By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: As India and Pakistan brace for a high-voltage cricket match in the Asia Cup Trophy 2018, parents of some of the students studying outside Jammu and Kashmir have decided to call their wards back home for some days in order to avoid any untoward incident.
“I called my younger brother back home a few days ago because we were concerned about his safety due to tensions associated with any Indo-Pak Cricket match. He is a die-hard fan of the Pakistan cricket team and may cheer for them during the match,” said Mudasir Ahmad of Bandipora whose brother is currently pursuing MBA at the Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU).
Kulsooma Bano from north Kashmir area echoed the same view saying, “My son is passionate about Cricket since childhood. Keeping this in mind, I thought it was better to call him back to home for a while in order to avoid any incident which might destroy his career as many students were expelled in recent years following controversies over the fans cheering their favourite teams”.
Another parent from Srinagar said that he had called his son back to the Valley as he is worried that after the Cricket match between India and Pakistan he might be attacked by right-wing activists if India loses the match.
Cricket matches between India and Pakistan tend to be high-voltage dramas, played out in a charged atmosphere with millions of people watching on television.
Many students from Kashmir Valley studying in different Indian states usually gather in hostels and other venues where they watch such matches. Their cheering of rival Indian teams often invites assaults from students and activists associated with the right-wing parties.
“Kashmiris support any team that is playing against India. It is the anti-India political sentiment that surfaces during such situations, it is a form of nonviolent resistance to India rule in Kashmir,” student Danish Noor claimed.
This is the sentiment that worries the parents of the students who are studying outside the Jammu and Kashmir. The result of the Cricket match will also determine the situation of which the parents of these students are apprehensive: “A Pakistan’s win might invite trouble for the students while a loss may mean a brief sadness but a calm situation”, he said.
It is pertinent to mention that in 2014, around 67 Kashmiri students studying in Meerut University were suspended over cheering for Pakistan Cricket team in the Asia Cup.
The apprehensions grew more after the UP government charged these students with sedition which were dropped later on after outrage from various quarters in the Valley. The minimum punishment for a sedition offence is three years and the maximum is a life sentence.
Another university to expel students for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in the Asia Cup, in past was the Sharda University in Greater Noida. Local students had rallied to demand the expulsion of six Kashmiri students following their ‘provocative’ posts on social media.
The India and Pakistan faceoff will be held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, September 19.
The India vs Pakistan match has always been more than just a game. Both the sub-continental neighbours share a hostile relation and have not played a bilateral Cricket series since 2012. It is only during the ICC tournaments that these two countries play against each other and their last encounter was in London in which Pakistan beat India by 180 runs to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final.
