Lessons from Pakistan
By Amardeep Bhattal

FEBRUARY 20, 1999, was indeed a day of introspection for sports lovers of India and Pakistan as the two countries clashed in cricket and hockey at Calcutta and Peshawar, respectively. The two cities linked by the Grand Trunk Road have very little in common. The language, culture, religion, weather and trade are different. The only bond connecting the two was that of the avid following of sports-lovers, mostly peace loving. Both the cities have produced international stars, be it in cricket or hockey. While Saurav Ganguly is the heart-throb of Calcutta, Shahid Afridi is the hero of Peshawar. The capital of the North-West Frontier Province has also produced outstanding hockey players like Brig Abdul Hameed Hamidi, Syed Khan, Qazi Moheb, Farat Khan, Mashood and Abdul Ismail, all of whom represented Pakistan in the Olympics.

But on that fateful day, while Calcutta’s sporting image was sullied beyond redemption, Peshawar won accolades.

Having reached Peshawar a night earlier for covering the seventh hockey Test between the two countries the following day, I had already got wind of the tension in Calcutta following Sachin Tendulkar’s controversial run-out. The following morning, which was the last day of the Asian Test Championship tie between India and Pakistan at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens, cricket was being hotly discussed on the streets of Peshawar. The live coverage of the match on television amidst sporadic gunfire, possibly from AK-47s, added to the tension.

Nevertheless, as a newsman, I preferred to take a stroll of Saddar Road which leads to the Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium where the seventh India-Pakistan hockey Test was scheduled to be played that evening. At every nook and corner I was accosted by enthusiastic Pashto speaking youngsters, who seemed to be following the proceedings at Calcutta with keen interest. The general refrain was that the Calcutta crowd was least sporting. Syed Shahanshah Jilani, a furniture salesman, had just been talking about the role of cricket and hockey in improving relations between the two countries when the owner of Kashmir Furniture butted in. "Look what they are doing in Calcutta," said Mohammed Amin, in an exasperated tone in the typical British accent.

Gesturing me to follow him, he turned the television screen towards me for a first-hand account from Eden Gardens. And there it was! The match had been temporarily halted as groups of young men, with no sense of history, were engaged in the common effort of subverting history. Wasim Akram and his team-mates sat in the middle feeling somewhat relaxed with a Pakistani victory very much in the air. And then followed the bonfires and more missiles. With no let-up in crowd voilence, the spectators were given marching orders and the match completed in-camera, something unheard of in the annals of sport history.

"Is this behaviour and violence justified?" asked Amin. "Your players come here and go back with a bountiful of affection. Look what our players are getting — missiles and abuses," he said.

Moving towards the hockey stadium, we could sense that the people in general were rather friendly. Inside the stadium it was again a jovial mood as the jam-packed crowd eagerly awaited for the action to commence. And when the proceedings did finally begin on schedule on the hockey turf in the backdrop of the Jamraud hills, every single move from either side was applauded. However, in a crowd of several thousand, a few mischief mongers are bound to be present, who can only thrive on public support. But if such support is not forthcoming, they are also forced to bow before public sentiments. Thus when the odd bottle thrower gave vent to his feelings after Pakistan were trailing 1-2, a mild appeal by Pakistani skipper Atif Bashir to maintain calm was enough to restore order. The organisers also kept reminding the gathering of the Pathan hospitality and the region’s age-old tradition of honouring guests, which had the desired effect.

At the end of the contest incidentally won by India, there were hardly any bitter feelings. Many people in fact came to congratulate us for the Indian team’s fine showing after earlier setbacks.

Even personnel manning the camp office of the Post and Telegraph Department in the stadium, while appreciating the display by the Indian hockey team, were remorseful over the happenings in Calcutta. The forced exit of spectators at Eden Gardens seemed to be weighing on their minds. "Why should such an eventuality arise when sport is a means to bring the two countries closer," they asked us.

There were others who felt that a sporting gesture like recall of Sachin Tendulkar by Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram after the controversial run-out could have strengthened the bond of friendship. After all, it was the Friendship Series. Some even cursed Akram for his interest in clinching the rubber. "Victory at the cost of friendship is most undesirable," said an old Pathan as we prepared to leave the place after filing our stories.

It was the same story at Rawalpindi, the venue of the eighth hockey Test, two days later. Tariq Mahmood and Mohammed Yousuf, members of the local Young Brothers Hockey Club, were unanimous in saying that they had forgotten the Calcutta episode. "We are here to enjoy good hockey. You will see that all good moves by the players are appreciated," they said. And so they were at Army Stadium as India and Pakistan dished out an exciting fare in Asian style.

Talib Bokhari, Director, Schools, Rawalpindi, who was sitting beside me during the encounter, revealed that Pakistanis in general were happy when India won the gold during the Asian Games. "After all we are part of the same subcontinent," he said. Bokhari’s views stood vindicated when the maximum cheers were reserved for the Indian team for the gallant fightback at Rawalpindi. This was besides the standing ovation which Bhaskaran’s boys received at the end of the gruelling tie.

Lahore was a similar experience. Calcutta had been long forgotten and hopes of another exciting hockey Test drove thousands of spectators to the National Hockey Stadium, venue of the Champions Trophy last year. Here again the visitors were lustily cheered and the Indian victory hardly caused any heart-burning. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself drove down to the stadium to cheer the players and it was indeed a pleasant sight seeing him mingle with the spectators.

Later, as the Indian players, officials and scribes joined their Pakistani counterparts on the dance floor of Pearl Continental, the two coaches — Vasudevan Bhaskaran and Shahnaz Sheikh — dancing hand-in-hand to "Yehi dosti hai..." a popular number, further cemented the feeling of oneness between the peoples.

Do Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore hold a lesson for Calcutta?