How a Dropped Catch in Asia Cup 2022 Exposed the Unique Virus Infecting Indians

When Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh dropped a catch, many people branded him as a 'Khalistani'.

The latest bout of infections of the CSC virus came to light after 23-year-old Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh dropped a catch in a cricket match.

(Photo: The Quint)

English Script: Naman Shah

Video Editor: Rajbir Singh

A virus has been doing the rounds among Indians. We call it the CSC virus, which stands for Communal, Sexist, and Casteist.

This virus, which keeps resurfacing regularly, is making the country hollow. The latest bout of this disease came to light during India's match against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

When 23-year-old Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh dropped a catch in the death overs of the match, many people branded him as a 'Khalistani'. This is the symptom of the 'C' variant of the CSC virus.

India lost to Pakistan by five wickets in the Super Four match. But some people blamed this defeat on Arshdeep Singh's dropped catch.

Moreover, an unknown user edited Singh's Wikipedia page and added 'Khalistani' in his bio. Arshdeep Singh's father, Darshan Singh, was an inspector in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), but communal forces still branded Singh as a 'Khalistani'.

Communal Variant of CSC Virus

Arshdeep isn't the first target of the communal variant of this virus. Previously, farmers protesting against the three contentious farm laws were also called 'Khalistani'. During the countrywide protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registrar of Citizens (NRC), a particular religious community was termed as 'terrorists' and 'traitors'.

After Mohammed Shami's poor performance in a match against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup, he was branded as a 'Pakistani'.

Actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair have also had to bear the wrath of the communal virus infection.

Thankfully, the vaccine of 'unity' saved Singh and Shami from this virus. Many people came out in their support. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology also summoned the Wikipedia Foundation and asked how 'Khalistani' was added to Singh's Wikipedia page.

Sexist Variant of CSC Virus

The 'S' in CSC stands for sexist.

Remember when Anushka Sharma was blamed for India's stunning defeat in the semifinal match of the 2015 World Cup? Sharma was called names such as unlucky woman, bad omen, etc.

The disease of sexism in India can be found from the streets to the Parliament. The politicians of the country keep making sexist comments on a regular basis.

Casteist Variant of CSC Virus

After the Indian women's hockey team lost to Argentina in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, people made casteist remarks against the family of hockey player Vandana Kataria.

After PV Sindhu won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, her caste was the most searched query on Google. When Hima Das won the gold medal in the Under-20 World Championships, Google Search trends again showed 'Hima Das caste' as being among the top searches. Similarly, people were also curious to know the caste of Indian cricketer Sanju Samson.

A booster dose of 'equality' and 'unity' is needed for people who have been infected with the CSC virus. The Preamble of the Constitution is another medicine. As long as the CSC virus continues to infect Indians, we will ask Janab, Aise Kaise?