About supporting Pakistani cricketers
By
Kh. Asef Safa Kabir Upal Zakir Hossain Road, Dhaka
17 April 2005, 18:00 PM
On April 9, 2005 a letter was published in DS in which the writer (Hasnat Ahsan) implicitly opposed the support for Pakistan cricket team in our country on the basis of the fact that 'some Pakistanis' brutalised a huge multitude of our countrymen in 1971. It appeared as if he was particularly disturbed by the fact that a considerable number of university students and 'ladies' in our country support Pakistani cricketers. It's undeniable that the genocide, which the 'Pakistanis' carried out against us, is unforgivable. It was not merely a nightmare. It resembled the extermination of Jews by the Nazis during WW2. However, I think the writer should understand that 'a country' could never be held responsible for these sorts of inhuman atrocities. Usually, a few sordid men or a particular group carry out these crimes against humanity. Actually these people do not belong to any country. They are the enemies of their own country of birth and also of the entire human civilisation. The Nazis were responsible for the Holocaust but that doesn't mean that every German is a barbaric creature, or the Germans are a savage race. Another thing is noteworthy that people, who support Pakistan cricket team in our country, do not support it as 'a country'- they support it as 'a team'. I do not think they support the diplomatic and political aspects of the country. I was particularly disturbed by the fact that the writer separately criticised the female supporters. He mentioned: "our ladies are also attracted to the handsome cricketers of Pakistan." Women of our country surely have the right to choose their favorite team and players. It's regretful that some people still have the tendency to place women in a separate category and some indirectly criticise their choices.
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