Re: Should Pakistan Tour India?
are you forgetting what Indian government was doing prior to 2004 visit? bringing all politics in sports? there was never a security issue but politics and many Indian fans were with their government on that ban, now the government has lifted that ban, fans have forgotten the politics of its own government.
EDIT: By the way, I don’t wish that the tour be cancelled just for the heck of it.
Re: Should Pakistan Tour India?
ehsna bhai sahab wat did u edit from my reply????
Re: Should Pakistan Tour India?
The following article was written by an Indian and discusses the manner in which we bended over backwards to accomodate the Indians. Alas, the indians have other ideas when its our turn and looks like the signs are not good vis-a-vis the tour cancellation. I say we should stand up a show a bit of pride and let the Indians that we won't be pushed around too much:
Can India match Pakistan's grace and hospitality?
Sambit Bal
February 17, 2005
Pakistan rolled out the red carpet to India's fans last year. Can India reciprocate? © Getty Images
During a casual conversation a couple of weeks ago, a senior member of the Indian team revealed his worst fears about Pakistan's oncoming tour of India. It wasn't a rib-cracking and toe-crunching spell from Shoaib Akhtar, a purple patch from Inzamam-ul-Haq or India's indifferent form this season. "I just hope," he said, "we, as a nation, are able reciprocate in kind to the manner Indians were treated in Pakistan when they toured last year."
It's a fear palpably felt by every Indian who set his or her foot in Pakistan during those magical days. Like us, he had seen doors and hearts open, he had felt the warmth and goodwill which was too spontaneous to have been a put-on, he had seen the Indian flags flying proudly in the stands, seen pictures of Indian revelers on the streets of Lahore, and like us, he too is wary about if India can match the grace and the hospitality. Will we see Pakistani flags fluttering in our grounds? Will we see a procession of Pakistani bikers on our streets? Will we able to celebrate the event of cricket irrespective of who wins?
Perhaps we are expecting the impossible. To expect anything to match the spirit of last February is a tall order. The red carpet from the state and the cricket administration was expected, but the surge of goodwill on the streets, in the shops, at homes, in taxis and restaurants wasn't part of a grand design. It just happened. One thing led to the other. A better explanation of this can be found in Malcolm Gladwell's acclaimed book Tipping Point, which explores the phenomenon of little things making a big difference.
Pakistani or Indian? © Getty Images
It perhaps took small things – a boy painting himself in the national colours of India and Pakistan, someone stitching up two flags together, the first few dispatches filed by Indian journalists – that got the emotions stirring and in no time a spirit of brotherhood had spread across on both sides of border. It was special, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To expect a repeat might be a sure recipe for disappointment. But still, we have a right to expect, for what happened then was wonderful.
What can we read from the signs? A few vandals have tried to damage the pitch at Mohali; the Shiv Sena, the party which was responsible for getting a tour by Pakistan cancelled once, has been making unwelcome noises and Narendra Modi, the man singularly responsible for giving the state of Gujarat a bad name, has been, expectedly, his intemperate self.
Worse, the BCCI, which has the highest stake in the forthcoming series, has taken a strangely blasé approach to scheduling. That Ahmedabad would be a sticking point everyone knew for months. Yet instead of taking a common-sense approach, the BCCI chose the precipitatory option of putting Ahmedabad in the itinerary. It was an amazingly shortsighted move prompted by immediate expedience. By rotation, it was Ahmedabad's turn, but instead of trying to settle the matter internally, the BCCI chose the softer option. Even now, it is hoping a decision would be forced by the government. That's a strange attitude from a body which misses no opportunity to proclaim its autonomy.
When India toured Pakistan, the BCCI ensured that it got everything it asked for, including a highly contentious clause that empowered it to call off the tour at the instance of slightest of crowd trouble. Karachi and Peshawar were kept off the Test schedule and the Indian cricketers received a security cover reserved for heads of states. It is a cynic's argument that the Pakistani cricket authorities allowed themselves to be arm-twisted because the board's solvency depended on that tour. Grace and mutual consideration demanded the BCCI be sensitive to the internal compulsions of the PCB. It is not a time to debate if Ahmedabad is as dangerous a place as Karachi, it is a question of accommodating perceptions and honouring sentiments. By their obtuse handling of the issue, the BCCI have only ended up creating an ugly political controversy.
How does it bode for the series? Has India slipped even before it could get moving? That's a bleak view that does not take into account the power of the human heart. What happened in Pakistan last year wasn't expected. It wasn't planned. It wasn't powered by propaganda. What is needed is a few little lights to kindle a giant flame. Let's invest in hope. It's a better feeling than dread.