The recent news that Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik has created wave after wave of news and scandal.
It started out as a beautiful love affair across the divide. An Indian and a Pakistani Muslim – both sports stars in their own right – fall in love and decide to get married regardless of what anyone might say. And why not? I have good friends who celebrated their wedding in India last year – she’s Indian, he’s Pakistani – and are wonderfully happy despite initial obstruction to the marriage.
As usual those who want to constantly stir up trouble between the two countries, and atagonise Indian Muslims, cried traitor pretty quickly. Bal Thakeray, leader of right wing Hindu group Shiv Sena, claimed Sania would have to become a Pakistani citizen after her marriage (my friend hasn’t even though she currently lives in Karachi with her husband) and therefore could no longer represent India.
He said, ‘Henceforth, Sania will not remain an Indian. Had her heart been Indian, it wouldn’t have beaten for a Pakistani.’
Unfortunately on Friday I saw a poll on the Times of India website that overwhelmingly supported Thakeray’s view.
However I’m glad to hear others speaking out against this view. Union Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy criticised Thakeray’s views and said,
‘We in India have very serious problems with the Government of Pakistan. That does not, however, mean that there cannot be good relations between the people of the two countries.’
Readers of this blog know that I believe increased people-to-people contact can only be a good thing. So let’s hope the wedding goes ahead and Malik and Mirza are happy.
Sadly though, the forthcoming nikah is being threatened by another scandal. Malik’s former ‘marriage’ to Indian woman Ayesha Siddiqui. The marriage allegedly happened on the telephone in 2002. There’s been claim and counter claim over whether Siddiqui and Malik ever actually met.
He says he was cheated because photos of the woman who was given to believe was Ayesha, was in fact someone else.
I never met Ayesha. Sania will be my first wife
Ayehsa on the other hand claims that Shoaib mistreated her and finished with her because she was fat. The Times of India also published claims that she had miscarried Shoaib’s child.
I find this angle of the story astounding. One of the two parties is distorting the truth outrageously. I can’t quite believe that Shoaib would be stupid enough to chose a new bride not only from the same country, but also from the same city as his previous ‘wife’. However it also amazes me that Siddiqui’s family would put themselves through this without a shread of truth in the matter. It makes English football’s John Terry affair seem a minor drama!
Whatever the truth, I hope that Sania and Shoaib can be together, be happy, continue playing the sports that they are famous for (one Shoaib’s ban is over at least!) for their respective countries, and bring pride and joy to their fans.
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