Skip to main content

Terror strikes cricket...

Today, cricket lovers, particularly Indian cricket fans sat and watched with a sense of renewed confidence, the Indian team redeem quickly their prestige glory temporarily lost when they lost the '20-20' series against hosts New Zealand. Redemption coming through a good batting innings in the first ODI at Napier, leaving the hosts to chase a very ambitous, if not an impossible target to achieve to secure victory.
But early in the morning, this feeling of euphoria was soon replaced by a sense of deep shock, when news came in of the cruel terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team currently touring Pakistan, in Lahore. Six players were injured but are thankfully safe.
The unthinkable and the unprecedented has happened. Never before were sportsmen targeted in such a henious manner as this. Questions and concerns that were raised about safety of players who toured Pakistan, have now probably been comprehensively answered. And no Country will be keen on sending their teams to play in this Nation, which is now slowly but surely coming completely within the grip of terrorism and 'Talibanisation'
The fear of touring India, is perceived to be no less, especially after the 26/11 attacks and bloodshed in 5 star hotels which brought into focus the stark realization that anyone irrespective of caste, class or status can be a victim.
Today's attack on the Sri Lankan team is without doubt a setback to the common citizen of Pakistan, and to the cricket fan.
For, the possibility of any foreign team coming to Pakistan to play, can at best be seen as 'remote'
The same can probably be said for the entire South Asia region, India included.

Comments

  1. AtulsushTuesday, 03 March, 2009

    I feel that all doubts about 'safety of players in India' will be cleared post IPL in Apr 09...There is a lot of difference about the situation in India and in Pak..Pak currently seems to be in a state of total anarchy...but I agree...'Perceptions' matter...and as Indians we need to work towards changing that perception to the outside world

    ReplyDelete
  2. AtulsushWednesday, 04 March, 2009

    There has been a lot of debate today..whether IPL should happen or not....My question is...'Were the elections and IPL not happening on the same dates earlier? Does that mean that the security that was being envisaged earlier not adequate?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memories of the 1971 War.....

1. Flight Lt. Vijay Kumar Wahi - 10144 F(P) Vikram Wahi was my class mate in Class V, in 1971. When the Indo-Pak war broke out in December 1971, our Class V final examinations were on. Many 'fauji' families had to grapple with the stress of these exams, with the war as a backdrop. There were two papers each day, and between them, during the break, I remember seeing the Air Force's fighers landing close by at Palam, after a Combat Air Patrol sortie... On the 7th of December, 1971, we - all 10 year olds were busy writing whatever we had crammed, in our answer sheets, when all of a sudden, we noticed some commotion at the back of the classroom. We saw Vikram Wahi, breaking down, and sobbing away inconsolably. We ten year olds did not quite comprehend the problem, and got back to our answer sheets. That was the last we saw of Vikram Wahi. Till this day, I do not know where Vikram went, and where he is. On the 6th of December, Vikram's family received the news t...
12 comments
Read more

Lawless Delhi

So we saw two instances of violence in Delhi the last two days. One resulting in murder and the other related to a police officer actually breaking the law instead of enforcing it. In the first case a young brash teenager was accidentally knocked down by a DTC bus. The resulting road rage was of such extreme proportions and further heightened by instigation by the kid's own mother, that he violently attacked the driver in the most gruesome manner, resulting in his death. The man was in his 40s, head of his family and the bread earner. Obviously, the kid flew into a rage virtually losing his mental balance. His intent therefore was not just to hit but to kill. His actions partly were translated from a thought process that he could teach the victim a lesson, and get away with it, in a Country which is virtually lawless. While he has been arrested, we all know how long it will take our criminal justice system to punish the murderer. In the second instance, a lady scooterist is att...
Post a Comment
Read more