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Journalism of Courage
Few sporting encounters have been invested with as much political meaning and diplomatic baggage as the Indo-Pakistani limited overs series that has just concluded. In recent memory only the 1936 Olympics 8212; where the athleticism of a solitary American black, Jesse Owens, blew apart the 8216;Superman8217; theories of Adolf Hitler 8212; or the Nixon-era Sino-American ping-pong diplomacy bear comparison. For a more evocative analogy, one perhaps has to revisit the Ancient Olympics, the quadrennial event for which warring Greek city-states ceased hostilities and adhered to the Peace of Zeus, to compete as sportsman, not warriors. The past fortnight in Pakistan was a similar high-risk, high-gain venture. Limited overs cricket, unlike the sobriety and detachment of a test match, is often the amphitheatre of hyper-nationalism. It lends itself to passion, base instincts, impulsive bravado, invective, you name it. One mad moment in this series could have set back the subcontinental peace initiative considerably. Equally, a series played in amicable circumstances has the potential to propel public mood into the realms of hitherto unknown camaraderie. In the end, that8217;s just what happened.
Consider the evidence. Saurav Ganguly8217;s team has just won a closely-fought five-game series. Some 10,000 Indians have visited Pakistan to watch the matches, ranging from businessmen to movie stars to plain vanilla cricket fans. Lahore hasn8217;t seen so many Indians since the Wagah border was thrown open during the 1954-55 cricket series, a full half-century ago. As sponsors and advertisers, Indian companies have been a visible presence on cricket grounds from Karachi to Peshawar. Pakistan8217;s hotels haven8217;t hosted so many genuine tourists 8212; as opposed to American war correspondents 8212; since 9/11. The Indians have played hard and partied hard. If Ganguly8217;s team was an ambassador of goodwill, the 8220;Swami Army8221; 8212; as the itinerant Indian cricket cavalcade has been nicknamed in some parts 8212; was a showcase of all that India is proud of: an open, outgoing society, happy to let the past rest, wearing its economic success with gusto.
