India's cricket diplomacy 'just a PR stunt'

Photo: @shafisaxena.

India beat Pakistan on Wednesday March 30th to reach the final of the Cricket World Cup, sparking scenes of jubilation throughout India. The match was also used as a diplomatic opportunity by India, whose relations with Pakistan have historically been strained. But our Observers doubt that such ‘cricket diplomacy’ can work.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the match with him in Mohali, in northwest India. Although the two ministers were all smiles after their meeting, it remains to be seen whether their positive attitude will reflect a real change in diplomacy.

Do you think the Cricket World Cup can help renew ties between India and Pakistan? Post your comment below.

"There’s been cricket between these two teams for years and it hasn’t changed anything politically"

Zaheer Alam Kidvai is a professor from Karachi (south Pakistan).

I watched the game and enjoyed it – I actually thought Pakistan did quite well, better than I expected. India is one of the top teams in the world, while Pakistan has done very poorly these past few years. So the fact that we made it to the semi-finals and played quite well was a good surprise. I’d say most people in Pakistan are proud of our team, and I don’t doubt the players will get a hero’s welcome when they arrive at the airport.

However I don’t think the game can really change anything in the diplomatic relations between countries. There’s been cricket between these two teams for years and that hasn’t changed anything politically, so why should it start now? Even if the two Prime Ministers met before the game, nothing will happen unless there is a real political will to talk. More important right now is that it’s more and more difficult for the average Indian to get a visa to travel to Pakistan, and vice-versa. Our two countries have historic links (my family was displaced to Pakistan after the partition, and I still have close ties with friends in India), but if we stop our children from seeing each other and sharing, then one day those ties will be severed entirely.”

Watching the match in a Pakistani office. Photo posted on Flickr by Daudpota.

“The diplomatic show that went on around the game was just a lot of hogwash”

Arnab Das is a communication officer in Mumbai.

We were given half a day off to watch the match, cricket is a religion here. I watched the game with a bunch of friends, and after the victory we went out into the street to celebrate. There was a huge, huge crowd, everybody was ecstatic. The Indian flag was everywhere, people were hugging each other and setting off fire-crackers. It was actually really good to see everyone so happy. India has been bogged down in a series of corporate and political scandals over the past months, and people were feeling quite disillusioned. So a good game like this gave everyone a big boost.

I think the diplomatic show that went on around the game was just a lot of hogwash – a bit of a PR operation for our Prime Minister who is trying to deflect attention from a string of political scandals. The issues between India and Pakistan are much too complex to be solved with just a cricket game. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the players from both teams behaved very well: they were respectful and played fairly. There was none of the aggressiveness that there has been in the past.”

Watching the game in a Jodhpur bar. Photo posted on TwitPic by @dushyant_gap.

Indian cricket fan. Photo posted on TwitPic by @shafisaxena

Crowd celebrating after the match. Photo posted on TwitPic by @spoxchange.