Pakistan’s cricket victory is Islam’s victory? The theory of two countries still lives on, Muslims are banned

The size of the text:
A-
A +

Is Indian and Pakistani cricket represents a religious war between Hinduism and Islam? Indian police arrested some Kashmiri people for not encouraging India, but Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed called the team a success “profit Islamist ‘. Is it the intention of Indian Muslims to be “outsiders inside” forever, or is it time to change the story?

This is a knob. It has always been whispered that in addition to Kashmir, many other Muslims are hoping for India’s defeat against Pakistan. The allusion gained credibility when outbursts of crackling and religious shouts of war were allegedly heard in some Muslim cities whenever Pakistan defeated India. This socio-political disorder has been a ill-kept secret that few have had the moral courage and ideological honesty to deal with. It was recognized, but in a cunning way. Instead of correcting this anomaly, the authors of the Muslim narrative pretended to be immensely indignant when they were suspected of disloyalty to the nation. Such had been the “sarcastic” secularism that Sotto voce snides, and apart from allusions, it was not possible to admit that we had the problem at hand of asking for immediate attention.

In fact, they did the exact opposite with cavalry complacency. It was said that sport must be seen as immune to the demands of national loyalty, and supporting another country’s national team was not only a sign of higher athleticism, but also a kind of cosmopolitanism, as evidenced by the emerging multiculturalism of the West. , where immigrants openly support their home team against the adoption team. It was argued that a review like the Tebbit test in India would imply a majority inquisition.

The Tebbit test was a controversial phrase named after British Conservative politician Norman Tebbit. He said the lack of loyalty of South Asian and Caribbean immigrants to the English cricket team suggests that those who support their home countries in the game instead of England are not. integrated in the United Kingdom. However, Indian Muslims are not immigrants, and they are not here as a result of Indian colonialism. Therefore, extrapolating the critique of the Tebbit test to alleviate anomalous group behavior in India would be wrong.

Also read: Hatred against sham, violence in Bangladesh, targeting Kashmir – disinformation our biggest threat

Denial does not help Muslims

Denying Muslim narrators and their liberal mentors has been an easier option than identifying the problem and helping the community correct a dangerous distortion in the debate that would inevitably affect their position in national life. The fact that this has happened, and it has not been shouted, not only betrays the tacit surrender of the whole community, but also the enabling atmosphere created by Muslim narrators and their liberal cheerleaders who have been involved in normalizing perceptions and discrimination against Muslims. Such victim dependence led to an ever-widening emotional gap between the Muslim community and the national mainstream.

The theory of two countries still lives on

It is often argued that supporting some Indian Muslims in Pakistan in cricket has nothing to do with Islam, and whatever it is, it should not be misinterpreted as religious-communal disloyalty to India. It is true. It is not part of the Islamic Catechism, and salvation or condemnation in the hereafter does not depend on it, but insofar as religion has influenced the formation of identity – from community to nationality by progressing to separatist religious nationality – it would be naive to ignore the religious factor in the game.

The two-nation theory that this process gave birth to meant the existence of Muslims and non-Muslims as two nations in India, and not India and Pakistan as two different countries. Pakistan is more of an ideological than a regional state. It’s less local and more of a mentality. It is the embodiment of Indian Muslim political power that Bangladesh or any other Muslim country is not. Therefore, no other Muslim country can create the kind of irritation that the mere mention of Pakistan evokes in every Indian mind, be it Hindu or Muslim. If the two-nation theory applied only to Islam as a nation – without reference to India – Pakistan would seek its identity from merging with Muslim countries rather than at odds with India.

Also read: Those who attacked Sham after Pakistan’s defeat are “invertebrates” and “losers”, says Virat Kohli

Modifying the fate of the community

Whether or not the theory of the two peoples disappeared with the section is a controversial question. If it were, Waqar Younis would not indulge in pious admiration, and Mohammed Shami would not be so exposed to malicious trolling. So if the two-nation theory did not disappear and is only reformulated into an identity politics, then its basic assumption that Hindus and Muslims are two opposing nations must have been reformulated in post-independence India into a perpetual conflict between states. and its Muslim citizens.

This is a dangerous formulation with consequences that would be self-destructive for any minority. If the Muslim community feels alienated, is it because the state of India has systematically discriminated against them and denied them equal rights and opportunities? Or does the feeling of alienation come from ideological reasons that have deep roots in the imperialist interpretation of Islam, which considers India a terrified land of idols and unbelievers? If so, is there an intellectual among Muslims who has such intellectual honesty that he makes the right diagnosis and prescribes the right treatment?

Currently, there are plenty of self-service speeches in the Muslim community, both traditional and modern. The latter borrows the Constitution in much the same way that telegraphists quote the scriptures, and for the same purpose. Unless the Muslim community has well-meaning narrators who understood that their destiny was Indian, and so should their identities, the distortions that plague community discourse will not be corrected. Aberrant behavior, whether brazen or inconspicuous, would make an innocent sham still a soft object.

The author is an IPS officer. He tweeted @najmul_hoda. The views are personal.

(Edited by Humra Laeeq)

Subscribe to our channel at YouTube & Telegram