India Should Certainly Counter Pakistan, But Leave Sports Alone

Can boycotting Pakistan in sports events prevent it from sponsoring terrorism in India?

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Weak nations and weak people target adversaries on a terrain which is not the primary theatre of conflict. It is a week since the Pulwama terror attack and a section of Indians are beginning to behave like headless chicken.

Although there is no reason to disbelieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi that both perpetrators and backers of the act of terrorism would be suitably punished, at a time, place and nature chosen by Indian defence and security forces, the bulk of his supporters do not appear to have faith in his words.

In a way, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being paid back in his own coin. After being fed on the mantra of instantaneous action for years, patience is a virtue his supporters no longer have. Retribution for the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force convoy is thus being sought in different ways – targeting of people of Kashmiri origin in other parts of India and calling for a ban on Kashmiri products and craftspeople and stopping Amarnath Yatras.

Just as ostracising Kashmiris living outside their own state or asking all Muslims in the country to prove their loyalty repeatedly in no way contributes to fighting terrorism, the latest demand that the Board of Control for Cricket in India must ask the International Cricket Council to ban Pakistan from this year’s World Cup, would not help India in combating terrorism.

Can Sports Be Confused With Politics?

If we continue holding every Kashmiri or Pakistani responsible for terror attacks, today's Indians would make the same mistake which was committed after Indira Gandhi's assassination when close to three thousand Sikhs were killed in the Indian capital.

The Congress party is criticised even now, mainly by the ruling party, for Rajiv Gandhi's statement that when a "big tree falls, the ground beneath shakes." The party is also reminded constantly of the divisive campaign it ran for the 1984 elections when it sought votes on the plea that if it was not elected, the country's frontiers would reach their doorstep.

It is indeed a mockery of India’s battle with terrorism that the BCCI and its Committee of Administrators is even reportedly deliberating on seeking a ban on Pakistan. That even ministers and the ruling party’s lawmakers, not to mention several sporting icons, have lent voice to the demand is indicative of poor understanding of how this scourge can be eliminated.

The path of the politics of boycott and demands for banning Pakistan from major sporting arenas and events will not assist India's cause and instead we will lose friends. The World Cup is after all as much a sporting event as an entertainment spectacle.

By walking on a path where its stance is not legally tenable, India faces the risk of losing international support at a time when barring a handful of nations, the majority stand with the country. Why then jeopardise this support?

Sports Must Strive to Win, Governments to Keep Country Secure

There is also the demand that in the event of failing to secure Pakistan's ban, India must forfeit the match(es) against Pakistan. But would this really bother the Pakistan Cricket Board?

In fact, those imagining that Islamabad and Rawalpindi would alter the policy of sheltering and facilitating terrorist groups because BCCI is seeking a ban on Pak participation or if India refuses to play with its team, have little understanding of priorities of the deep-state in that country.

It’s not enough to halt its 'ban Pakistan from World Cup' move – India must also seriously examine its policy of not sending teams in various sports to Pakistan.

The latest casualty of this warped policy is the Indian tennis team which is likely to lose an opportunity to qualify for the Davis Cup World Group Qualifiers because the government is not going to grant permission for the team to play in Pakistan because of populist pressure.

It is worrisome that anyone pleading for reason and allowing the Indian team to visit Pakistan would be immediately targeted and labelled anti-national and someone backing terrorism in India.

It is indeed time that the policy of bilateral sporting ties between the two nations was completely overturned. From taking decisions based on considerations of whether bilateral series should be allowed 'in spite of conflict' in other arenas, India must remain firm on diplomatic, defence and security fronts 'despite sending teams', provided security guarantees are given. Sports teams must do their primary job – strive to win. Likewise, the government and its agencies must safeguard Indian interests to the hilt.

Sports: An Ice-Breaker in Indo-Pak Ties?

Successive Indian governments have considered and showcased various episodes of resumption of sporting ties between Indian and Pakistan as a synonym for 'normalcy'. This has been immediately followed by lowering its guard and ceasing demands for action against terror perpetrators.

It is time that India took the high moral ground and resumed holding bilateral series in different sports and tell the world that it was de-hyphenating sports from politics, diplomacy and counter-terrorism policies.

The common argument is how can jhappiyan-pappiyan (hugs and kisses) be allowed when things are not normal. But there are two problems with this line of reasoning. First, the government has little locus standi on promoting optics, especially in the wake of what the Congress party has labelled as Modi's "Hugplomacy while receiving Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the airport."

Re-defining the New Normal

The second difficulty is with the incessant search for the 'normal' in Indo-Pak ties. The construction of this premise is based on the hangover of the romantic dream of two people being essentially one with more in common than in opposition. People of the two countries may empathise with one another but this sentiment will rarely creep into state to state ties.

What constitutes normalcy between the two nations has to be redefined and instead of aspiring for the romantic ideal or utopia, one should recalibrate the aspiration into a sort of detente, conveying literally what the French word means – release from tension.

India will once again make a mistake if it converts the sports arena into a battlefield. Mature nations need to understand the limitations of playing to the gallery. The battle is not against the people of Pakistan but against its state policy.

Successive Indian governments have not realised that common people, whether in Kashmir or across the border, will be the ultimate bulwark against terrorism and policies supporting terror groups. Not realising this and alienating possible allies in our war against terror would only weaken India's cause.

(The writer is an author and journalist based in Delhi. He has authored the book ‘The Demolition: India at the Crossroads’ and ‘Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times’. He can be reached @NilanjanUdwin.)