India is in mourning as we continue to grieve the dastardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam. It has enraged us all, and yet, there is a sense of helplessness all round. As civil society, what role can we play? How can we show solidarity? As journalists, the question we have asked ourselves is how can sport make a difference and strengthen our hands against terror?
On Sachin Tendulkar’s 52nd birthday, it is fair that I try and answer this question with a reference to the master.
Sachin played the most difficult Test match of his life in December 2008, just weeks after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. In his words, “When we assembled in Chennai for the first Test on 11 December 2008, we were still finding it difficult to concentrate on cricket. Our thoughts were with the victims of the attacks and everyone was talking about those traumatic three days.”
India eventually went on to win the game chasing a record 387 in the fourth innings with Sachin scoring an unbeaten 103.
“I had scored an unbeaten hundred for the team, but it was the extra significance of the game that made it particularly gratifying,” he said. “In a first in Indian cricket, even the groundswomen, who hardly ever came to the foreground, celebrated the victory with great vigour. As we were walking back to the changing rooms, I was asked who I planned to dedicate the hundred to. I had not thought about it and was still very much in the moment, but on behalf of the team, I dedicated the victory to the victims of the terrorist attack.”
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Ask him why, and he had this to say. “It was impossible for the victims to forget what they had gone through. We will never really understand their pain. But if my 100 brought a smile on their faces even for a fleeting second and allowed them to forget their grief for a few minutes, I had done my job.”
That’s what Tendulkar is all about, and that’s why sport gives us hope. On his birthday, we need not celebrate. This isn’t the time for any celebration of any sort. But what we can do is seek resolve. Take a lesson on what sport can do and how we can all play a part. Fall back on Sachin yet one more time, for he isn’t just a cricketer. He is more. After the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, he appeared in a commercial with the compelling line: ‘I play for India, now more than ever.’
We need our current stars to all step up and bind the nation. Be the Sachin to many millions of cricket fans who worship them. Sport has given them the power to make a difference and shape the narrative. Be counted, and make a difference to India. Like Sachin did.
Sachin Tendulkar was and is a glue that binds India. And that will be the case forever. Wish you a long and healthy life. Happy birthday.
Also Read: The IPL and Indian sport must stand in solidarity with Pahalgam Victims