They say one should never talk about religion and politics in polite company. Well, this conventional wisdom will be violated in the Mohali pavilion on the 30th where the Pakistani and Indian premiers will talk about both: the South Asian religion of cricket and the politics of Indo-Pak diplomacy, a new spell of what they call cricket diplomacy. It is an oxymoronic label of sorts because cricket, especially India vs Pakistan, is nothing short of war and diplomacy is supposed to be anything but.
The term entered the diplomatic lexicon when Zia-ul-Haq visited India to watch a cricket match back in 1987 at a time of heightened tension and successfully diffused said tension between the two nations at loggerheads. It was considered an innovative stroke of diplomatic acumen at the time but its effects didnt last long and these tensions were back at an all-time high as soon as 1989. President Musharraf too went in 2005 at a not-too-rosy patch in mutual relations to salvage some improvement which proved short-lived too. Aside from these high-profile visits, many other dignitaries have used the VIP box to meet and greet their counterparts. Even though history doesnt provide evidence of any substantive success, much fanfare is still associated with this type of diplomacy. Resumption or suspension of cricketing ties has often been an accurate barometric indicator for bilateral relations but it is unreasonable to expect these ties do anymore than indicate or mitigate. On-field antics can never replace what needs to be done off it. The ground realities of the relations between the two countries remain the same and the real diplomacy is going to take place on the 28th when the two Foreign Secretaries meet and discuss what needs to be done. Cricket diplomacy can only supplement this. No more. No less, too, because cricket is a supernaturally potent force in the subcontinent and it has proved a great way of people-to-people contact, even if its political traction is limited.
PM Singhs invitation is being touted as more than a goodwill gesture which means the curveballs wont only be coming from the off-spinners. Musharrafs visit was hyped in a similar vein but one hopes that there is some real progress instead of the usual spiel being recycled. On the flipside, one hopes the battle is on in the field. Because in that case, there will be only one winner: India or Pakistan. Not cricket. Not diplomacy.
