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Tuesday March 19, 2024

A win for the Kashmiris

By Murtaza Shibli
June 24, 2017

Fifth column

The victory of the Pakistan cricket team against the formidable Indian team in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy with a massive margin created a big upset.

Over the past few years, as the Indian cricket team has achieved great strides – thanks to an unprecedented amount of money ploughed into the sport through the Indian Premier League – the triumphalist narrative of the Indian news channels, laced with rank hatred against Pakistan, has turned the promise of sporting contests into large occasions of hatred.

Prior to the finals, the Indian media produced unending and industrial-level rhetoric of loathing and ridicule for the Pakistani players who were no match to an experienced and shapely Indian team filled with experienced talent. As a result, the celebration that followed the finals was well-deserved – not only for the sheer spectacle of it but as an antidote to the venomous hate emanating from India.

In the same spirit, the jubilation in Jammu and Kashmir was unprecedented as millions of people poured into the streets. Thousands of firecrackers were set off, creating a potpourri of light in the night sky amid the deafening roar of celebrations. Youngsters took out motorcycle rallies as the pedestrians danced to their honking and women sang songs of celebration and joy, praising the exploits of the Pakistan cricket team and mixing them with their old demand for freedom from India. The celebrations were in open defiance of the threats from the Indian Army, which had attacked several villages and vandalised property a week earlier when the people had rejoiced at a previous Pakistani win.

Pakistan’s victory afforded a rare occasion to celebrate and indulge in some much-needed joy as Kashmir has been in perpetual mourning since the last July – burying youngsters who fall victim to the Indian bullets at regular intervals, tending to those who are brutally injured by the unruly army, and wailing over those who are arrested, often illegally, face a long and arduous journey to torture, humiliation and legal limbo as the state operates a complex and dark mechanism of illegal architecture with a legal veneer.

In Kashmir, cricket has always remained a medium of expressing and consolidating political dissent and articulating love for Pakistan as opposed to the deeply embedded opposition to the Indian occupation. For Kashmiris, any India-Pakistan encounter on the cricket pitch is a time to invoke God’s blessings and make prayers for the victory of their side – a proposition that has eluded them for over a decade. And when the victory finally came, the streets of Kashmir buzzed with the rumours of the miracle of prayers and the blessings of Ramazan. Regardless of the merits of the miracles – of the boys or otherworldly – this celebration is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the current pro-freedom resistance movement in the same way that such victories have had in the past.

India has hosted two one-day international cricket matches in Kashmir in the 1980s – both in Srinagar. Incidentally, India lost both of them, creating a public relations disaster for the establishment as Kashmiris openly and forcefully displayed their anti-India sentiments. The first match, in October 1983, was played between India and the West Indies. The Kashmiri youth who thronged the stadium carried thousands of Pakistani flags and posters of Pakistani players – including a massive poster of Imran Khan – that became the focus of the people and overshadowed the whole event.

In his book, ‘Runs and Ruins’, Sunil Gavaskar, a legendary Indian cricketer who played the match, described his experience as the worst in his life: “As the Indian players came into the arena to loosen up…they were booed…This was unbelievable. Here we were in India (emphasis mine) and being hooted even before a ball had been bowled. Being hooted at after a defeat is understandable, but this was incredible. Moreover, there were many in the crowd shouting pro-Pakistan slogans which confounded us, because we were playing the West Indies and not Pakistan. The West Indians were as surprised as us, but were obviously delighted to find support in their first big encounter against us after their defeat in the Prudential Cup finals”.

Clive Lloyd, the captain of the West Indies team,  remarked that the Kashmiri crowd was more supportive of his team than his own home crowd. Kapil Dev, the Indian captain, noted that even in Pakistan, they had never encountered such a hostile crowd.

The match was disrupted by a group of Kashmiri youth who dug up the pitch in protest against the Indian rule. Finally, the West Indies team was declared a winner – much to the delight of Kashmiris who widely celebrated the Indian defeat. The match had a great impact in popularising the pro-freedom sentiments in Kashmir. The group of youth who dug up the pitch were arrested, tortured and humiliated. Several of them would later play important roles in the pro-freedom insurgency movement as some rose to become famous resistance commanders.

The second one-day international match was played on September 9, 1986. This time the Indian government was well-prepared. The venue was protected through a heavy presence of the paramilitary forces to quell any public display of anti-India sentiments. Hundreds of policemen in mufti were spread within the spectators. However, Kashmiris remained overly defiant. The tough security arrangements failed to deter them from cheering for the visiting Australian team when they made runs or took wickets. India lost and Kashmir celebrated with street dances and fireworks.

This was the end of international cricket in Kashmir. Soon, a pro-freedom insurgency was initiated that received enormous public support. With time, it declined due to the massive Indian repression, internecine battles among the rebels as well as the large-scale insurgent violence against Kashmiris. But the sentiment against India never died. Following the death of famous pro-freedom commander Burhan Wani in July 2016, the public approval for resistance against India has soared. Almost a year later, India’s crushing defeat at the hands of Pakistan has provoked unprecedented celebrations and an unmatched public display of love for Pakistan. Kashmiris are defiant and cheering despite being heavily bruised. History is repeating itself with grim portents.

Twitter: @murtaza_shibli