Cricket—Game or War
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By Riaz Ali Toori
Steve Winwood once wrote,
Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine
On the other hand Jimmy Carter provokingly described war as an evil.
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children".
Love is the most powerful passion that overcomes every other sentiment. It motivates mankind to move for peace, to bear pain for others, to join hands with strangers. Everyone has this emotion, because our souls when created, were centered around this very passion. But it is very unfortunate that today, we have lost the wisdom and ability to understand the extremely broad spectrum of love that stretches to love for humanity, that is more sacred than love for matter or love for lust. On the other hand, war is the most heinous act that destroys everything in its path. No conquest, no defeat. Only orphans, cripples, and mutilated bodies. Celebrations over dead bodies is perhaps the worst ever defeat of humanity.
For last few decades wars have played havoc with the world. They have caused our minds to rust, polluted our souls, stripped our hearts of the passion for love. Seeds of hate embedded deep within have sprouted in such a way that its devastating effects seem hard to uproot. Our rotten thoughts have taken over the front ranks whereas our softer sides have dissolved in the background. Whatever the field— games, education, defense, culture or entertainment—we view others as rivals, not friends. The loss of love is loss of souls!
Cricket season is on. The mania of world cup is all around. Everyone wants his team to win by and we South Asians are championing the race tooth and nail. To call a spade a spade, we have made it a case of life and death. Pakistan is poised to face its traditional rival, India in the semi finals. Although our emotions were already high but after a prospective head on with India, they are even higher. We are not ready to accept defeat. We would have if the opponent had been a team other than the Indians in which case, it is totally unacceptable. Apparently, this being more of a battle rather than a match. Icing the cake our Media is calling it a war of green shirts against Indian cricket eleven. We are presuming Mohali Cricket ground another battlefield like Panipat while the Media is playing on the psyche of the nation giving infinite hype to smoldering public emotions. One of the media person was heard saying that we need not to win the Final but semi-final should be won at any cost.
The million dollar question is that why can't we take cricket as just a game? Why are we referring it to as a battle? Why are we deeming it as a 'do or die' issue? Why have we made it a case of dignity and shame? Just because we are playing against India?
I am not pleading the case of India, but this is the same India, whose Film Industry is ruling the hearts of Pakistani fans. We love to listen to Indian music; we love to watch Indian entertainment shows. This affection exists only because we have almost the same culture, same traditions and same civilization. We should shun this dual behavior and stand united for the sake of regional peace and love.
Since, 1947 I find both the countries on logger heads but did they succeed in destroying one another? On the contrary all this hatred has hatched nothing but poverty, unemployment, instability and perpetual crises for both the countries. Why are we unable to understand that we can change everything except our neighbours. The division of sub-continent was not to fan hate mongering but to live in peace. What did we reap in the war of 1948, 1965 and 1971?
Please stop loving to hate India. War leaves just rubble while love promotes peace and tranquility. Please bury the hatchet for the benefit of a prosperous new generation. The billions and trillions we spend on defence budgets could be better spent on education, health, elevating living standards of common man and eradication of poverty. Let us resolve to consider cricket a game not a war. Let us pray that South Asia should emerge on top. Let us take India as our home and Indians as our fellow human beings. Let us renounce hate and embrace love with open arms.
****************************
Steve Winwood once wrote,
Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine
On the other hand Jimmy Carter provokingly described war as an evil.
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children".
Love is the most powerful passion that overcomes every other sentiment. It motivates mankind to move for peace, to bear pain for others, to join hands with strangers. Everyone has this emotion, because our souls when created, were centered around this very passion. But it is very unfortunate that today, we have lost the wisdom and ability to understand the extremely broad spectrum of love that stretches to love for humanity, that is more sacred than love for matter or love for lust. On the other hand, war is the most heinous act that destroys everything in its path. No conquest, no defeat. Only orphans, cripples, and mutilated bodies. Celebrations over dead bodies is perhaps the worst ever defeat of humanity.
For last few decades wars have played havoc with the world. They have caused our minds to rust, polluted our souls, stripped our hearts of the passion for love. Seeds of hate embedded deep within have sprouted in such a way that its devastating effects seem hard to uproot. Our rotten thoughts have taken over the front ranks whereas our softer sides have dissolved in the background. Whatever the field— games, education, defense, culture or entertainment—we view others as rivals, not friends. The loss of love is loss of souls!
Cricket season is on. The mania of world cup is all around. Everyone wants his team to win by and we South Asians are championing the race tooth and nail. To call a spade a spade, we have made it a case of life and death. Pakistan is poised to face its traditional rival, India in the semi finals. Although our emotions were already high but after a prospective head on with India, they are even higher. We are not ready to accept defeat. We would have if the opponent had been a team other than the Indians in which case, it is totally unacceptable. Apparently, this being more of a battle rather than a match. Icing the cake our Media is calling it a war of green shirts against Indian cricket eleven. We are presuming Mohali Cricket ground another battlefield like Panipat while the Media is playing on the psyche of the nation giving infinite hype to smoldering public emotions. One of the media person was heard saying that we need not to win the Final but semi-final should be won at any cost.
The million dollar question is that why can't we take cricket as just a game? Why are we referring it to as a battle? Why are we deeming it as a 'do or die' issue? Why have we made it a case of dignity and shame? Just because we are playing against India?
I am not pleading the case of India, but this is the same India, whose Film Industry is ruling the hearts of Pakistani fans. We love to listen to Indian music; we love to watch Indian entertainment shows. This affection exists only because we have almost the same culture, same traditions and same civilization. We should shun this dual behavior and stand united for the sake of regional peace and love.
Since, 1947 I find both the countries on logger heads but did they succeed in destroying one another? On the contrary all this hatred has hatched nothing but poverty, unemployment, instability and perpetual crises for both the countries. Why are we unable to understand that we can change everything except our neighbours. The division of sub-continent was not to fan hate mongering but to live in peace. What did we reap in the war of 1948, 1965 and 1971?
Please stop loving to hate India. War leaves just rubble while love promotes peace and tranquility. Please bury the hatchet for the benefit of a prosperous new generation. The billions and trillions we spend on defence budgets could be better spent on education, health, elevating living standards of common man and eradication of poverty. Let us resolve to consider cricket a game not a war. Let us pray that South Asia should emerge on top. Let us take India as our home and Indians as our fellow human beings. Let us renounce hate and embrace love with open arms.
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DISCLAIMER :
------------------
This message serves informational purposes only and should not be viewed as an irrevocable indenture between anyone. If you have erroneously received this message, please delete it immediately and notify the sender at MumbaiHangOut-Owner@yahoogroups.com. The recipient acknowledges that any views expressed in this message are those of the Individual sender and no binding nature of the message shall be implied or assumed unless the sender does so expressly with due authority of The M.H.O. Group. M.H.O. reserves the right to repeal, change, amend, modify, add, or withdraw the contents herein without notice or obligation.
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