Hindustan Times
Nothing is black and white
There’s a fine line between racism and patriotism, and I’m not sure whether I crossed it.
It was the night of the ill-fated India vs. England match. I’m not a huge cricket fan, but since it was a do or die match for India and since I was coerced into going along with my friends, I decided to stop dreaming about Marat Safin and root for Mahendra Singh. We settled ourselves down at this new, little-know restaurant called in the ‘burbs. It seemed like it was going to be a pleasant evening; a few tables filled with a bunch of college-goers, a couple or two and a gang of pubescent boys, all glued to the live telecast on the large flat screen TV. Cheers and beers were going around generously and we all got into the spirit of things. And then the Brits arrived.
Look, I’m not a judgmental person, in fact I hate labeling people based on their outward appearances. But the three British women that came to the café, seemed dispossessed of the politeness that is so distinctive of propah English behaviour. And the company they kept - three henna-dyed, unruly haired, local misfits in a suburban café - didn’t help either. So they sat themselves right in front of the TV and started guzzling glasses of wine.
As a wicket went, the whole café erupted in cheers, waiters and managers included. Then, Pietersen whacked Harbhajan for a four. And in the complete silence that ensued, the three women stood up and cheered themselves hoarse. Now we’re all for team spirit and all, but when you’re in an Indian café, filled with cricket-manic Indians, who worship the ground that their cricketers walk on, it’s a bit impolite to make your sentiments SO blatant. A merry cheer and applause would have sufficed.
But these ladies thought it appropriate to bellow their approval for England. Everyone looked a bit startled and disgruntled at this disregard for Indian sentiments, but nobody knew quite how to react. However, this continued for a while and each time England whacked our bowlers all over the ground, the women screamed louder. Note, this was a small, intimate setting so every move or sound seemed doubly magnified.
Some people started to get ticked off. When India took a wicket, someone chanted ENGLAND SUCKS, ENGLAND SUCKS and the rest of the café followed suit. This seemed to infuriate the women. So when, the English batsman struck back with boundaries, they stoop up defiantly, pointedly jeered at all of us and chanted “SUCK ON THAT, SUCK ON THAT” for almost half a minute.
Until that point, I considered all of this sporty banter. But this sort of irreverence, I could not take. I gleefully joined in the ENGLAND SUCKS chant, each time a wicket was taken. However, the anti-British sentiment and bottles of wine seemed to fuel the women’s obnoxiousness. “SUCK ON THAT”, “SOD OFF”, “TAKE THAT INDIANS” and other choicest of British insults were flung our way.
Now maybe this is presumptuous of me, but I believe that if three Indians were sitting in a pub in England, full of drunk British men, and had they had the nerve to cheer loudly for India in an India vs. England match, they would have at the very least suffered a nasty shove out the back door. Although at no point did we get physically violent, our insults started getting meaner too. Derogatory terms like ‘white trash’ and British b***** were yelled out. Suddenly the cricket ceased to be important.
Although I didn’t vocally engage in the battle of expletives, I felt antagonistic towards them. At one point, the manager who was trying to subdue the tensions even attempted a feeble joke saying “You must cheer for India, you are drinking Indian wine!” But nothing deterred their determination to showcase their nationalism. To add insult to the injury, India lost and the trio staggered off chanting and yelling all the way from the café onto the road.
I am the most anti-racist person I know. But in the heat of that moment, hearing those women insult a whole lot of us in our own country, I felt very motivated to get them out of there. There’s a fine line between racism and patriotism, and I’m not sure whether I crossed it.
(18 votes, average: 2.89 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Tasneem Nashrulla on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Filed under Mumbai · Tagged India vs England, India vs. England match, Mahendra Singh, patriotism, racism, Twenty 20 World Cup
But… wouldn’t it be natural for those three english women to cheer for their own country when their team was playing well? I mean, yes they were in India and all, but… from what I gather from this post, it’s us indians who started the whole “england sucks” chant, and therefore the three english women reciprocated. Wasn’t that in bad taste…from our side? Why do that in the first place? Fine we support our country, but then they should be allowed to support theirs too. Even if you are in India and in a restaurant filled with Indians.
But you do have a point. If I went to an aussie bar and started chanting for India loudly during an Australia vs. India match, would that backfire badly? Hmm.
By the way, those indian boys really should’ve just shut their traps since we lost the match! Sigh.
But we did come very close to winning it!
[Reply]
man friday Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Dude… you are obviously a novice when it comes to sporting rivalries. Being a true sports fan means having the guts to route for your team wherever the hell you are. Even getting a Manchester United tattoo on your arm when you are headed to London … hahaha.
P.S. - the official chants for India v England matches are “Simon go back!” and “God, who’s the queen?”
