Where bad politics bowls a googly

Can politics and sport be really separated, what with nearly every sports foundation in the country being controlled by some politician, asks VIJAY LOKAPALLY.

JAVED MIANDAD, the man who so bitterly supports the idea of Pakistan boycotting India on all cricket fields of the world now, had, five years ago, a very different view of the relations between the two neighbouring countries. He spoke of his dream, a combined India-Pakistan team which could whip any combination in the world. It shall remain a dream.

`Thanks' to the politicians on either side of the border, we will not witness any more fascinating duels between Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram or Harbhajan Singh and Yousuf Youhana. Such is the implication of India deciding to pull out of the three-nation tournament scheduled at Sharjah.

By denying the cricket team permission to visit Pakistan last year for a Test series and now travel to Sharjah, the Government has created a situation where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will find it difficult when trying to convince the rest of the fraternity. In a group of ten Test-playing countries, if two teams repeatedly refuse to play each other the message that reaches out to the public can hardly be termed constructive.

Well, there will be one particular section quite happy with this latest development - the Indian expatriates in the Gulf. They get a welcome reprieve from the humiliation of watching their team suffer repeatedly at the hands of Pakistan at Sharjah.

Often it is said that sports should not be mixed with politics, a most worn-out cliche in the Indian system. But can they be really separated, what with nearly every sports federation in the country being controlled by some politician? It is indeed a sorry state of affairs that people with little sports background sit in judgment to decide the fate of sports in India.

The Government has hardly earned any marks by preventing the team from travelling to Sharjah. It has not even cared to clarify its stance and the reasons behind this attitude of not wanting to play a bilateral cricket competition with Pakistan. If the Government wants to protect the cricketers from being influenced by the underworld mafia, as is being projected following the recommendations of the CBI, the move might earn support. But what if the reason is just wanting to avoid meeting Pakistan for political gains and nothing more. If that be the case, it is quite perplexing how the Government grants permission to Indian teams to play Pakistan in other disciplines.In Dhaka again, the Indian under-17 team had won the Asia Cup recently, with a victory against Pakistan in the semifinal in an atmosphere which may not be hostile but certainly not friendly. An India-Pakistan clash in Dhaka would be no different than playing in Karachi or Lahore.

It is not the first time India will be pulling out of Sharjah after prior commitments. After 1991, India had stayed away from the desert venue for three years not because of the fear of the underworld but because some of Board officials, including the then BCCI president, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, had been ill-treated by the same man who came to Delhi frantically to win the heart of the Indian Government.

Strangely, the Government has had different yardsticks to view India-Pakistan relations. Exchanges between students are encouraged, as are the visits by elite citizens from either side - intellectuals, musicians, and cultural ambassadors. But mention cricket and the Government becomes paranoid.

Not visiting Pakistan in the aftermath of Kargil was a move supported unanimously. With soldiers dying on the border, it would have been cruel for the cricketers to test their skills in Pakistan. The same teams, a little later, met in Australia and Dhaka. How were those assignments different since the opponent remained the same?

Without undermining the contributions of those who lost their lives defending the borders of the country, one cannot fathom the wisdom of the Government refusing permission to play in Sharjah. It smacks of hypocrisy because in the same breath it talks of improving relations with that country by allowing exchanges on the other fronts.

If Sharjah is dangerous, Dhaka and Colombo cannot be much different. At this rate the Indians will gradually find themselves isolated within Asia itself.It is a shame if the Indian cricketers continue to avoid playing Pakistan in Pakistan, at home or at a neutral venue. The problem is not Sharjah or Singapore or Toronto. The problem is Pakistan. In that case, let there be no sporting ties at all with Pakistan until the time politicians deem it fit. It is their game, and nothing else, that matters.

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