Without doubt, it sounds odd to club the Mahatma and the game of cricket together. The need was to discuss the imbroglio associated with the Asia Cup Cricket games between India and Pakistan, especially the final. Those who have head over their shoulder would bend the former in both agony and embarrassment for taking a game into this plight where people associated from both the countries exhibit extreme uncivil ways of not only behaving but also taking decisions.
The Mahatma was not in favour of cricket at all because he considered it the remnant of the colonial invasion of our country. He believed that sports and games should contain possibilities of promoting local culture and civilised forms of teaming up together. He would have chastised the captain of the Indian cricket team and the members for their behaviour in the field and even outside. It is the lowest status of relationships when someone refuses to shake hands with another, especially done in public, on a solemn occasion.
In a small village in the Tellicherry district of Kerala, a third standard student wrote an answer for an examination which caught the attention of the entire state. Ahaan is a student at the OCM Government UP School. In a recent Onam examination, the teachers had given a question associated with creative work. One of the questions was to prepare a Rule Book of five rules for any game that the student liked. Ahaan chose Lime and the Spoon Run as the game and his fifth rule was that those who win should not mock those who get defeated. The responses of all associated people, this was unexpected, gave great fame for Ahaan, the son of Anoop and Nimya. The fifth rule prepared by Ahaan was noticed by the teacher and subsequently by the District Education Officer who was on an inspection at the school. The education officer uploaded the young boy’s rule in social media which became viral and it got the attention of the state Primary Education Minister who, in turn, called up the Headmaster of the school and spoke to Ahaan congratulating him. The speaker of the Kerala assembly read about it and invited Ahaan to come over and watch the assembly sessions as a gift to him. The speaker sent flight tickets for Ahaan and his parents to come to Trivandrum and watch the proceedings. Ahaan had breakfast with the Speaker of the assembly and all of these got publishised in the media.
It may not be wrong to wish that our players of the game of cricket ought to get a copy of Ahaan’s rule which bordered on a fine sense of humanism and associated respect for individuals. Ahaan’s response was from a mind which had no prejudice against anybody and was devoid of political influence in a game.
Undoubtedly, our cricketers and their administrators and promoters are still in primitive stages of human existence far below the young boy like Ahaan.
The several incidents that happened at the Asia Cup final definitely needs critical analysis with definite interest in the well-being of two countries who are neighbours and who have a history of enmity ever since they were divided into two nations. Great Britain has always created a mess when they wanted to leave an occupied or mandated area. If Kashmir is an example, so is Palestine from where England withdrew from its mandate keeping an issue alive for Palestine and Israel to keep fighting for?
If the Indian team, especially its captain, was unwilling to shake hands with the opposing team from Pakistan, the best
for them was not to play with them. You are willing to strike your run from a ball thrown by the other team and win a game but you do not want to relate to them. Indeed, you are also willing to collect the money which accrues from the play of the game with the other team and yet do not want to relate to them in the process of gaining it. The whole world watches the Indian team and Pakistani team playing together but the teams refused to stand for a photo shootout. This is a tactic to satisfy a section of people who are thoughtless. You have won but do not want to receive the trophy from the president of the cricket association because the latter happens to be from a country which is not acceptable. It is definitely mean to behave so because what matters is the position of the individual who honours you and not the person. After all, one cannot know the quality of the person, one can only respect the position that person occupies. Worst still is that the Indian team wants the trophy and medals and has applied for them considering it their legitimate right. How pitiable is the status of the team.
They need to remember the Mahatma more.
Going back to Ahan’s fifth rule is interesting here. The most important thing a winning team has to do is to wish better luck for next time for the losing team. After all, a game is played for its own sake and what matters most is the enjoyment of the game in its playing and also the same for the spectators. What is unfortunate, and also condemnable, is that we have developed political shadows into the playing of a game which is destroying the very purpose of a match between two teams which is cultural.
There is no need to make any comment on comparing that game of cricket and the Operation Sindoor because that will take it into a political matter. There is nothing to be said except stating that it is cultureless to compare a game and a war as equals. Politicians even use the name of a competition for political purposes by making statements that go against the very objective of playing a game between two nations.
What would have the Mahatma said about the incidents? Does Ahaan take a leaf of thought from the Mahatma?
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Prof. Sunney Tharappan, is Director of College for Leadership and HRD, Mangaluru. He trains and writes and lives in Mangaluru. Email: tharappans@gmail.com