[Reply]
Medha Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am
man friday,
Umm….Was this a reply to MY comment or the post in general?
[Reply]
Tasneem Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
yes yes i know all abt the infamous tattoo and all. but medha and man…these guys were jeering at us rather than cheering for england..Honestly, it’s a you should have been there situation. I’m all for supporting your country but I can’t take someone dissing mine, and very obnoxiously might i add again.
In the beginning we were cheering in good spirit, but they started the whole SUCK on that with fingers pointing at us in this derogatory way. grrrrr….
[Reply]
Medha Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
That’s what i am saying.
It looks like we Indians couldn’t handle the fact that three british women, who were sitting in OUR premises -in a restaurant filled with indians, had the nerve to cheer for their country right in front of our faces.
I really do believe that the bad behaviour was from our side, and not from theirs. I don’t quite blame the english women for reacting the way they did.
Although this is what I think and what I gather from your article.
Like you said, maybe it is one of those ‘you should’ve been there’ kinda situations.
well from how you described it, i think Indians asked for it. it s the case of “krishna kare toh leela, hum kare toh paap”. Every nation has its own way of cheering or jeering. to bracket it into racism or nationalism is quite difficult. For example - if they call us Indians and something nasty, chances are we might consider that to be racist. But we dont consider it to be racist if we call them Brits and something nasty…. its all in the mind.
I believe that in their minds they were cheering for their country and their way of cheering might not have gone down well with us or must have been over bearing. but that doesnt mean that they have no right to cheer. i mean, come on …………… this is not Pakistan.
Politeness is a geographical virtue and need not be universally applicable.
http://mywriterkeeda.wordpress.com
[Reply]
Tasneem Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
“f they call us Indians and something nasty, chances are we might consider that to be racist. But we dont consider it to be racist if we call them Brits and something nasty”
which is why I think I, personally crossed the line between racism and patriotism.
I never said they dont have the right to cheer. I would have screamed my lungs out if I were in england cheering for india. but there’s a way to cheer….sportingly….and we were. and they were’nt. so we stopped being sporting too. Nobody is right or wrong.
I was just astonished at myself for getting so riled up since I consider myself a strong supporter of anti-racism.
and now i know how easy it is for anyone…be white or brown or black…to get fiercely nationalistic to the extent of being racist.
[Reply]
You know, it’s clear now why the British are irritated — but their irritation remains remarkably muted — when entire stadialoads of Brits of Indian origin rubbish them in THEIR country. It was at this same match, Tasneem, that the British captain said it felt strange to walk out at Lord’s, their hallowed home turf, and be booed by the Indians before the match began.
I don’t mean you at all (:-)) but my view is that Indians can dish it but can’t take it.
[Reply]
Medha Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
“Indians can dish it but can’t take it”
Couldn’t have agreed more!
[Reply]
Tasneem Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Samar, I totally agree with you as well. The point was not to make those guys look bad (ok I kinda did) but it was just to show how ugly things can get when you lose the spirit of a sport.
In fact I had gone for an India vs Australia match in Bbay and the crowd all around me was booing Symmonds everytime he came near us and I got really disgusted.
Point is, when you jeer at another country instead of cheering for your own, things can get ugly.
As it did with this particular incident. And both parties were at fault. It’s just that it seemed more magnified since we were in this small cafe and they kinda pushed it by making it more personal that it should have been and we followed suit. If this had happened in a large stadium probably no one would have bothered with anyone. That being said, I was ashamed at both their behaviour and ours. But I was surprised at how anatagonistic i felt towards them and I can now kinda understand (NOT ENDORSE) why racism exists.
[Reply]
Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Crowd dynamics. Fascinating stuff.
saurav Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Can dish it but can’t take it….wow, that sounds suspiciously like the Aussies…I guess we are well on our way to replacing them. Something’s really changed post Sydney 2008.
[Reply]
Agree completely with Samar.
[Reply]
Dear Tanseem,
First of all my compliments on the space you’ve created. Struggling with the 20ish questions myself, I was hooked instantly when I read your description about the blog, The part about tequeila shots turning into wine glasses was particularly true for me.
As for the column, quite frankly, I was amused. I can understand why under the circumstances - you would want to be racist. I am a huge cricket fan myself, and if I were in the cafe, I would have done everything to upset those British women. When it comes to sports though, being democratic objective thinkers, we should admire each shot and ball no matter who is playing, it is Cricket we ought to love not the team performing better on the given day. That being said - when it comes to Cricket nothing is objective nor is Cricket considered a mere sport. And hence the clashes. I stopped being so fanatic after we lost the world cup final in 2003. That was the breaking point for me. Since that time, me and my love Cricket, are dishing out the silent treatment.
I admire the British women for rooting in an all Indian cafe, and would suggest Indians in Britan to do the same.
