Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A handshake that renews friendship


Between you and me, my friend, a handshake is enough, goes an old adage. The handshake is one custom that can break the ice, iron out the differences and may even mark a new beginning. So, when Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan shook hands with his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it reflected the true meaning of sport.

The two men have crossed one other twice in the tournament so far. Their first meeting was at The Oval, where India and Pakistan played a warm-up match. The second occasion was at the MCC’s Indoor Centre at Lord’s. Younis had just finished his session with the media, Dhoni was to begin his.

“All the best bhai,” the Pakistan captain wished his opposite number. Dhoni shook hands, saying “To you too.”

The handshake may appear little more than a formality to some, but to others it is a complete view into the personality of the person on the other end of the handshake. The handshake has also created nations and bought homesteads. It also reminded the picture of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s historic handshake with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

Younis even went a step ahead and gave his sincere advice to Dhoni. “Keep your cool, man,” was Younis' message when asked to comment on Dhoni's tussle with the media. Dhoni was upset with the media after it reported a rift between the skipper and his deputy Virender Sehwag.

Cricket is the most popular sport in India and Pakistan. Though it is regularly affected by fluctuations in political relations, it has also been used as a tool of diplomacy.

The sides played a warm-up match and as India cruised to a nine-wicket win – it set the tone of the tournament which is still coming into terms of Twenty20.

If one looks back to realise that the cricket tours between India and Pakistan were revived in the wake of diplomatic initiatives to bury half a century of mutual hostility. Both sides relaxed their tough visa regulations for each other, allowing thousands of fans to travel across the border.

In a country as ethnically diverse as Pakistan, it has been said that the two things that bind society together are the Urdu and cricket. And when it comes onto India – it is Bollywood and Cricket.

The uninitiated might say that cricket is just a game. This could not be further from the truth in Pakistan, where the antics of the national team arouse fierce nationalist passion, and where governments use the sport as a channel for diplomacy between India and Pakistan.

The late General Zia ul-Haq was a keen cricket lover, although he at times exploited the game to further his own ends, such as scheduling games when opposition protest rallies were planned. Cricket would invariably prove the stronger attraction.

In a standoff between India and Pakistan during the mid-1980s, Zia astonished the world by making a sudden visit to India to watch a match between the two countries. This successful "back door" diplomacy during the time of the then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi is still remembered in the sub-continent as Zia's cricket diplomacy, which immediately eased tension between the countries.

So, what the two governments have failed to do so far, we hope that this handshake or cricket diplomacy as they call might help the nations and mark a new beginning.

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