indies in a one-day cricket match in Srinagar. It was India’s home series. But Srinagar proved no home for them. The crowd that had gathered in the stands to witness the match had all the hate for them. The Indian players were hooted and jeered at. The West Indies players were pleasantly surprised to find the spectators cheering for them. For them it was like playing in Trinidad or Jamaica.
Many a spectator waved pictures of Pakistani players Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal. A group of spectators, who was against the presence of Indian players in Kashmir, invaded the pitch and damaged it.
The hate for Indian players was finely depicted in a gripping cartoon by the daily Srinagar Times next day: It portrayed a Kashmiri man singing the famous Hindi film song — Chaudwee kaa chaand ho ya aaftab ho (You are a full bright moon or the glaring sun!) to a black dark image of the West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.
The conduct of spectators shocked the people and political establishment across India. That the heroes who had recently won the world cup for the country were treated as villains in Srinagar was something they little liked to see. The government launched a crackdown of sorts on Kashmiri youth. Dozens of them were arrested. Many went underground to escape police action.
After this, Srinagar hosted another (and last) match between India and Australia in September 1986. But the stadium was declared out of bounds for the local people. Army, CRPF men, their families and students of army schools formed the spectators for this match.
Double Burden
The 1983-match had a political fallout as well. Just a few months later (in July 1984) Dr Farooq Abdullah was dislodged as chief minister by defectors in his party National Conference, and his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah (late) filled his place. Behavior of the spectators and government’s failure to control them (besides holding conclave of leaders opposed to Indira Gandhi and act of undressing by a group of NC supporters in Indira Gandhi’s election rally at Iqbal Park) was seen by many newspapers as one of the reasons for the coup against Farooq Abdullah.
The later years saw piling up of the rage against India, and many a youngster, who had protested against Indian team’s presence in Srinagar, joined separatist ranks after eruption of militancy in late 80’s.
New Delhi-based newspaper Hindustan Times, after a phenomenal show of cricketing brains by Parvez Rasool in warm up match against Australia in February, wrote that the government was pushing for his inclusion in national team to ‘win hearts’ in Kashmir. Earlier, we saw Qazi Tauqeer, a singer from Kashmir, being declared winner of reality (music) show by Sony Entertainment Television in 2005. Singer Abhijeet, in an article in Times of India, questioned Qazi’s win and said that it was politically influenced decision. Some people even raised fingers on Shah Faisal who topped the prestigious IAS exam in 2009.
But Being Kashmiri is not always an advantage. Parvez Rasool had a narrow escape when in 2009 the Karnataka Police tried to dub him a terrorist. They made a false claim that he carried explosives in his cricketing bag to plant these in Chinnaswamy Stadium.
He has left that sordid incident behind him. But the crucial moment for him will come when India plays against Pakistan,which sends tempers soaring in both the countries.
Fielding a Kashmiri against Pakistan carries a strong political message, which few in the valley would countenance. On the other hand, if Parvez fails to give his best during such a match, many Indians may question his loyalty to Team India. The 24-year old carries a double burden on his shoulders . May Allah help him!
(The author is a senior journalist, formerly the Bureau Chief of Delhi-based Hindustan Times. Feedback at [email protected])
