A decision that was inevitable

It's easy to say that politics should be kept out of sport. The latest to advocate this tenuous argument is, perhaps not surprisingly, a cricketer turned politician - Imran Khan. ``Pakistanis always support Pakistan-India matches and it would be unfair if politics starts dominating tours,'' he told a news agency in Karachi on Thursday following the announcement by Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa that the government had refused permission for the national team to proceed to Toronto for the five match Sahara Cup series against Pakistan.

Ideally of course, Imran is right. Politics should be kept out of sport but then whether we like it or not, the two are interwoven. And then there is a fine line between politics and human suffering. It is true, as Imran says, that Pakistanis always support Pakistan-India matches, but in the words of Dhindsa, ``Pakistan is also supporting terrorist activities in Kashmir and encouraging the killing of innocent people in Kashmir and elsewhere.''

Let's face facts. An India-Pakistan encounter is not the same as India vs New Zealand or any other country. Thanks to historical and geographical reasons, the situation is very different when it comes to India-Pakistan matches. This is true of any sport but cricket, given its unique status in the sub continent evokes fervour and passion of a different kind. The players of the two sides say it is akin to the Ashes battles between England and Australia, but in reality the encounters are even more intensely fought, as those who have watched and followed the games will testify.

The India-Pakistan cricket ties have had a chequered background. It was with great fanfare that the first series was held in 1952-53 and it was with the utmost enthusiasm that the Indian team was greeted when they made the return visit two years later. The same keenness was seen when Pakistan visited India in 1960-61. But even in these early encounters one thing became obvious. The two teams hated to lose, captains and players adopted defensive tactics and the cricket was generally boring - as symbolised by two successive rubbers in which all five Tests were drawn.

With the relations at the political level getting increasingly sour, the countries went to war in 1965 and 1971 which meant that cricketing ties could not be resumed till 1978. And while there was great rejoicing that the encounters were being resumed, and the Indian team was warmly welcomed to Pakistan, there was always a strong undercurrent of tension. Umpiring on both sides remained a contentious issue even while the tours continued uninterrupted. In the mid 80s there was an exchange of tours every year and the relations seemed to be getting warmer. But the fact that the India-Pakistan encounters were probably ill fated was proved when midway through the trip to Pakistan in 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated and the tour was abandoned.

So far whatever tension and unhappiness the players might have felt was a direct result of umpiring decisions. The situation worsened hereafter. The seed for serious trouble had been sown during the final Test at Karachi on the 1982-83 tour when politically motivated rioting, which included an attempt to damage the pitch, caused the fourth day's play to be abandoned in mid-afternoon. Four years later, on the fourth afternoon of the Ahmedabad Test on the 1986-87 tour, play was suspended for close to an hour after a section of the crowd had pelted the Pakistan players with stones. Play resumed with some of the visitors wearing helmets. Then on the first day of the Test series in Pakistan in 1989, an intruder rushed onto the field in Karachi and after a brief altercation with Kapil Dev, ran to the Indian captain Srikkanth and assaulted him, muttering something about the Babri Masjid. It was a scary situation and if he had a knife, anything might have happened. Before he was overpowered, he succeeded in wrenching some buttons off Srikkanth's shirt. The situation became tense and there was talk of calling off the tour. It was only after hasty diplomatic initiatives that the tour went on. But there was trouble again during a one day international in Karachi following a pitch invasion by the crowd.

By this time it had become clear that there was little chance of India and Pakistan exchanging reciprocal visits, even though they continued to play in the World Cup, Sharjah and a few other venues along with other teams. By the mid 90s, again it was felt that politics should not be mixed with sport and the Sahara Cup series of matches, inaugurated at Toronto in 1996, was generally welcomed. For three years, the teams played there in reasonably good spirits. But nearer home the political situation worsened and then came the Kargil conflict, necessitating the end of India-Pakistan encounters in the Sahara Cup. Both teams did go to Toronto but played three matches against West Indies. This time India will not even proceed to Toronto following the government's refusal to clear the team for the competition.

Perhaps what is needed is a break. There was indeed a break of more than 17 years between 1961 and 1978 when the teams did not visit each other at all. There was another long interval of almost ten years before the Pakistan team came to India to play two Tests and the Asian Test Championship match in 1999. That was another troubled tour. First the Shiv Sena, determined in their effort to stop the Pakistan team from coming, dug up the pitch at the Kotla grounds in New Delhi. The visitors finally arrived amidst unprecedented security. Then came the crowd trouble at Calcutta following the run out decision against Sachin Tendulkar which resulted in the stadium being depopulated and the final rites of the Asian Championship Test match being conducted before an empty Eden Gardens.

As can be seen, troubles and controversies are the middle names of India-Pakistan encounters, especially in the sub-continent. Now things have reached such a potentially disturbing situation that it is not possible to play a match even in a neutral territory. The Indian government's decision - right or wrong, it was inevitable - is a serious setback to the hopes of India visiting Pakistan early next year. Talks between the officials of the two boards were on and the Pakistan cricket authorities had already sent across a tentative itinerary for the tour, scheduled to be the first by an Indian team across the border for a Test series since 1989. Now it can be taken for granted that not only will this tour not come off, there must also be a big question mark over future cricketing ties between the two countries. Perhaps what is needed is another long break - though even that will not be a guarantee that there will be trouble free matches between the two countries in the 21st century.