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But he is not welcome in MY India. Cricket diplomacy gets a shot in the arm once again when Musharraf visits India, presumably for the final ODI between India and Pakistan. But does cricket and diplomacy go well together, even if it does, does it work in any way at all? Bal Thackeray for all his nonsensical talk makes little bit of sense when he exhorts from the dias at Shivaji Park; how can we play cricket with a nation that we are at war with, proxy one at that though? But the cricket nevertheless happens; much in proof that commercial interests do dictate terms still in India more than anything else.
Kudos to a group of Indian bloggers (Nitin, Shanti, Primary Red, Varnam, Sandeep, etc) who do not accept false peace hopes. Please join our protest by displaying the graphic above on your own blogs by clicking here. Read on:
Cricket did not lose out one bit during that long hiatus between
India-Pakistan cricket ties. The game went on; we even had a great
World Cup in that time. New records were made, and exciting new players
were discovered. India doesn’t play its best with Pakistan (maybe
things are changing now); maybe Pakistan does, but why are we playing
Dr. Phil to their sagging morale?
Anyway, cricket wasn’t supposed to be an end, but in fact a means to an
end i.e. peace between India and Pakistan. Has it achieved that
objective? I don’t think so. India, on the other hand, has bent
backward to initiate every possible peaceful gesture; most recently,
the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad bus service. The latest cricket diplomacy
move made it clear initially that only cricket was on the agenda but
things have changed thereafter, and Manmohan and his coterie might even
attempt a mini-summit. I know right now that I am going to be sick of
the Musharraf-ink that the Indian media is going to soak itself in.
To be frank, I don’t expect anything fruitful from a summit with
Musharraf. I have
heard umpteen arguments that he is lesser of the two evils and keeps
Islamic fundamentalists out of power. Have conditions deteriorated to
such an extent that we rather prefer a despotic dictator rather than a
democratically elected Islamist regime? After all, we maintain
excellent relations with one of the powers in the Axis of Evil i.e.
Iran, which is definitely the strongest Islamic regime today (Saudis
are just a pawn in the nexus between their king and Islamists). But we
aren’t alone; Washington also has bought the argument that only
Musharraf can protect Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal from falling into the
wrong hands, even when he refuses to hand over the top nuclear
terrorist of all-time, Dr.A.Q.Khan. Tsk tsk…all they have to do is to
hide/steal/burn the Chinese and stolen German manuals, and the
Pakistanis won’t be able to tell a nuke from a pomegranate.
There are umpteen op-eds and blogs that offer theories for American
complicity to Pakistan’s continued terror indulgences. This post might
eventually end up among their ranks too. Should we be bothered at all
by those F16s; may not, an evenly matched dogfight with a Sukhoi or better
still, a calculated strike by Patriots or the partly homegrown Brahmos might stop all this
chattering.
All I can do right now in my limited capacity is to protest against
India’s repeated indulgences of Musharraf’s peace-tease. It is not
going to happen, and we might as well live with it. We can help close
the cultural divides and make people-centric gestures, however at the
end of the day, it is the elite in Pakistan that rule the roost and
make decisions, no matter how illogical or shortsighted they might
seem. Live with it. Think selfishly, for your own interest and ends;
the rest will sort itself out.
by Patrix | on Tuesday, April 5th, 2005 at 11:05 pm | 
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April 6th, 2005 at 8:33 am reply
It is unimaginable that this asshole is invited to India and will be given a royal treatment. I hope these pak-hugging politicians remember what he did after his last visit to Agra — start the Kargil attack.
I seriously think that the US is forcing India to play nice with its spoilt ‘chosen son’.
April 6th, 2005 at 10:08 am reply
Parag - How about joining the “No to Musharraf” gang? You can get the image from Nitin’s blog.
April 6th, 2005 at 5:11 pm reply
It’s me. You truly have gone crazy. First off how are you so sure that Musharraf is a dictator. Don’t point me reports and other nonsense. If he is a dictator how do you know that is not the best for pakistan. What makes you think that india has a right to Kashmir. Are you sure India has never entertained dictators and that we will always be pro democracy. How free is India? I think your stupid childish antics are a waste of time and effort.
April 6th, 2005 at 6:55 pm reply
Ram - Glad to get your feedback. You amuse me :)
April 6th, 2005 at 10:10 pm reply
SAY NO TO MUSHARRAF
Indian bloggers: Join the protest against the villain of Kargil watching a game of cricket in India.
April 7th, 2005 at 5:17 am reply
Get lost, you a$$hole
Dear Indians, please communicate your disgust to the politicians in New Delhi who are getting ready welcome the evil dictator of Pakistan. Is there really anyone (other than morons like I.K. Gujral who is already bending over for Musharraf), who…
April 16th, 2005 at 12:37 am reply
No to Musharraf!
Even though Musharraf was the man behind Kargil and whose popular hobby is making India a hostage by holding a gun to his head, we are shamelessly giving him a red carpet welcome. On April 17th, Kargil mastermind and…