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| Indian batsman watched by Pakistan fielder |
Pakistan and India have been in conflict for more than 60 years. They have fought three major wars, resulting in the death of more than a million people. The 2008 Mumbai attacks which claimed the lives of 174 people still stands in the way of improving relations between the two countries. This is the cloud that hovered over last Wednesday’s world cup semi-final in India.
However, this was not the focus of about 40 London Met Asian and British Asian students, mainly Pakistanis and Indians, who watched the match at the Rocket Complex. Some climbed up on stools. Others reclined in sofas. All stared at the several televisions. Spectacular plays from India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz were greeted with applause. In a game which seesawed, the only tension in the room came from the TV screens.
This respectful and good-natured mood was encouraged by post graduate Pakistan student, Haris Afridi. On the eve of the match, he posted on Facebook: “... Wednesday is no day of war. If anything, it is a celebration of cricket, a triumph of love over hate, of harmony over discord. The flags of both Pakistan and India will be fluttering together. Don't drag your 'faith' in to this game... The 11 wonderful cricketers on both sides represent no holy armies. They represent the very best in cricket. That's it!”
If this was not enough, the students could take their cue from political representatives. Days before the game Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted an invitation from his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, to watch the game in Mohali. The move was aimed at ‘improving the environment for talks... on a number of troublesome issues’.
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| Pakistan and Indian students watch the game at Rocket Complex |
Meanwhile at the Rocket, the Pakistani support was more outstanding, especially in the second half of the game when it seemed like the men in green would successfully chase India’s total of 260. A large Pakistan flag was conspicuously spread across a box at the front of the room, and two male students wore green sport shirts. One of them was Osman Shahid Amin. The 21-year-old who came over from the City campus, where he studies business and marketing, believes that the baggage associated with Pakistan India contests is the reason why his country had not won any of the four previous world cup matches against their archrivals.
“...the players are aggressive, thinking that they are beating their neighbours, but it’s not just about beating your neighbours. It’s not about war. It’s not about partition. It’s just about pure cricket,” he said.
India was partitioned in 1947 (at the end of British rule) creating the Pakistan state. This pitted Hindus against Muslims, resulting in one of the world’s longest conflicts, the main focus of which has been who should control the Kashmir region.
Osman, who said he has Indian friends, claimed that such baggage is not normally carried from their homelands. Another Pakistan student, Zahid Hussein, who was born and raised in England, said he also has Indian friends but this was because things were changing.
Pakistan’s poor record against India in world cups did not change however, as they were beaten for the fifth consecutive time by their nemesis.
Twenty-year-old Akash Cogna, the one Indian student willing to comment on relations between the countries, said the match carried no historical significance for him:
“We are just proud of ourselves man, especially on our home ground. We are planning to get as far as we can and win the world cup.”
