Fever pitch

Theres nothing as simultaneously exhilarating and painful as a solid sporting rivalry,and India-Pakistan cricket matches are among the most charged events anywhere in the world,these days not least because of their very rarity. As the two national teams face off in Mohali for the World Cup semi-final,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has seized the diplomatic chance by inviting Pakistans civilian leadership,both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani,to watch the match.

Sports and international relations have a long and tangled history. Cricket diplomacy has been effectively deployed in the past,to take the edge off political tension,even military confrontation,as when Zia ul-Haq attended a match in Jaipur. After downgrading of diplomatic ties,and military mobilisation on the border after the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament,Pakistan cricket tours were revived in 2004 as part of a diplomatic effort to improve ties. Visa regulations were eased on both sides to allow fans to travel across for matches. In 2005,General Musharraf came to India for a cricket match,and the visit was overlaid with deeper diplomatic significance,as it provided the ballast for talks on Jammu and Kashmir. By the same logic,a rough patch in the relationship often means that cricketing ties too get strained. Of course,audience is everything,and certain venues have traditionally carried greater chances of outreach. Mohali is a heartening site for this interaction,given Punjabs sentimental,almost intuitive investment in people-to-people.

Its a magnanimous gesture Singh has built on former PM A.B. Vajpayees example,and demonstrated his commitment to making inroads in this vexed relationship. Singh does so now after a particularly fraught period,when Indo-Pak relations have hit a new low after the Indian embassy bombing in Kabul and the Mumbai attack in 2008. Singhs readiness to make diplomatic overtures is a signal that he has not given up on Pakistan,especially the civilian leadership that can be worked with.