Why I will be supporting Pakistan in tomorrow's match
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| Why Justice Katju will be supporting Pakistan in tomorrow's match? |
By Justice Markandey Katju
Tomorrow, Saturday 14th October, the important World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan will be played in Ahmedabad, which will be watched eagerly and with great excitement all over the cricketing world, particularly in the Indian subcontinent.
I will be supporting the Pakistan team in this match, and I know that for this I will be called 'deshdrohi', anti-national, a traitor, and what not by many Indians, but let me give my reasons
1. India is a much bigger country with about 140 crore people, while Pakistan has only about 24 crores. So being a much smaller country, Pakistan are the underdogs, and I am always with the underdog, as explained in the article below
2. Though India too has many problems, but Pakistan's plight presently is much worse. A fascist reign of terror has been unleashed by the Pakistan Establishment on the people of Pakistan, with about 10,000 people arrested, tortured, and jailed on concocted charges after the events of 9th May ( which many say were stage managed ), the media and the judiciary largely silenced, and all kinds of atrocities inflicted on the people, who are living in fear.
Apart from that, Pakistan is going through a terrible economic crisis, with many people even finding it difficult to get food, and the country bankrupt and its leaders going around everywhere with a begging bowl.
In this situation a victory for Pakistan will cheer Pakistanis up a bit in their gloomy mood, and boost their sagging morale
3. I have repeatedly said that I regard India and Pakistan as really one country, which was divided in 1947 by a British swindle on the basis of the bogus two nation theory, but which are sure to reunite again (along with Bangladesh) in the future, like West and East Germany, though that will take time.
So whichever team wins, it will be India which will have won
4. I have been for long supporting Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is presently incarcerated in Adiala jail in a tiny cell in horrible conditions, but yet has been bravely leading the democratic forces in Pakistan against fascist tyranny, even from jail.
Imran Khan was a renowned Pakistani cricketer who led the Pakistani team to victory in the 1992 World Cup tournament. So I want the present Pakistan team to win the World Cup, take it to Pakistan, go to Adiala jail, and place it at the feet of Imran Khan, saying '' Captain, we have brought back the Cup which you had won for us in1992 ''.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
