A Cricket-Intoxicated, Superstitious Country
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
20
November, 2023
“Call
me a traitor, but I am happy that India lost. Had it won; the entire India
would have been singing paeans to over-hyped Indian cricketers until the next
World Cup!”
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Finally, a 45-day jamboree came to a tame end with India's drubbing in the Final of World Cup at a narcissist and megalomaniac's stadium in his own fiefdom. The Aussies put India in its place by outsmarting and outclassing in all departments. The bubble of fervid and most embarrassing euphoria has burst.
This
World Cup has yet again confirmed that the Indians are morbidly cricket-crazy
and their obsession with the game can go to any extent from fasting to offering
blood and tongues to their deities. Sickeningly religious Indians did
everything to appease and bribe their bagful of gods to win this World Cup.
Alas,
all Hom, Yagya, Havan, Aarti failed to help India win. A group of unemployed
youth decided to stay hungry and thirsty until India won. They also vowed never
to watch cricket if India lost. I hope they adhere to their vow! Ten girls in
MP sat at one place without eating, drinking, moving and even answering the
call of nature from dawn to dusk reciting Sundar Kaand and Hanuman Chalisa.
But
Hanuman was reluctant to bestow his grace upon Rohit Sharma and his mates on
Sunday. He chose Oz for his divine grace. Jai Sri Ram. Jay Hanuman! A mere
cricket match became a national obsession as if there's nothing else in the
world. Workers are trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand for more than
170 hours. Nearly fifty percent of people are jobless. But who cares?
The
government is flying jets before the Final, and people are praying to the gods
of their choice but no one seems to be concerned about the fate of the trapped
workers in a tunnel as if their lives have no value. This is India. A very
large chunk of its population is still insensitive. Over-patriotism and
pathological religiosity have devastated the country. Most of the Indians are indolent
lotus eaters with nothing worthwhile to do. For them, such carnivals and
jamborees are much sought-after pastimes.
Call
me a traitor, but I'm happy that India lost. Had it won; the entire India would
have been singing paeans to over-hyped Indian cricketers until the next World
Cup!
…
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
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