02-18-2005, 09:57 PM
Then people wonder why Indian Muslims are considered pakistanis ? How stupid is this article ? And how disgusting is the spin ?
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story....t_id=64874
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Play cricket in Gujarat at Halol
Mehboob Chacha was the first to have thought of cricket as a great healer
SAEED NAQVIÂ
Saeed Naqvi Gujarat deserves an Indo-Pak test match, provided it is played at Halol. I have just returned after watching cricket at the most spectacular setting in Halol, part of Panchmahal district. Halol is exactly between Vadodara and Godhra, the epicentre of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. The match was actually the final of a month long tournament in which 64 teams from three talukas of Panchmahal â Halol, Kalol and Gogamba â participated.
The tournament has been a unique effort in healing communal wounds. Each of the 64 teams has been composed of Hindus and Muslims in equal numbers, more or less. As Mehboob Chacha observed, stroking his long, grey beard, selecting teams in such a communally charged atmosphere was not easy. Mehboob Chacha is part of Janvikas and Yuva Shakti, groups which provided the sinews for much of the post-pogrom relief in the area. He was the first to have thought of cricket as a great healer three years ago.
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After the â02 disturbances, he had noticed youngsters had stopped playing together, something they always did in his living memory. Initially it was difficult to put together a team across the communal divide. Many, on both sides, had lost relatives in the pogrom and could not now reconcile to playing together. The traumatic events had torn the social fabric to shreds. Community leaders lost the initiative even as triumphalist VHP and Bajrang Dal volunteers, flushed with success, moved deeper into the countryside with their evangelism.
Patience and perseverance led to the formation of one eleven, then two. As Mazhar Hashmi pointed out, once the inner fear and anger was overcome, people came in droves. He realised of course that efforts like these run the risk of being cut off from the mainstream if there isnât a good secular Hindu to lead them. The âHindu leaderâ came in the shape of Gagan Sethi â the elder brother of billiard champion Geet Sethi â who is the principal architect of Janvikas. Last year the group put together 25 teams for the tournament. The final was played before an audience of 20,000 people. Former India captain, Kapil Dev, was the chief guest.
This year the organisers were even more ambitious. Not only would there be a month long tournament for the boys, there would be another for the women. This proved to be even more difficult than putting together a menâs cricket tournament. The youth on both sides immediately saw the attractions of playing cricket together, Mehboob Chacha explained, but it was impossible to persuade Muslim religious leaders to allow a womenâs cricket tournament. The local imam threatened to go on fast. Various Jamaats swore such a tournament would be played over their dead bodies. Gentle persuasion resulted in a compromise. Last year, the women of Halol were allowed to play cricket in purdah. In other words a cricket ground was enclosed by tented walls. So successful was the experiment that this year four womenâs teams played in a parallel tournament on a school ground. Gone was the purdah!
A pity Gujarat recently has been known for the wrong reasons. Letâs not forget that itâs one of our most colourful states. Its splendid handicrafts were all on display at the final. The cricket oval, in the shadow of the splendid Pavagarh hills, was decorated with shamianas, sashes, colourful banners, the crowds, interspersed with men and women in tribal gear, breaking out occasionally into a dance. Indeed, the BCCI should look at the ground for a stadium to boost cricket as well as the idea of Halol.It is an amazingly potent message deserving amplification. Sunil Gavaskar, who was chief guest at the final, agreed that he has not seen a more spectacular setting for cricket, played before a packed house of about 25,000.
The running commentary was a parody as much on cricket as on secular persuasion. Every now and again the commentator would break into song: Hindu na banega na mussalman banega, insaan ki aulad hai, insaan banega (our being human precedes our being Hindus or Muslims). The winner of the womenâs tournament was the team named Zara (from the film Veer Zara). When Captain Zakia Makrani received the award, someone burst forth emotionally, aurat ne janam diya mardon ko (it is women who give birth to men). It was all surreal.
Of course the possibility of political mischief was always there. Two days ago, a match full of suspense (3 balls, 6 runs) was abandoned by crowd invasion. Politicians, unnerved by the success of the tournament, sought a stay on all the matches which they alleged might disturb the peace. The young players intervened. The tournament must continue. The politicians went away shaking their heads in dismay. Is it not strange that political parties which should build on the success of the tournament are just not around?
