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'Why only boycott cricket?'

How Readers reacted to Pritish Nandy's recent column

Disappointing to know that Pritish Nandy sides with Bal Thackeray. I doubt whether I will read his columns with any conviction ever again. Irony: he starts his column commenting on hypocrisy!

Venkat

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 16:57:04 +0530
From: Sathish Kumar R <sathish@tenet.res.in>
Subject: Nonsense, damn nonsense!

Good thing I clicked on the link 'Pritish Nandy' down the page, hoping to ask him straight why his writing has become infertile. 'Twas then that I came to know that he's a Shiv Sena-sponsored MP. No wonder, he faithfully wags his pen to his supremo's tunes!

Sathish

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:06:23 +0530
From: "Prasad B.G.S" <prasadbg@sequent.com>
Subject: Playing ball with enemy

Hi,

Mr Nandy should not forget that the enemy can be turned into a friend with sports. It is unfortunate that people like Mr Nandy are taking the side of the Sena.

Prasad

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:36:46 +0530
From: Sameer Varshney <sameervarshney@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Pritish Nandy column

I am a computer science graduate and I fully support Pritish's views. I hope every Indian will agree with his views.

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:17:12 +0530
From: "Binay Das" <binay@lucent.com>
Subject: Playing ball with the enemy

Hi,

I've had lots of regard for Mr Pritish Nandy. I've lost some after reading his above article. He does not sound like a journalist in this article -- he sounds more like a politician. A journalist is expected to give an unbiased account of a particular situation. I'm afraid he has not done that. If I had not seen his name, I would have assumed that this article was written by a hardcore Shiv Sena follower.

I'm not sure what his recommendation is. Let us assume that we boycott the series per his recommendation. Does it mean, then, that the Pakistani government will become very concerned because we boycotted the series and start behaving differently?

Also, why boycott this particular series? For that matter, why boycott only cricket? What about the hockey games? What happens to the patriotism/hatred when the game of hockey is being played? I never heard anything about boycotting those games. Why is it that their planes are allowed to land on our soil? Why is it that they are allowed to have an embassy in Delhi? Why is it OK to play a game with that country in Sharjah or Canada but it is not OK to play a game with them in India? This sounds to me like hypocrisy. If you are so opposed to the issue, you should be uniform. Otherwise, people will think that you are a hypocrite.

Yes, it is true that hundreds of thousands of people are suffering in Kashmir. They have been suffering for a long time and my full sympathy goes to all those people and their families. There are ways to stop it or at least reduce it. Boycotting a series of cricket game is certainly not one of them.

Binay Das

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 13:17:27 +0100
From: Ronit.Marathe@swisscom.com
Subject: Nandy

I think the issue at hand is merely another case of false propaganda by a demagogue that is quite common, sadly, in India today. There are grave concerns facing India's growth and the prosperity of its people. We still have appalling levels of illiteracy, corruption, population problems... Our political leaders instead of encouraging community upliftment are promoting divisions and hatred based on caste and religion for their own political gains. How better are they than the British who practised a similar divide and rule approach?

Disputes among countries are not an unheard of phenomenon in today's world, but that doesn't warrant a communication and cultural blackout between people. Might be the future generation of Indians and Pakistanis are more tolerant towards each other and more driven to end hostility. But if we inspire hatred between the people, through a national sport as in this case, it is a deliberate attempt to widen the rift. Can we ever expect to end tensions, acting in this way?

Our security forces are doing their best in trying to protect its people, let them do their job. Why don't our politicians concentrate, instead, on giving their fellow countrymen better education, better jobs, a better standard of living? How much better is it to save people from death from the enemy than leave them to die a death out of poverty and hunger?

Does a cricket match deserve more national attention then the issue of uncontrolled population, unemployed youth being led to crime, Dharavi boasting of the largest Asian slum, people frustrated over the price of onions? When will our leaders really work for the upliftment of Hindutva?

A concerned Indian

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 18:22:49 +0530
From: venki@HOTMAIL.COM
Subject: Pritish Nandy column

This article brings to light the hypocrisy that governs Indian politics and people.

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 19:49:20 +0530
From: "ajit" <ajit@bom6.vsnl.net.in>
Subject: Pritish Nandy's article on cricket

It is the first article in the last few weeks that looks at the other side of the argument. In fact, so obsessed is our media with Sena bashing that the issue of "sleeping with the enemy" has been totally ignored. As if it did not exist. What mattered was only that Thackeray is a fascist and always rakes up non-issues to create some political stunts. The man uttering the words had become more important than the words themselves. "Who" was more important than "what" was being said. It is shameful that in a democratic nation like ours, we are still people-oriented rather than following the path of intellectual debate.

