Aman ki Asha - A promise of Aman or just a futile Asha?
I'm sure you've seen the video... Indians helping Pakistanis across the border hear their favorite song on All India Radio. Aman ki Asha they call it; hope for peace for the uninitiated.
The average urban Indian is, at least in his/her belief, a politician, policy maker, cricket selector and movie critic rolled in one; doing all this outside of their day job (rest assured, the distinct sense of irony the will feel as you read this is not lost on me). An oft repeated refrain by this demographic is that "we Indians have nothing against the average Pakistani".
Back in the '90s, the same intelligentsia argued, and the governments agreed, that sport was an excellent way to quell the animosity; to get the sportsmen to be seen as ambassadors rather than soldiers. Fortunately or unfortunately, in the subcontinent, sport is synonymous with cricket and a host of bilateral series ensued, replete with players from either side being treated like royalty across the border.
Then 26/11 happened. Ties were snapped and no Pakistani players played at the relocated IPL II. Fast forward to this years IPL auction fiasco. A large part of the Indian populace reacted positively to the situation claiming that the IPL had done what the Indian government hadn't had the stones to do. Now, that isn't exactly a lot of love shown to the "average Pakistani". The general sense of outrage in Pakistan probably peaking with their Sports Minister asking for an apology. No less significant however was Sohail Tanvir's "Hinduon ki zehniyat hi aisi hai" comment. Now it can be argued that this was just his opinion and that he was an uneducated moron, but then again, aren't cricketers supposed to be the ambassadors that would help the peace process? This surely isn't helpful. Or was he, like all the news channels in Pakistan, pandering to the common denominator - the anti-India sentiment? The latter puts the "average Pakistani's" views in question.
Not that we're any better. A quick visit to any internet forum that has Indian/Pakistani content reads like fascist propaganda with both sides being equally culpable. Internet anonymity thrown in, did the views of the average person just change?
Consider this economic argument. Pakistani IPL players pay taxes for their IPL incomes in Pakistan; money poured into the coffers of a government clearly apathetic to our terrorist troubles, letting those universally declared as terrorists roam free. Do you still want to see Tanvir bowl for the Rajasthan Royals, who, if you remember, had to move a few games because of bomb blasts in Jaipur during the first IPL? Or the fact that the government we squarely place blame on is democratically elected. Do you still feel the same way about Pakistani players in the IPL or even the average Pakistani? I'm not sure of how I feel now, but I have a feeling you, dear reader, might not either.
I don't envy the people tasked with bringing peace to the subcontinent. It isn't an easy job, but until the governments get some of the hard issues out of the way, I think efforts like Aman ki Asha are like the Censor Board ki Asha (Parekh), who cuts out all the controversial content and leaves behind the warm, feel good fuzzy feeling.
The average urban Indian is, at least in his/her belief, a politician, policy maker, cricket selector and movie critic rolled in one; doing all this outside of their day job (rest assured, the distinct sense of irony the will feel as you read this is not lost on me). An oft repeated refrain by this demographic is that "we Indians have nothing against the average Pakistani".
Back in the '90s, the same intelligentsia argued, and the governments agreed, that sport was an excellent way to quell the animosity; to get the sportsmen to be seen as ambassadors rather than soldiers. Fortunately or unfortunately, in the subcontinent, sport is synonymous with cricket and a host of bilateral series ensued, replete with players from either side being treated like royalty across the border.
Then 26/11 happened. Ties were snapped and no Pakistani players played at the relocated IPL II. Fast forward to this years IPL auction fiasco. A large part of the Indian populace reacted positively to the situation claiming that the IPL had done what the Indian government hadn't had the stones to do. Now, that isn't exactly a lot of love shown to the "average Pakistani". The general sense of outrage in Pakistan probably peaking with their Sports Minister asking for an apology. No less significant however was Sohail Tanvir's "Hinduon ki zehniyat hi aisi hai" comment. Now it can be argued that this was just his opinion and that he was an uneducated moron, but then again, aren't cricketers supposed to be the ambassadors that would help the peace process? This surely isn't helpful. Or was he, like all the news channels in Pakistan, pandering to the common denominator - the anti-India sentiment? The latter puts the "average Pakistani's" views in question.
Not that we're any better. A quick visit to any internet forum that has Indian/Pakistani content reads like fascist propaganda with both sides being equally culpable. Internet anonymity thrown in, did the views of the average person just change?
Consider this economic argument. Pakistani IPL players pay taxes for their IPL incomes in Pakistan; money poured into the coffers of a government clearly apathetic to our terrorist troubles, letting those universally declared as terrorists roam free. Do you still want to see Tanvir bowl for the Rajasthan Royals, who, if you remember, had to move a few games because of bomb blasts in Jaipur during the first IPL? Or the fact that the government we squarely place blame on is democratically elected. Do you still feel the same way about Pakistani players in the IPL or even the average Pakistani? I'm not sure of how I feel now, but I have a feeling you, dear reader, might not either.
I don't envy the people tasked with bringing peace to the subcontinent. It isn't an easy job, but until the governments get some of the hard issues out of the way, I think efforts like Aman ki Asha are like the Censor Board ki Asha (Parekh), who cuts out all the controversial content and leaves behind the warm, feel good fuzzy feeling.
posted by Rahul Iyer at 3:13 PM
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