Cricket, Politics, and Faith, When the Subcontinent’s Passion Meets the World’s Most Dangerous Conflict
I have to confess that I am not at all a sports-mad person. Wimbledon, World Cup cricket matches, or the Super Bowl—nothing could ever drive me to spend hours before a television screen, screaming my lungs out or sobbing my eyes dry. Perhaps this is a relic of the traditional girl-boy divide; few girls of my generation were as mad about sporting events as the boys were. In my own home, my father-in-law, my husband, our three sons, and even the male kitchen staff would become a unified team as they cheered every cricket match. I grumbled about the endless supply of cold drinks, snacks, and popcorn required, and about how the kitchen smelled of burnt food while our cook and helper sat transfixed with the men in the sitting room. The aftermath was always predictable: jubilation if India won, deep gloom if we lost.
If even a person like me found myself sitting in front of the screen for all the recent matches, praying fervently that India would win the final, I cannot for the life of me understand why the Congress party chose to stay away from that final match in Ahmedabad. Was it because the stadium is named after you-know-who? Or because the chief of the BCCI is the son of you-know-who? Whatever the reason, their absence was another stark example of how absurd and self-defeating it is to drag sports into the political arena.
I can recall another classic cricket match, an India-Pakistan encounter, where Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Robert Vadra were present. They leapt from their seats at every boundary hit by our players, and when victory was secured, they raised their arms in triumph, perfectly in sync with the rest of the ecstatic spectators. They effortlessly became one with the cheering masses, and everyone commented on how easily they blended with the rest of the janta. If that image of effortless connection with the public has remained etched in my memory for so long, where were they when India played another memorable match, one filled with so many boundaries that we lost count? Their absence spoke volumes, and it was not a message of political sophistication, but of petty, self-defeating politics.
It is an undeniable fact that cricket in the subcontinent is nothing short of a cult. It is a passion that binds together India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in a way that few other things can. What unites us is a deep, almost spiritual, love for this British game that we have made entirely our own. Look next door if you need convincing of the power of this connection: what is the passionate, enduring support for Imran Khan’s political party if not an extension of the immense love Pakistan has for its legendary cricketer? His political naivete, his missteps in governance, are all subsumed by the powerful, patriotic fervor he evokes in every Pakistani heart. One day, when he is finally released from his long and unjust imprisonment, the tide of popular anger against the petty political reasons for keeping him incarcerated will smash his rivals with the force of a six hit clean over the boundary.
Our own present cricket champions, unlike so many other teams that have participated in past tournaments, are a team that truly represents every part of India. They have players from the north, the south, the east, and the west. They are a living embodiment of the nation’s diversity, and their victories are celebrated by all.
And now, we must turn our attention to the elephant in the room, the far more serious and consequential drama unfolding in the Middle East. Here again, politicians who are completely out of step with the deep cultural and religious history of the region are making catastrophic miscalculations. The resilience and courage of a tiny, isolated Iran may well prove to be the hole that sinks the mighty ship of high-handed US-Israeli military action. Europe, Canada, Australia, and the rest of the Western world may be doomed to relive the medieval history lessons they were taught by the tribal kingdoms of the Middle East. In just over a week, this single, determined state has paralysed the vital flow of oil and blocked the sea lanes that keep the rest of the global economy afloat.
The aggressors, it is now clear, saw only the unpopularity of Iran’s political government. They listened to the diaspora’s discontent and the protests of some within the country. They badly, catastrophically, underestimated its deep, abiding cultural pride and its profound commitment to its Shia religious identity. From my own limited exposure to the Shia temperament, nurtured in the syncretic culture of Awadh and shaped by memories of a childhood in Karachi, I am forced to ask: who on earth gave the go-ahead to assassinate their supreme religious leader, the Ayatollah, in the holy month of Ramzan? Did they not understand the consequences? Did they not anticipate that martyrdom, in this most sacred of months, would create a resolve that will haunt them for a very, very long time?
In these deracinated, globalized times, it has become dangerously fashionable to dismiss deep cultural and religious beliefs as irrelevant, as primitive holdovers from a less enlightened age. But the events of the past weeks have proven this to be a fatal error. The deep cultural beliefs of every major religion—Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity—cannot be forgotten or brushed aside. They are not costumes that can be put on and taken off at will. They are embedded in the rituals of fasting and expiation, in the collective memory of centuries of persecution and survival, in the stories told to children and the prayers whispered at night. Ramzan, Lent, Chaitra Navratri—these are not just calendar entries; they are profound expressions of faith that shape the identity of billions.
Those who cannot understand these deep memories, who cannot grasp the power of religious identity to inspire sacrifice and resilience, will continue to be puzzled by the refusal of people to surrender, to bow to superior military might. Mark my words, this current conflict is as much a religious war as it is a war for oil and gas. It is a collision of worldviews, of deep-seated identities, and it will not be resolved by missiles and bombs alone. The Congress party may have chosen to sit out a cricket match for petty political reasons, but the world cannot afford to sit out this conflict through a failure of imagination and understanding. The consequences of that ignorance will be felt by everyone.
Questions and Answers
Q1: What is the author’s main criticism of the Congress party’s decision to stay away from the cricket final in Ahmedabad?
A1: The author criticizes it as an example of “how absurd it is to drag sports into the political arena.” She contrasts it with a previous India-Pakistan match where Congress leaders attended and “effortlessly became one of the cheering masses,” arguing that their absence this time was a petty, self-defeating political move that disconnected them from the public.
Q2: How does the author use the example of Imran Khan to illustrate the power of cricket in the subcontinent?
A2: The author points out that the passionate support for Imran Khan’s political party in Pakistan is an “extension of the huge love Pakistan has for this legendary cricketer.” His political flaws are overlooked because of the patriotic fervor he evokes, demonstrating that cricket is a “cult” that transcends politics and creates deep, enduring emotional bonds with the public.
Q3: What is the author’s central argument about the US-Israeli strategy in the war with Iran?
A3: The author argues that the US and Israel made a catastrophic miscalculation. They focused only on the unpopularity of Iran’s political government and underestimated the nation’s “deep cultural pride in its Shia religious identity,” especially after assassinating the Ayatollah during the holy month of Ramzan. This has created a resolve based on martyrdom that will be difficult to overcome.
Q4: According to the author, what is the role of religious faith in the current Middle East conflict?
A4: The author argues that this is “as much a religious war as a war for oil and gas.” The aggressors failed to understand that deep cultural and religious beliefs, embedded in rituals like Ramzan, shape identity and inspire resilience. Dismissing these as irrelevant is a “fatal error” that will prolong the conflict.
Q5: What broader lesson does the author draw about the importance of understanding cultural and religious identity?
A5: The author warns that in “deracinated times,” it is dangerously fashionable to dismiss deep cultural beliefs. However, these beliefs—rooted in rituals and collective memory—profoundly shape human behavior and cannot be forgotten. Those who fail to understand them will be perpetually puzzled by the resilience and commitment of people who fight for their faiths.