Regards,
- Sanket
[Reply]
Wo 3 the..aur tum 100 ..fir bhi laut aaye, pitt kar!! Hahahaha
[Reply]
Though seen was of the cafe but from blog it sounds as if they were on road n roadside romeo pulled them”Could have taken in Sporting spirit rather than pulling there string n when the answered back in “hinglish style” we took it in wrong stryde .
[Reply]
sigh….wat’s th point …sigh we lost!!! anyway u know what and i m making a confession here i think i’m slightly racist! I mean I do get angry everytime sme foreigner makes a remark about India! I mean these foreigners they come to Delhi and complain about every thing under the sun!!!! I once met a group who were bugged by the Metro(can you imagine tht??!!!!!!!!!!!!!) they wee like oh this station is so crowded, bloody India, no one knows english etc etc! couldn’t stand it!!! but i was overhearing so as long as they didn’t say anything to me i sut up…i get the feeling Brit foreigners feel they still own us or smethng…hmmm….hope m not a racist though…racism is such a waste of time..you get angry for no reason really…
[Reply]
I don’t see anything racist in the episode. If you accept the premises then it’s OK. If you don’t accept the premises. then anything and everything remotely similar to human voice would sound racist. We lost fair and square. No excuses. We also made a lot of noise before the tournaments. Emotions multiplied many many times are involved in football. Watch any English Premier or European club matches. Be prepared for rioting and blood bath. Countries have gone to war on football. We are not one of those banana republics or are we?
[Reply]
[...] Click here to read how the entire nation has been hurt/insulted/abused by three woman,when they rooted for their country in a silly T20 cricket match, which let me remind you, is not even half as good as the original fifty-over match:-) [...]
Racism has been existed throughout human history.I agree there is fine line between racism and pariotism.You cannot controlled your mind if someone provokes u.So tasneem, it was just your anger which just comes out to support your country,so if u feel at somepoint of time u being racist towards then take it in positive way because u have not done intentionally. Its just all about perception of others or yours/
so bindas ,cheers for your country in next champions trophy sep-2009.
We indians are going to come back with big bang and dhoni will give u chance to point fingers at english
[Reply]
I think the entire issue has been blown out of proportion. Emotions run high whenever teams are playing. It’s expected and accepted. It’s the same kinda rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. But of course there are people cheering for rival teams. That’s what makes it fun.
And why shouldn’t they cheer for their country? Just because they’re in India is no excuse for hurting the religious sentiments. If you had said they indulged in something like excessive public display of affections, but I see nothing wrong in them cheering for their country. Wouldn’t you have cheered for India if you were in the stadium there despite being surrounded by Brits.
Also, you seem to take offence at the fact that they dissed your country, but what about the England sucks chant. Why shouldn’t they take offence? Or are we Indians the only one who have pride in our country and feel wounded when we perceive an offence?
Things like this happen during matches. And the entire approach towards them seems rather jingoistic to me. An exercise to prove patriotism if you will, just as you have the right to cheer for India, it’s their choice to cheer for whom they will.
[Reply]
Also, I fail to see what kind of difference it makes what kind of men they were with, what they drank or rather guzzled and how loud they were.
[Reply]
Deb Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Very pertinent point, not raised by anyone else here. We tend to bolster our warped view of somebody by attributing negativity to the free choices they make, whether in the way of companions or food or behaviour. That in itself may not be racist, but it’s known as policitically incorrect these days.
[Reply]
Its nothing to do with Racism, its do with the sporting spirit.
Last T20 world cup I was a guest with an Indian family settled in England, and a couple of families (Brit and non Brit) decided to get together at their house for “drinks and some tuck” and watch the India vs England match.
The general bonhomie began to wane as the match progressed, and when Yuvi hit those six sixers, it was our sense of hospitality that prevented us from jumping on the sofa and screaming.
The Brits sensed our discomfort, and started clapping and cheering India, and suddenly it was fun again. They were disappointed at the loss, but then they had come be with us, and enjoy our company along with the match
We just need to be good sports. Thats all
[Reply]
Hi Tasneem ,
That Was a very Interesting Incident.
I wonder How u will feel If u ever happen to be part of a crowd watching a Manchester United vs Arsenal Game..the abuses that float in the air during such events makes you feel like this world is devoid of humanity and a bunch of heartless animals are watchin the game where the abuses cross the lines of nationality,colour,Looks( I know..for all our manhood we wouldn’t mind falling to that level too) and every little aspect of the opponent that can be ridiculed.
The point is after the match we forget all that and that the end of the day it was a nice energetic,Aggressive,Sparkling Duel and we were proud to part of the proceedings.No offence taken and none given.
I think you might be Overthinking the whole Deal.
[Reply]