The aftermath of the Pulwama attack continues to mutate and change; the Indian media – which was calling for all-out war – has moved on to finding and eliminating any link with Pakistan no matter how indirect or incidental it might be. On the chopping block is bilateral cricket – as it has been in the past as well – but now this inquisition has been extended to other sports and international tournaments too.
First two shooters and a coach were denied visas to compete at a World Cup shooting event in New Delhi, and now the media is also leading the charge against the cricket World Cup that is to be held in UK in a few months’ time. Reports emerged that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may try and get Pakistan banned from the tournament or refuse to play that specific fixture. Indian cricketing legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, who advocated a moderate approach and urged BCCI to not boycott the event have been hounded by the media and declared “anti-national” for good measure as well. The fact that no other influential figure in India dares to challenge this sea of hate is disappointing to see.
However, India must realize that its demands are unreasonable and reactionary and the whole world sees them as that. Not only has the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) General Manager Strategic Communications, Claire Furlong said that Pakistan’s World Cup 2019 clash with India is not under threat and is expected to go ahead as planned, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had frozen talks over organizing major events in India and told sports federations not to hold tournaments there until India resolves its unreasonable stance on the matter.
These rejections would hopefully make India realise the error of their ways, but considering that domestic opinion has still not changed it seems difficult as things stand.