This is a rejoinder to Mr. Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express for his editorial dated 22nd Jan 2010. "More Adventurism". The arrogance of the journalists in India both from the Print and Electronic is unacceptable to us. These Comments were forwarded on the IE website unfortunately they were not published in full. Link.
The frenzy, anti India hysteria in Pakistan and the vocabulary employed by Rehman Malik seems to have sent our journalists into a tizzy Mr.Shekhar Gupta seems to have been affected the most by this, he has not just lost his nerve but also his marbles.
It is most inconsequential to me personally who among the Gold Diggers gets the opportunity and who is denied. The purse strings are in private hands, the final call is theirs to make. Sermons, ethic or business prudence they do not need to learn from our Print and Electronic Media. This was no National Team of another sovereign Nation.
Mr.Modi and his cohorts are not mandated to conduct the foreign relations of this country. Incase Mr.Shekhar Gupta detects arrogance on part of Mr.Modi and the IPL that is a matter of his perception, what reservoir are you referring to Mr.Gupta is it the one that was filled to the brim by those 10 apostles of peace and friendship who set sail from the shores of Pakistan and landed in Mumbai on 26th Nov 2008. Who held not just Mumbai but the entire country hostage for 72hours. The message of peace and friendship conveyed by them may be palatable to you. Unfortunately vast majority of Indians will not concur. The reservoir was completed drained out and sealed in those 3days.
Mr. Rehman Malik’s language may sound civil to you! The language is of a street side bully. Please spare us the bleeding heart. This relationship is yet to witness a sunrise, the dark days have been a constant factor.
You sir do not seem to have overcome your anger, IPL went to South Africa because the Home Minister of India expressed his inability to guarantee safety of the players and the Indians involved with the event. The loss of face was caused by the GOI and not IPL, besides please be reminded that these Players and their Government whose cause you have taken up did not participate in that edition, was that not a snub to India, on the instructions of their government, did that action add or deplete the reservoir of milk and honey that you seem to be so fond off.
Well this world is replete with inequalities, look at yourself you are at liberty to write about anyone in what ever manner, and you do get away with it, and also manage to influence others to the detriment of those whom you choose to berate.
The comatose state of the Government of India is what is responsible for all the frenzy and anti India hysteria that we are witnessing in Pakistan. IPL and the team owners will bear the consequences regardless of the threats that you, the Government of India or the Government of Pakistan may hold out. This was a pure business decision taken by them, your attempt to add a spin to it is deplorable.
Where is the damage that you can detect to this country or cricket in this country, please speak for yourself, and not on behalf of all the Indians and the country, yes you can speak on behalf of the government since you are one of the mouth pieces that is often employed by this Government in India.
Is Pakistan not known for employing blackmail, whose loss is it if the IPL matches are not televised in Pakistan? Not mine at least.
Why lament the lack of visit from the Parliamentarians of Pakistan? What would they have achieved, that was not achieved earlier. What we must guard against is the repeat visit of Non State actors from Pakistan who might come calling with their own brand of friendship and cricket.
The affects of the 10 messiah of friendship who visited us from Pakistan are still very fresh, rather they seems to have been frozen in our memory and may take much longer to recede, Surveying the damage inflicted on India-Pakistan relations by the Indian Premier League in contrast to the events of 26th Nov 2008, the attitude, and actions of our friends from across the border, would lead everyone to conclude are next to nothing, provided we do not follow your warped reasoning and hold a brief for the Government of India.
Since this is in the public domain. I would be grateful to Mr. Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express, if he would permit me to also publish the said editorial here so that complete and balanced view can be presented to all those who care to read this.
ReplyDeleteI could not reach the concerned article despite googling, but I can guess the contents and the arguments.
ReplyDeleteI think the team owners' decision was simple. They would have invited Indians' ire to a degree by taking Pakistani players. A lot of share buyers buy shares based on sentiment rather than pragmatism. If big companies like Reliance and Wadia group would have included Pakistani players, they would have lost at least a few investors' trust. Moreover, it is stupid to suggest that exclusion of Pakistani players made the game any less interesting.
But I agree with few people's contention that Pakistani players should have been warned that they won't be included, that would have been more gracious than including them in the bidding, but no one taking them. It is curious to note that even Shahrukh "Pakistan is a great neighbor to have, and I am not a terrorist" Khan did not have a single Pakistani player!
It is well known that Indians and Pakistanis are as a whole quite sentimental about cricket, so there was nothing wrong with using cricket as a weapon to injure the ego, say, compared to a missile or something.
There is one more argument - at least some part of the money given to Pakistani players would have been collected as tax, which in turn would have gone into sponsoring of the non-state actors!
And on one hand where some of us were busy demonizing the business class, there in Pakistan, Sohail Tanveer had a gem of an observation to offer: "Yeh Hinduon ki zahaniyat his aisi hai" to offer. Of course, which for our media, he never spoke!
Dear Ketan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on all points. As regards SRK he used the language of his industry where even the most detestable individual is described as a "Wonderful person", somehow this just did not go down well with people of this country. Since we were in no mood even for charitable thought, leave alone the language.
IE for some strange reason seemed to find everybody at fault other than the GOI and Pakistan.
26/11 should not be treated as a terror strike it was a clear case of behind the lines commando type of operation, with state support and should be seen as an act of war and nothing short of that.
Our inability to respond adequately to that act rankles majority of Indians, and will continue to do so for a very long time. Add to that is no one just no one was held accountable for all the failures at various levels.
You will find answers to most of your other questions in other blogs do find time to read and leave your views.
Sincerely
Anil