I doff my hat to Virat Kohli

WE lost the World Cup matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, ensuring our exit from the competition. It hurt each one of us, especially the loss against our traditional rivals, Pakistan! But when we who use our cognitive powers ruminated over the losses, we realised cricket was only a sport and though sporting events are often substitutes for war, a loss in cricket or any other sport does not merit trolling or harsh epithets directed against non-performing players.

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The division that trolls strive for leaves a deeply divided society that does not bode well for the nation’s future.

In the hate quotient that has risen exponentially in the presently surcharged political atmosphere, a Mohammed Shami becomes the selected target because of the religion into which he was born. Almost the entire team under-performed, but the exponents of hate chose Shami for their myopic attention. It suited their political agenda!

And so it happened that Virat Kohli, our cricket captain, became dearer to me and people like me who think that despite the ignominy of losing the match, Virat today is a bigger hero than he ever was when he scored hundreds and brought home trophies. For, Virat proved himself to be greater than a great cricketer. He proved to be a great and good human being, a quality that transcends, in my eyes, great leaders or successful sportsmen!

The trolls who had picked on Shami because he happened to be born in a religion other than theirs were soundly castigated by this remarkable human being named Virat Kohli. They should be ashamed of themselves, said Virat, in reply to a question on the issue, and added that they should stop injecting their narrow political discourse into an integrated body of men, like the nation’s cricket team.

These same narrow-minded trolls have succeeded in saturating the political atmosphere in the Hindi-speaking belt with undisguised hate. Even established cosmopolitan societies like the city of Mumbai has always spawned, now flaunt two diametrically opposed opinions about the merits or demerits of prevailing government policies. That by itself should not cause any concern. The Argumentative Indian should be afforded his or her place in the sun! But if the argument descends to insinuations or innuendos based on religion or caste, it should be promptly rejected as “unacceptable”.

Unfortunately, the present trend is for arguments to finally conclude on the binary of ‘us’ versus ‘them’, the ‘them’ being the religious minority or its representatives. The division that the trolls have strived for is then accomplished. We are left with a deeply divided society and that does not bode well for our future as a nation. Many of my old friends in the city complain that normal discourse in normally polite society has been marred because of the appearance of this binary that had not manifested itself earlier.

Virat Kohli and great sportsmen of his ilk can form the best bulwark against the “Hate Brigade”. Their voices will be heard by their numerous fans all around the country. Most people, who feel like Virat obviously does, hesitate to speak up because of the fear that has gripped citizens of this democratic and secular polity. “Why take up arms against a sea of troubles,” asks the usually argumentative Indian? All the arguments he or she could muster at gentler times have frozen in his or her gullet. There are very few who dare! Virat has faced the consequences of daring — more vicious trolling, including threats to his little girl of nine months!

Virat Kohli has risen in my estimation because he dared. And he did it without holding back any punches. He has the country’s youth on his side and that will certainly make the hate-mongers think twice before taking him on. If other cricketing greats and those who have won medals in the recently concluded Olympic Games come out openly and unitedly against “hate mongering”, a movement can be started against divisions based on religion and caste.

Film stars can also be roped in for this noble cause. Bollywood has always been the flag-bearer of secularism. Religion or caste has never been a problem there. Nobody there ever asks or cares, only talent and acceptance of that talent by a discerning public matters.

The amount of latent sympathy that Shah Rukh Khan attracted when his son was pilloried for a basically minor transgression must have come as an eye-opener to the ruling dispensation. The entire 25-day-long ordeal left a bitter taste in the mouth. The majority of citizens I have interacted with think that a set-up like the NCB would be better employed chasing big drug syndicates like those behind the import of 3,000 kilos of opium in the Gujarat port of Mundra than concentrating on spoiled rich brats of monied film stars.

I am glad that some sane voices in the administration are now talking of treating drug users as sick people needing counselling. Aryan Khan and his friends should have been sent compulsorily to a detox centre like the one established in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra by the Padma Shri awardee, Fr Joe Pereira, who has spent his life saving such kids from the habit. Compulsory social work as a sort of punishment which doubles up as compassion is perhaps the real answer to eradicate the menace.

In the meantime, the Aryan Khan matter has turned into a slanging match between an NCP minister in the MVA government in Maharashtra, Nawab Malik, and the NCB Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede, on the officer’s religion, caste and marriage, all issues that do not concern young Aryan’s criminal case. What does it matter if Wankhede’s father changed his name from Dnyandeo to Dawood on entering into a ‘nikah’ marriage?

The real issue to my mind is how the government treats this ‘nikah’. Is it a real conversion or only one for form’s sake to comply with Islamic requirement? If the government rules in favour of Wankhede to save him from being disqualified from his IRS job, then the identical principle should be applied to “love jihad” brides who can otherwise cite discrimination on basis of gender, a discrimination not permitted under the Indian Constitution.