India and Pakistan’s Monumental March

Since the Partition of India in 1947, which split British India into the two independent countries of India and Pakistan, there has been tension between the two. This rivalry, which is evident in many interactions between the two countries and their people, extends to their cricket national teams. On Oct. 24, Pakistan and India played against each other for an official International Cricket Council (ICC) event, the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup opening game, which was the first cricket match between the two countries in five years. The result of the game was a win for Pakistan, which many people considered an upset as Pakistan had not defeated India in the T20 World Cup tournament in nearly nine years (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network).

The scarcity of recent matches between India and Pakistan is due to tense diplomatic relations between the two countries (Forbes). Ever since the Partition of India, the countries have been feuding over controversies such as unsettled territorial issues, political incompatibility, irreconcilable positions on national identity and the absence of significant economic and trade relations between the two states (Research Gate). These problems have resulted in four wars between the two countries, including one undeclared war, along with many border skirmishes and military stand-offs (Times of India). These relations between the countries and their citizens led to three college students from Kashmir getting arrested by Indian officials. According to Cable News Network, Kashmir is a territory that is administered in part by India and in part by Pakistan. The students were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after reportedly shouting pro-Pakistan slogans and putting up social media posts in support of the neighboring country at an engineering college in Punjab, India after the match (Aljazeera). 

Due to the tense relations between the countries, Pakistanis are not allowed to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the most lucrative and popular outlet for the game of cricket according to Britannica, and India’s government does not allow its cricket team to play Pakistan in either of the team’s respective countries. As a result, when India and Pakistan were set to play against each other in the United Arab Emirates for the World Cup match, there was much excitement surrounding the match. 167 million people tuned in, making it the most viewed Twenty20 International (T20I) match to date.

“The match started around 6 a.m.,” junior Arnav Singh said. “My whole family was up and ready to watch. [We were sitting] with popcorn and blankets in the living room, waiting to see who would win the toss.”

With Pakistan having a high Muslim population and India having a high Hindu population, much of the tension between the two countries is rooted in animosity for the others’ beliefs. This religious divide is not only evident between the government of the two countries; it also manifests itself w

ithin the citizens of both countries, especially online (Global Conflict Tracker). After the cricket match, some people on social media and select news outlets attacked an Indian cricketer of Islamic faith, Mohammad Shami. They blamed Shami for India’s loss, since the Pakistani batsmen were able to score a significant number of runs against him, and accused him of being a “traitor”; questioning his allegiance to his country of birth. Other people came to Shami’s defense, calling out the display of Islamophobia in these accusations and saying that Shami was not the only one who contributed to the loss that day. Sophomore Zeyna Haji is upset by the treatment of Shami online.

“The world should take these issues [of discrimination] seriously and the media should stop provoking the situation,” Haji said. “[The treatment of Shami] is not fair at all; he is playing for his country, not his religion.”

While the stakes and the tension surrounding matches between the two teams has always been particularly high, the players on both teams are usually civil toward one another and show each other respect. Virat Kohli, the captain of India’s national team, was applauded for his sportsmanship when he congratulated Pakistan after they defeated India in the Champions Trophy final in 2017 (Forbes). Freshman Maryam Ali hopes both governments will follow the actions of their cricket teams and learn to be more civil towards one another. 

“The rivalry between the two countries [ultimately] causes the behavior against players on the field,” Ali said. “[The reactions to the match by fans on both sides] cannot be condoned by politicians and other leaders. They need to speak up to educate and unite and serve as the role models they should be, [following the examples from the cricket players on both teams].”