Yesterday was a big day in the Cricket World Cup of 2015. Two archrivals, India and Pakistan were facing each other and the match was termed as the ‘mother of all the matches’ by cricket pundits. As expected, the weak Pakistani team lost the match and there was like a national mourning in the cities and towns of Pakistan. On the other hand, Indians were jubilant and their joy was getting almost uncontrollable.
As there are also hundreds and thousands of Afghans who have spent many years in Pakistan as refugees and have soft corner with this country, so they also appeared unhappy at the conclusion of the match. On the other hand, there are also present some who support India as India is considered to be a friend nation of Afghanistan so there were also present those who were rejoicing. However, like any other India-Pakistan match, this match was also a horrible picture of hate-promotion and heedless media campaign in both the countries.
More than a month ago, when the schedule of World Cup matches was issued, the media in both the countries had started exclusive preparations for this match. Large number of sports channels covering the World Cup matches had made special arrangements to increase the public interest in this match. But this match was never going to be left unnoticed by the general public. So media had to work to do something special to immerse it into the brains and emotions of the people on both the sides.
Some of the special preparations included of songs made in the favor of teams, and unfortunately, these songs had to insult the other team to be more meaningful and acceptable. Special commentary of the legend Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan and the fastest Pakistani bowler of his time, Shoaib Akhtar was anxiously awaited. General public was also in frenzy; many had made special arrangements for watching the match with friends and family members and then to celebrate it in style. A bakery in Pakistan had made a special cake. This huge cake was in the shape of a cricket ground in which players were made from jelly and other things like these.
Some people in Pakistani city of Karachi were dancing a night before the match started. The media on both the sides was giving maximum coverage to this event and it looked as if crimes, unemployment and all other problems in both the countries had either finished or ignored for the time being. People from both the sides were busy in talking in favor and against the teams on social networking sites of Facebook, Twitter and others.
There were exaggerations, the description of past events and in worst cases, there started a verbal war of using bad words against the countries, teams and players of the opposite side. Some time, it crossed its limit and reached to religion or sacred public figures of the countries. Unfortunately, the general public on the both the sides is not mature and literate enough to be careful about the sensitivities of such comments. Thousands of supporters had reached Australia to watch this match and support their teams and according to the media, there was an air of a fair and excitement in the small city of Adelaide where this match was going to be played.
With this frenzy, the desperately awaited match started and during the continuation of match, the supporters from both the sides went through different emotions. According to unconfirmed sources, people had kept on bet billions of rupees about the victory or defeat of the teams. However, the match did not turn out to be exciting and it was in fact a one-sided match. The Indian team was leading the match right from the beginning and the doubtful Pakistani batting once again collapsed and Pakistani team lost the match with a huge margin.
As the match ended, there was an outburst of emotions on both the sides. Indians were getting almost crazy with joy and they started their celebrations. The crackers, the sweets and the traffic jams were the necessary ingredients of this celebration. In Pakistan, the reaction was also not less violent and fierce. There were many who broke down their television sets, who shouted on people near them and it is yet to be confirmed, but in past, there were many who lost their lives after a heart-attack due to the unbearable joy and sadness of the victory or loss.
A couple of years ago, some Muslim students, who actually belonged to Kashmir of India were tortured and expelled out of the university when they reacted on the result of a match between India and Pakistan. These Muslim students were studying in a university with majority of Hindu students and they were accused of exhibiting their joy after Pakistan defeated India in a cricket match. According to media, the Hindu students not only beat them but later on they were expelled from this university under allegations of disrupting religious harmony of the university. In past as well, after the loss of Indian team against Pakistan, many Hindus looted or set on fire the shops or houses of Muslims living as minorities in their vicinity. Special arrangements were made by law-enforcing agencies to avoid sectarian violence and riots on such occasions.
However, this list of mental and emotional despair, rage and revenge is long and no side is less than the other. But such reactions have done irreparable harm to the relations between the public of these two countries. On all these occasions, the media outlets on both the sides arrange programs in a way that cricketers or cricketing experts from both the sides take part and public is also involved via live phone calls. At times, it is felt that the anger, emotionality and irresponsible comments would end in a verbal fight and the adrenaline level of the viewers on both the sides reaches to unbelievable heights.
It is a harsh reality that both the countries are considered to be the harsh enemies of each other but it is also a fact that both the sides can prosper and grow only by mutual growth and coexistence. This rule is not only applicable for the scenario of India and Pakistan but to every nation of the world. There has been efforts from the considerate classes of both the countries to bring the people close to each other and wipe away the feelings of enmity against each other but such matches have always done the exact opposite. For this, people on both the sides of border cannot be blamed as they are driven away by their emotions but the media in both the countries can be blamed as they utilize this opportunity to make it lucrative and successful financially but for their financial gains, they play with the emotions of people and broaden the gaps between them.
Just like the blasphemy cartoons and coverage of the cruel atrocities of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, this is also a dark side of media when it puts its own benefits first and plays with the emotions of people. They may earn a few more dollars but they leave behind lasting imprints of disrespect, insult and embarrassment on humanity and mutual self-respect.