Agreed, that the methods employed by the Sena were not at all befitting a democratic set-up. But who listens when you talk. People -- by this I mean the intelligentsia and the political leadership too -- want to know who is talking rather than what is being said. So logic, reason and the like are coolly ignored leading to frustration and anger. This is easily borne out by the various agitations taking place around the country. Any peaceful agitation hardly evokes a response. But carry out a bandh and destroy some property, if you are "real good", have a bomb blast or maybe a series of it, if possible assassinate a few leaders -- and see how much attention you get. If you get lucky, you may get amnesty too.

Does this sound ridiculous -- for example take a look at Assam. When the students agitated violently, they were called to the negotiating table. Some of them later rose and their chief minister of today is a leader of the same student agitation.

Just look at any demand for a pay hike. The demands are put forth in a memorandum and usually nothing is done about it till the unions threaten with a major strike. When the threats don't work, comes the crippling strike, paralysing the country -- banks are a case in point. This again illustrates that till you cannot create some nuisance value, you are going to be cold-shouldered.

So we need to look at what is being said rather than who is saying it. That would be a sign of a maturing democracy. Why wait for violent agitations and shows of protest when issues can be discussed threadbare across the table? But who will do that? The powers that be don't have the time.

My compliments to Pritish Nandy. This proves beyond any shadow of doubt that he is one of the foremost journalists our country has produced. I'm glad that he has reached Parliament. It is only with thinking MPs that we can ever hope to build a strong India. Followers of the "high command" are not permitted to think. They want Americans to brand Pakistan a terrorist state while they trade sugar and electricity with them, start buses and trains from Delhi to Lahore and play Gulli Danda with them. I wish Mr Nandy starts a debate on the necessity of a bus from Delhi to Lahore.

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:05:40 -0500
From: "Ashish Jaiman" <jaimanalwar@rediffmail.com>
Subject: Column

Hi Pritish,

I agree we should not play ball with the people who kill, rape, torture our brothers & sisters in Kashmir. But does that mean playing ball is just not allowed in India, they can play ball with enemies in Canada, Bangladesh, Sharjah etc? Do the players not remain Indians when they play outside India? Again why do they play hockey? Why do they compete with Pakis in Asiads & other games? Should only a cricketer' blood be shed for Kashmiris?

Why don't the players refuse to play with Pakis or why don't we stop watching the match? We are indirectly encouraging them to play. Why don't Indian conglomerates stop sponsoring the matches? This is all a game of dirty politics & you are trying to defend it by writing that you are not a politician but a journalist.

Jaiman

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:32:20 -0500
From: "Lyengar, Shrikant" <Shrikant.Lyengar@hboc.com>
Subject: Playing ball with the enemy

Hi Pritish,

This article is exactly what is expected of you, being a perfect example of something called a spoon -- in Hindi chamcha. The politicians have always played this Pakistan card or religion card to keep the common people from looking at the REAL Issue. What you are saying is not the Real Issue. It is because you owe allegiance to a person called Balasaheb who is anything but a Bala. He has unfortunately diverted the attention of all the Marathi youth who are actually the Bright Future of Maharashtra from the REAL Issue.

Instead of instilling brotherhood in Indians (which I think is lacking at present), he has regularly imbibed hatred into the Maharashtrian minds against fellow Indians (like Gujaratis and Tamilians). All these obviously are not a REAL issue for you. I really think that your claim that you are not a POLITICIAN is a WHITE LIE. You are worse than one. I have been following your articles and have always noted the PARTISAN reporting you have done. Whenever there is a REAL issue like digging up of the pitches, stopping of plays by your parent party (sorry the party which you worship), you have time and again kept MUM and reported on some other trivial issue, while your fellow reporters at least try to do justice to the injustice meted out by these GOONDAS of politicians.

I think probably the best thing for you would be to retire and become a SENA PRAMUKH.

It is so pathetic that the children of today are seeing HATRED being spread by politicians as well as reporters like you. But here I have to say that Indian reporting is normally UNBIASED, but thanks to some like you, it has been blemished. I am sure the best path at present is to concentrate on improving our country and our people's plights FIRST and then point a finger at other countries. Please, if you cannot help in BUILDING, at least do not be at the FOREFRONT of DESTRUCTION.

Shrikant

Pritish Nandy

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