They are citing the reason of killing two jawans of Indian army on 8th January 2013 by the Pakistani counterparts. We also condemn such actions of Pakistan army. Pakistan army officials have brought counter allegation before United Nations that one of their personnel has also been killed by Indian army on 10th January 2013. We assert that such casualties are the inevitable outcomes of the volatile situation at the border areas created by ruling sections of both the countries. So, for a crime of the Pakistan army, can we blame all Pakistanis? This is a question we are putting before those who are opposing the visit of Pakistan cricket team to Odisha.
If this could be the logic of hatred, then do we blame all foreign nationals where Indians either have been attacked or killed by the citizens of that respective country or countries? On December 30, 2012, a US woman pushed an Indian to death in front of a New York subway train. She said, ‘‘I’ve hated Hindus and Muslims since 2001, since they put down the Twin Towers.’ So do we now blame all Americans to demonstrate our nationalism? Or, can we blame all Australians or English people for sporadic attack on Indian students for the last several years in those respective countries?
Always the answer will be big ‘no’.
However, Utkal Bharati, ABVP and Bajarang Dal who have a history of spreading communalism in the country are now leading such ‘hate Pakistani’ campaign. They were the people who led the anti-Christian communal violence in Kandhamal in 2008, as a matter of revenge, alleging all Christians in the district for the death of one person, that is, Laxmananda. Those organisations also led anti-Muslim communal violence in Gujarat in 2002, as same matter of revenge, causing deaths of nearly 2000 Muslims, injuring nearly 50,000 for the death of 56 people inside Sabarmati Express on Feb 28, 2002. Can an entire community be blamed for the death or murder of one or few people? But such communal groups, since inception, are talking the language of hatred against Muslims and Pakistanis so that Hindus could be united
and unification could be turned into vote for achieving power. When our State is fighting with deadly diseases like poverty, starvation deaths, displacement, farmers’ suicide etc. these communal forces are raising communalism-like-nonissues to divert the attention.
If you remember, few days back Indian media, both regional and national, was praising the effort of 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai for promoting girls’ education in Pakistan. We all condemned the attack of the Taliban on her. Rather the attack of Taliban on women was more concern for us as well as backwardness in education of Pakistani women. Therefore, if women of Pakistan, irrespective of the class, are coming for a cricket match here, then should that be encouraged or opposed? Are not the Hindu communal forces talking the same language as their counterpart in Pakistan?
So this pseudo nationalism of communal forces is not only spreading anti-Muslim heartedness inside the common Odia Hindu person but also it is throwing the entire society into polarization. Opposing the Pakistan cricket team may be a small example but could be one of the factors for growing communalism in the future.
We demand:
1. We demand before the Odisha government to take the necessary action against such antisocial communal forces and extend a warm welcome to the Pakistan women’s team.
2. We demand that the world cup matches be held at Cuttack peacefully.
We appeal to all concerned citizens to be united and oppose the communal agenda of such forces.
List of organisations condemning this action of communal forces:
Suresh Panigrahi, CPI (M); Sivaram, CPI(ML);Prashanta Paikray, PPSS; Narendra Mohanty, INSAF; Pramila Behera, AIRWO; Abhiram Mallik, Mulanibasi Samata Parishad; Debaranjan, All India Secular Forum; Lenin Kumar, Odisha Janabadi Lekhak Sangha; Rajesh Jhankar, All India Secular Forum and others
Contact Person: Debaranjan, Cell: 9437762272
Address: A/56,GANGADHAR BHABAN, SRIYA TALKIES ROAD,ASHOK NAGAR,BHUBANESWAR-1
