India is set to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket tournament in Dubai on Sunday, September 14, 2025. Jay Shah, President of the Asian Cricket Council, could have played a major role in ensuring that the match does not happen. But he didn’t. Behind him stands the force of the entire Indian government. Jay is the son of our Home Minister, Amit Shah. All of them have crossed a line of no return. They have betrayed the 1.4 billion Indians and have the blood of the victims of Pahalgam on their hands.
We have declared war on Pakistan after it sent terrorists into our country to kill innocent tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April this year. Twenty-six civilians died. Worse, one of the murderers sent a personal blood-wrapped message of terror through the wife of a man he had just slain. “Tell Modi,” he allegedly said in Hindi, throwing an open challenge to the leader of the world’s largest democracy.
By playing cricket against Pakistan in Dubai, the Prime Minister and his team have diluted the high moral ground that we are trying to gain in the international community. Politicians who rushed to Pahalgam pretending to help the victims have betrayed their people. We will remember this one, because it is not just a game – it is the sentiment of a people.
We sent parliamentarians on a world trip at taxpayers’ expense to make the case that Pakistan was responsible for the Pahalgam attack. We were wined and dined and one person even sang inappropriately at the dinner table. Not one country believed us. Not one country till date – not one – has called out Pakistan as a sponsor of state terrorism. On 9/11, no one reminded the world that Osama bin Laden was found in Pakistan. As we play cricket in Dubai, the world is laughing at us and will do so for years while Pakistan gains ground in our neighbourhood aided by China. Beijing was also involved in Pahalgam.
Some sections of the Indian media and commentariat believe that India is indispensable to the world and Pakistan is not. I do not agree. We are up against powerful forces who do not want us to emerge as a strong economy. They will use Pakistan to keep making trouble for us in our region. Our institutions are strong, but we can never let down our vigil. Never. Playing cricket at a time of such tumult in geopolitics and Operation Sindoor is ridiculous, cruel, and a monumental mistake.
MP Anurag Thakur, former Sports Minister, told the media, “When multinational tournaments are organised by the ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate. If they don’t do that, they will have to forfeit the match… But India does not play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan…”
Who is the gaddaar (traitor) here?
As for India’s film personalities who shamelessly use the Army for their false patriotism – and breathless nationalism – I have nothing but derision at their silence. I have enough faith in my people to know that next time these merchants of greed use our armed forces as a script, we will boycott them at the box-office.
Boycotts are a powerful tool in a democracy. They have been used for countries, peoples, and products. Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March, Apartheid, Berlin Wall protests, Nestlé Boycott, and very recently the Eurovision Song Contest have changed the destiny of people. They are songs of power and persistence against the shameless and greedy who will succumb to the power of people one day.
We have social media on our side. Our politicians and cricketers have lost even before the game has begun as they play with blood-soaked bats and balls. Every minute of the game will tug at India’s heart strings. We stand with our soldiers, 1.4 billion of us.
Next time our political leaders salute our flag in the presence of our soldiers, remind them that they played cricket and counted money.
My country’s soul is not for sale. I have faith in my people to do the right thing at the right time. Jai Hind.
Views expressed are the personal opinions of the author.