Avenging Pulwama

So BCCI is still not sure whether it wants to play Pakistan in the world cup. Whatever, at least they have started thinking on the right track. 

I believe it does not behove a country of India's stature to get into a skirmish with a country like Pakistan. But it is #TerrorStatePak that we are dealing with & we shouldn't endure the bleeding through a thousand cuts. And #Pulwama has to be avenged. However, I advocate going about it in a manner that they don't even realise what hit them.

This is why we should call for expulsion of Pakistan from ICC. That will really hurt them, and their new PM too, he himself being a cricketer of repute once. We all know how Pakistan has been pleading for Paki players be allowed to play in IPL. When they are not able to play any international game whatsoever, they will come to their senses. Today, the Pak army has crippled democracy. But seeing the state of affairs of cricket, I am sure retired cricketers like Miyadad & Waqar, with many an old axe to grind against Imran, would float their own political fronts. The Pak army top brass will the be too busy with this new internal politics to even glance across the border. And let us live in peace.

But till this happens, TV channels in India & the Indian websites should stop covering any match involving Pakistan. Cricbuzz is already on the job on this & the Pakistani fans have started clamouring for the good old days. And not just Cricket, the same should be done for Hockey too. These are the only two sports Pakistan is good at, and India provides the maximum eyeballs to both. The international federations of both the sports are too accommodating of Indian interests. I am sure if our federations apply enough pressure, the Pakis would be left with playing only Gulli-Danda in the streets.

The Bollywood has also jumped into the ban Pak artist bandwagon. But they should draw a line - artists of Pak origin but brought up elsewhere (UK, Canada, etc.) should be welcome to make India their home. The Indian film buffs can always do with another overseas actress like Katrina Kaif or Sunny Leone & should not be denied the simple pleasures. In fact, we should make Sunny Leone the beacon of Bollywood. Her films should be bombarded on the satellite networks & her videos on the mobile networks. Her films would lure the Pak actresses to ditch their homeland & cross the border. Her videos would ensure that the idle men who now carry guns would be too busy with their phones. 

And all those young men who take up the gun will realise that there are more "hoors" on earth than "jannat". And that these hoors are migrating from their country to the neighbouring one. They will drop the guns & get busy protecting their riches. And you know what, Sunny Leone also promotes Mankind Pharma products. It will get a new market on the platter. And this is one product where a customer will never trust one made in China. Even if sold at Chinese costs!!

The Indian government should also pardon Vijay Mallya on the condition that he settles down in Dubai & starts new businesses in Pakistan. I am sure he will be too eager to push his two most successful products into a new market - Kingfisher beer & Kingfisher calendar. If this happens, it will be the knockout punch. Both of these are haraam in Islam & the mulla brigade out there will not take kindly to this. But will the illeterate, unemployed, idle Pak youth shun what the King of Good Times offers simply becuase a priest sitting inside a mosque says so? I very much doubt this. In fact, with a bottle or two of the Kingfisher beer down their throats & emboldened by the Kingfisher calendar in their possession, these youth could revolt against the clergy. Forget Kashmir, they won't even be able to defend their own mosques.

But these are all short term measures & we need a permanent solution. With Pakistan, one never knows when they get bored with killing each other or the afghans & get back to meddling in India. We should resort to cultural warfare to show these people their proper position. Starting with Biryani... We should claim GI tag for Biryani. Pakistan is sure to counter this. But the kinds & varieties of Biryani's available in India, and that Biryani's popularity began when the subcontinent was a single nation, should suffice. Why this is important? Once GI tag is received, every time a Pakistani eats Biryani he will be reminded of the big brother India & be thankful that we gave this wonderful dish to the world. Or, shun this pleasure altogether. Let the Pakis enjoy their Biryani-less feasts, if they can! And what will they offer to the Saudi prince when he comes calling? Hakka Noodles & Chicken Fried Rice? They will not get even $ 20 million then.

At the same time, the government should declare Urdu as our second national language. Which is legitimate as Urdu was developed in India & is our native language. And we should go around the world promoting Urdu as our language. For, our cultural & literary heritage in Urdu (and otherwise too) is much richer than Pakistan's. You want a separate country? Get a separate language too. With Arabic & Persian also having their own homelands, the paki boys will have to develop their own language from scratch. Once they get free from scratching their butts. It will be fun watching them do so (developing the language, stupid), for its no nuclear secret that can be stolen.

