Frontline
January 1999
Editorial

Of cricket, Christians conversions

What won’t the ultra–patriotic Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, do for the nation? Until the afternoon of January 21 it was not in the national interest that any cricket be played between India and Pakistan until the latter stopped all overt and covert support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. So, the supremo issued a firman to his sainiks that they must do whatever it takes to disrupt the match from being played anywhere on Indian soil. Getting to work with the zeal only ‘patriots’ are capable of, a bunch of the Sena’s demolition squad dug up the cricket pitch at the Firozshah Kotla field in Delhi. But the big act was reserved for Mumbai where another buanch of sainiks launched an assault on the office of the Board for Control of Cricket (BCCI) in India and smashed to bits the World Cup and other precious trophies. Unfortunately for him, Thackeray had not taken into account the fact that in this cricket–crazy country, the game is the first religion for millions of Indians. As public disgust with sainik misdeed turned to outrage overnight, the Shiv Sena was left with no option but to call off its much–touted, not–to–be–disclosed–in–advance action plans to disrupt the match in Chennai and elsewhere. But quick to the rescue, the BJP–led government at the Centre helped its coalition partner convert a situation of public disgrace into a coup of sorts. Union home minister, L.K. Advani, who loves being likened to the ‘Iron Man’ of India, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, flew down to Mumbai on January 21, to help the pro–violence, habitual law–breaker, Thackeray, pretend to the world that he was merely suspending his position on Indo–Pak cricket ‘for a year’ on the request of the Prime Minister. For now, lovers of the game will concentrate on who loses and who wins in the series about to commence. But it is already evident that both the BJP, which wanted the matched to be played, and the Shiv Sena, which was hell–bent on disrupting them, have emerged as real losers. The former has disgraced itself in the public eye for capitulating before a bully while the latter’s patriotism has come to be seen as nothing more than hooliganism.

Whatever may have been Thackeray’s motive in raking up the controversy over cricket, the farce helped divert public attention from the shocking reluctance of the BJP–led Union government to intervene on behalf of Gujarat’s Christians facing unrelenting attacks on their life, faith and property. Since August last year, fact–finding teams sent to Gujarat by several independent human rights groups, the national commission for minorities and political parties, have all returned to report that in case after case activists of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP have systematically targeted Christians with impunity while the BJP government and the police in Gujarat have assumed the role of passive bystanders. It took a visit to Gujarat by the Congress, Sonia Gandhi to prime Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee into following in her footsteps two days later. One would have imagined that given the unanimous findings of so many investigation teams and growing international concern, Vajpayee would at least deliver a public rebuke to the state government, if not threaten central intervention. Vajpayee, however, did nothing of the sort. Instead of addressing the issue of the growing insecurity among India’s minorities, he sought to obfuscate it by raising the bogey of religious conversions by suggesting a national debate on the subject.

But since the conversion question keeps being raked up, our cover story this month takes up the issue while situating it in the continuing attacks on Christians in Gujarat. When its not attacking Christians or digging up cricket pitches, it’s a fatwa against a book, play or a film, implemented through the use of force. While hearing a writ petition in mid–December, the Supreme Court directed the government of Maharashtra to provide adequate police protection to cinema theatres exhibiting the targeted film. But the apex court’s directive remains on paper — fearing the Sena, exhibitors are reluctant to screen Fire. As for those who have spoken in favour of the film outside the court, what are they defending: the broader freedom of expression issue or that of lesbian rights? Our special report examines the issue in depth and a complimentary piece, Adarsh Nari, anticipates India of the future in which Ayodhya is the national capital, and Indian culture will be immunised against all foreign influences.

We wish all our readers a Happy New Year.

— Editors

 


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