South Asia a homeland of 2.8 billion people and epicentre of four great civilisations and cradle of peace and prosperity over the past few weeks, has emerged as a potential nuclear flashpoint of the world, primarily due to the belligerent policies of RSS and Modi government, which is a threat to the world peace, and universal best practices of sports for development & peace in the region.

The Indian pugnacious policies in the region has brought cloud covering over the future of SAFF games, which started 32 years ago in Lahore. The purpose of these games was primarily to build friendly relations, cultural exchange programmes, and improve upon the standard of sports among the SAFF countries.

It is very unfortunate that the 25 percent of world population with a huge potential of propelling the biggest sports industry in the world in terms of its human and financial capital, has only been able to collectively win 56 Olympic medals in the entire history of Olympics, which is less than 64 medals single handedly won by France in the recent Paris Olympics.

A region plagued by illiteracy, communicable diseases, economic deprivation, injustice, lack of human rights, instead of aligning its energies on developing its human capital and more constructive activities like attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), continues to live as uneasy bed partners.

The Hindutva philosophy of BJP is not only a threat to regional peace, but equally threatens the internal unity of India, and any peace building measures among the two largest nuclear neighbors, India & Pakistan. The New York Times in its editorial claims, that it’s not the Korean Peninsula but the Indo-Pakistan that has the potential to start a nuclear war at the push of a button, thus putting the world peace at stake.

The distrust and prejudice in almost every sphere of life in subcontinent which forms the largest part of SARC countries dates back to 1947. Interestingly, it was cricket that formed the first bilateral exchange in 1952 when Pakistan, led by Abdul Hafeez Kardar, toured India, evoking a spontaneous, albeit tense, response. It was reciprocated two years later when India paid first official visit under Vinoo Mankad, generating an equally sensitive response. Yet since 1947 a “Cricket Conflict” brewed simultaneously between the two countries, based on nationalist antagonism between the two teams and backed by passionate fans on both sides.

From 1961 to 1978 there were no matches between the two countries due to political tensions and wars of 1965 and 1971. The Cricket resumed in 1978 and the two teams visited each other’s country regularly for test and ODI series from 1978 to 1999.

The Kargil war fuel the bad blood and disrupted the bilateral cricket series, which was later addressed through intelligent middling and famous cricket diplomacy of General Pervez Musharraf and Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the enlightened Indian statesman, a writer, and a poet from Bahartia Janta Party (BJP), resulting in to the Cricket series of 2003-2004.

Late Shaharyar M Khan, the Chairman PCB and a seasoned diplomat in his classic cricket piece, “Cricket A Bridge of Peace” writes: “I had not intended to publish my impressions until the unexpectedly warm welcome by the people of India to the “enemy” team. Their enthusiastic response planted the seed in my mind that cricket’s vast untapped energy could be harness for understanding & tolerance..... After a lifetime in diplomacy, attempting, most unsuccessfully to overcome tensions, hostility and conflict, I realised that cricket could act as a bridge of peace”

This all was only possible because of the political vision of the leadership, and their ability to use all possible means including cricket, and give peace a chance to restore normalcy in the life of common man living in the two neighbouring countries.

This vision and political will is unfortunately missing in the arsenals of present Indian leadership headed by Indian PM Narandra Modi who is neither a poet, nor a statesman, but an orthodox Hindu, who believes in the RSS philosophy of Indian supremacy through all possible means.

The unfortunate incidents of Palwama in 2019 and the recent false flag operation of Pahalgam has further widened the gulf of mistrust between the two nuclear neighbors. Pakistan besides its diplomatic efforts must not forget to launch a “sports offensive” to thwart any Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan in international sports fraternity.

Besides cricket, International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a very effective and forceful international sports platform to register our case as a peace loving sports nation. This is the time to reach out to the executive board of IOC and the newly elected President of IOC Kristy Coventry who is not just an Olympic swimmer but the Cofounder of HEROES and a big advocate of sports for development & peace.

Winning a war or conflict gives hype to patriotic fervor and fuels national pride. Winning peace lays the foundations for improving the lives of the people and generations to come. The two countries because of their mutual distrust have already missed many development goals. In such uncertainty, and continuous war mongering by the belligerent India, the desire for development and achievement of 17 SDGs seems a far cry.

We can only hope, wait and see that normalcy returns and people of both countries instead of war hysteria, can once again witness some grueling matches of cricket, hockey and other sports in days to come.

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