just heard it on the news .. thats a bit extreme :hmmm:
Jeend (Haryana): India’s performance in the World Cup has left many disappointed. But a village in Haryana has gone a step further and imposed a blanket ban on cricket.
The children in Jeend may just be playing their last game of cricket. Call it a fallout of India’s World Cup debacle or disillusionment with the sport. The Uchana village Panchayat in Haryana’s Jeend district has decided to ban the game.
The Panchayat’s decision to boycott cricket also has the support of 27 other villages. The village elders say it’s no great loss as it’s not even the country’s national game.
“We all have taken this decision and those who go against it will have to face social boycott. We have enshrined this in the Panchayat records of 28 villages,” Tewa Singh, the head of Dadan Panchayat says.
“We believe cricket is as bad for society as a DJ (disc jockey) is. A wise man once said that cricket is not our sport. We should race and play football and volleyball,” says secretary Jogi Ram.
The Indian team’s performance at the World Cup may have been the last straw, but most of these villagers want other games lost in the shadow of cricket to be given their due. And the decision to ban cricket doesn’t seem to have upset the children either.
“If our elders don’t play we also wont play,” Sanjay, a resident of the village, says.
“We will stop playing it. We will play kabaddi, football, volleyball and wrestle instead,” Pankaj, another resident, adds.
And even though a reshuffle is on the cards for the Indian team, in this part of the country it’s not just a few players who are facing public anger but the game itself seems to have fallen from favour.
Ref: BAN