Write to saeednaqvi@expressindia.com<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story....t_id=64874
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Play cricket in Gujarat at Halol
Mehboob Chacha was the first to have thought of cricket as a great healer
SAEED NAQVIÂ
Saeed Naqvi Gujarat deserves an Indo-Pak test match, provided it is played at Halol. I have just returned after watching cricket at the most spectacular setting in Halol, part of Panchmahal district. Halol is exactly between Vadodara and Godhra, the epicentre of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. The match was actually the final of a month long tournament in which 64 teams from three talukas of Panchmahal â Halol, Kalol and Gogamba â participated.
The tournament has been a unique effort in healing communal wounds. Each of the 64 teams has been composed of Hindus and Muslims in equal numbers, more or less. As Mehboob Chacha observed, stroking his long, grey beard, selecting teams in such a communally charged atmosphere was not easy. Mehboob Chacha is part of Janvikas and Yuva Shakti, groups which provided the sinews for much of the post-pogrom relief in the area. He was the first to have thought of cricket as a great healer three years ago.
Advertisement
After the â02 disturbances, he had noticed youngsters had stopped playing together, something they always did in his living memory. Initially it was difficult to put together a team across the communal divide. Many, on both sides, had lost relatives in the pogrom and could not now reconcile to playing together. The traumatic events had torn the social fabric to shreds. Community leaders lost the initiative even as triumphalist VHP and Bajrang Dal volunteers, flushed with success, moved deeper into the countryside with their evangelism.
Patience and perseverance led to the formation of one eleven, then two. As Mazhar Hashmi pointed out, once the inner fear and anger was overcome, people came in droves. He realised of course that efforts like these run the risk of being cut off from the mainstream if there isnât a good secular Hindu to lead them. The âHindu leaderâ came in the shape of Gagan Sethi â the elder brother of billiard champion Geet Sethi â who is the principal architect of Janvikas. Last year the group put together 25 teams for the tournament. The final was played before an audience of 20,000 people. Former India captain, Kapil Dev, was the chief guest.
This year the organisers were even more ambitious. Not only would there be a month long tournament for the boys, there would be another for the women. This proved to be even more difficult than putting together a menâs cricket tournament. The youth on both sides immediately saw the attractions of playing cricket together, Mehboob Chacha explained, but it was impossible to persuade Muslim religious leaders to allow a womenâs cricket tournament. The local imam threatened to go on fast. Various Jamaats swore such a tournament would be played over their dead bodies. Gentle persuasion resulted in a compromise. Last year, the women of Halol were allowed to play cricket in purdah. In other words a cricket ground was enclosed by tented walls. So successful was the experiment that this year four womenâs teams played in a parallel tournament on a school ground. Gone was the purdah!
A pity Gujarat recently has been known for the wrong reasons. Letâs not forget that itâs one of our most colourful states. Its splendid handicrafts were all on display at the final. The cricket oval, in the shadow of the splendid Pavagarh hills, was decorated with shamianas, sashes, colourful banners, the crowds, interspersed with men and women in tribal gear, breaking out occasionally into a dance. Indeed, the BCCI should look at the ground for a stadium to boost cricket as well as the idea of Halol.It is an amazingly potent message deserving amplification. Sunil Gavaskar, who was chief guest at the final, agreed that he has not seen a more spectacular setting for cricket, played before a packed house of about 25,000.
The running commentary was a parody as much on cricket as on secular persuasion. Every now and again the commentator would break into song: Hindu na banega na mussalman banega, insaan ki aulad hai, insaan banega (our being human precedes our being Hindus or Muslims). The winner of the womenâs tournament was the team named Zara (from the film Veer Zara). When Captain Zakia Makrani received the award, someone burst forth emotionally, aurat ne janam diya mardon ko (it is women who give birth to men). It was all surreal.
Of course the possibility of political mischief was always there. Two days ago, a match full of suspense (3 balls, 6 runs) was abandoned by crowd invasion. Politicians, unnerved by the success of the tournament, sought a stay on all the matches which they alleged might disturb the peace. The young players intervened. The tournament must continue. The politicians went away shaking their heads in dismay. Is it not strange that political parties which should build on the success of the tournament are just not around?
Write to saeednaqvi@expressindia.com<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->