India & Pakistan have a lot of shared cultural heritage. We should start appropriating it. Now, the Punjabis are still an influential community despite the Sharif family falling foul of the defence establishment. But with Bhuttos practically exterminated politically, it opens space for us. We should declare Cheti Chand a National Holiday, at par with Diwali, Holi & the Eid's. And also start celebrating other Sindhi festivals publicly. Let the Sindhis in Pakistan know that across the border too their customs are respected. Also, we should award LK Advani with the Bharat Ratna (hope the PM agrees for the sake of the nation). This would show them that while the Pak establishment kills the Sindhi leaders, we respect the ones we have. Hopefully, this would give rise to a segment within Pakistan that is friendly with us & works for a closer integration of the hearts. And maybe, well... let's not speak on this that openly & publicly.

This is all I can think of at this time. Maybe, some other ideas would crop up the next time. 

Hopefully, the government would have implemented some of the above by then & there will be no next time. 

Jai Hind!

The Games They Play

The last few weeks have been memorable for Indian sports.

And not just because of the Commonwealth Games where we secured the highest no. of medals ever. It began in China, who has been needling us militarily & suffocating us economically, in the Davis Cup. Tennis is one sport in which India trumps China every time. For the Davis Cup tie this time they hosted us at Tainjin where it gets really cold. The chill helped them go up 2-0 on Day-1. On the 2^nd day, Paes & Bopanna paired up to reduce the deficit & the two games on the 3^rd day went on our favour too. Now, Paes & Bopanna have been loath to team up to represent India in multi-nation events. But they buried the old animosity this time to emerge victorious. Reminded me of the leaders of SP & BSP who, forgetting historical events, now share a Bua-Bhatija relationship.

The we had the Table Tennis players who put up a stupendous show, the ten member team winning 8 medals (including both the team Golds). The surprise run began with the girls dethroning Singapore in the finals. The undisputed star was Manika Batra who, nails painted in the tricolor, won 4 medals (in each of the event she entered). Reminded me of BJP whose testosterone fueled nationalism demolished most national & regional parties in the last general elections & most of the state elections since.

Hockey is considered our national game, not because it originated here but because this was the lone sport where we excelled since pre-independence days. Since the last many years, it has been on a steady decline. At Gold Coast, we topped the pool to reach the semis where we ended up losing the Bronze medal tie to England who we defeated in the group stage. Reminded me of Rahul Gandhi, whose rallies draw huge crowds but, post-results, he inevitably ends up on the losing side.

Wrestling has been our strong point at the CWG’s. This edition was also no different. The 12-member team returned with 12 medals (5 Golds, 3 Silvers, 4 Bronzes). It seems the akhada-trained strong men (and women) simply could not lose. Reminded me of Mukhtar Ansari (and many others), the mafia don turned neta who has been winning UP assembly elections for more than 20 years now.

India hasn’t done well in Squash traditionally unlike our “friends” across the western border. But Dipika Pallikal & Joshna Chinappa have put up some notable performances in the past. At Gold Coast, their pair reached the finals & ended up with a Silver. A creditable achievement in itself, all though could think (and crib) about was some refereeing errors. Reminded me of Mamata Banerjee.

India has a long history of success in Badminton. Prakash Padukone winning the All England way back in 1980. For the past some years now, it’s the girls who have kept the flag flying high in the sport. Saina won the Gold in 2010 (18 years after Syed Modi last did so) but missed the last edition. During this period she saw Sindhu hogging the limelight & glory. But Saina came back to defeat Sindhu & secure the gold medal this time. Reminded me of the communists which regained power in Kerala after losing it everywhere else (in India & the world).

These splendid two sporting weeks for the Indian sports fan have ended. And reminded me of our netas who have, during this period, spoken about nothing else but Kathua & Unnao rape cases.

Pic courtesy: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/commonwealth-games/commonwealth-games-2018-opening-ceremony-p-v-sindhu-leads-india-to-gold-coast-5123385/