The Economist - UK (2022-03-26)

50 Asia TheEconomistMarch26th 2022

cialmobility.Thoughcrickethaslongbeen

anationalpreoccupation,itwasanelite

pursuit(aformernational captain’schild­

hoodnicknamewas maharajah; another

wasliterallya prince).Thebeginningsof

India’seconomicliberalisationin 1991 led

“toanexplosionofthemiddleclassand

theempowermentofsmalltownsevery­

where”,saysAmitVarma,a writerbasedin

Mumbai.Withina decadesomeofIndia’s

finestplayers,suchas M.S. Dhoni (pic­

tured),a formercaptainwhoonceworked

asa ticketinspectorforIndianRailways,

wereemergingfromplacesandfamilies

withnocricketingpedigree.

By expanding opportunities in the

sport, the ipl supercharged this trend.

Leaguecontractsaloneofferaverygood

living, but success there has become a

springboard for a place in thenational

team.MohammedSiraj,a fastbowlerand

thesonofa rickshaw­driver,wona con­

tracttoplayintheiplforSunrisersHyder­

abadandnowrepresentsIndiainTwen­

ty20cricketandinTestmatches,themost

prestigiousformofthegame.

Theiplhasalsomadea markoutside

India,becominga bigculturalexportand

promptingnearlyevery othercricketing

nationtocopyitsformat.Some,suchas

theCaribbeanPremierLeague,havesuc­

ceededinestablishingthemselves.Others

haveimplodedamidcorruptionorfinan­

cialscandals.MrMajumdarbelievesthe

replicationofthe iplaroundthe world

“hasgivena risingIndiaa senseofconfi­

dencethatitispossibletocreatea brand

thatgoesontoachieveglobaldominance”.

Yetiftheleagueholdsupa mirrortoall

thethingsIndialikesaboutitself,it alsore­

flectssomeofitsweaknesses.Twosepa­

rate match­fixing scandals emerged in

2013.Twoteamswerebannedfortwosea­

sons,butthecredibilityoftheleagueand

thereputationofitsbrandweretarnished.

Players from Pakistan, cricket’s second­

biggestmarket,remain unwelcome.And

thebccistillmaintainsahighlyprotec­

tionistattitudetowardsIndianplayers.Al­

thoughsetnumbersofforeignersarewel­

come in the ipl, Indian cricketers are

bannedfromplayinginfranchisetourna­

mentsabroad.UnmuktChand,wholedIn­

diatovictoryintheUnder­19WorldCupin

2012,wasforcedtoretirefromallcricketin

IndiatotakeupcontractstoplayinAmer­

icaandAustralia.

Theiplisnowsufficientlydominant

withincricketthatitcandowhateverit

likes.Nonationalboardswanttocompete

byschedulingmatchesagainstit.Anew

domesticbroadcasting­rights dealisim­

minent,whichisexpectedtodoubleinval­

uetoatleast$1bnayear,conferringyet

morepower.Buttherearereasonsforthe

bccitobecautious.Increasingthenumber

ofteamsrisksreducingthequalityofthe

cricket, and longer seasons could bore

viewers.Initsfirstdecadeanda halfthe

iplhas shownthat,by borrowingideas

fromelsewhereandadaptingthemtothe

local market, Indian entrepreneurs can

dominateathomeandabroad.Itsnext 15

yearswillrevealwhatkindofleadershipit

wantstoproject.ThatappliestoIndiaitself

asmuchastotheIndianPremierLeague.n

Out of the park

Major sports leagues, Google search intensity

Worldwide, peak=100

Source: Google Trends

100

80

60

40

20

0

22212019182017

NBA NFL

English

Premier

League

IPL

I

nside cinemas, “TheKashmirFiles”

starts with a disclaimer: “This film...

does not claim accurateness or factuality

of historic events.” Outside the cinema,

in contrast, the relentlessly violent dra­

ma is being promoted with what might

be called a very big claimer. Narendra

Modi himself, India’s prime minister,

has hailed the film for exposing long­

buried truths. So keen to share these is

his Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp) that states

it runs have scrapped local entertain­

ment taxes for the movie.

High­powered promotion is not the

sole reason why “The Kashmir Files” has

bagged over $25m since it opened on

March 11th, a post­pandemic record. The

film also provokes strong emotions. Its

story revolves around the very real trage­

dy of the Kashmiri Pandits, an ancient

community of high­caste Hindus who

were once perhaps 5% of the population

of the Kashmir Valley. 

Pandits were targeted by Islamists

backed by Pakistan during a cataclysmic

surge in violence in the 1990s. Police

protection was scant. All but a few fled,

never to return. Official reports and

scholarly research suggest that more

than 200 were murdered, among the

14,000 civilians, 5,000 Indian soldiers

and 22,000 militants killed during the

past three decades of strife in the valley.

These other casualties get no mention

in the film. Instead, within its first 15

minutes we see Muslims betraying Hin­

du neighbours, chanting “Convert or

die!”, beating Pandit children and vis­

iting unspeakable (but apparently not

unfilmable) acts of savagery upon wom­

en. By the end of the film it is not just the

awfulness of Muslims that is doggedly

bludgeoned into viewers. So is the perfi­

dy of whiny leftists, intellectuals and

politicians who dare suggest that Mus­

lims, who are 95% of the Kashmir Val­

ley’spopulation,mightbe victims of a

sort, too. Small wonder that in cinemas

across India hot­headed youths, many of

whom appear to belong to extreme Hin­

du­nationalist groups, are making rous­

ing sectarian speeches.

In the Kashmir Valley itself the film

has been met with silence. This is partly

because cinemas there closed in the

1990s. Zayd Hanief, a 22­year­old law

student who watched the film on a visit

outside the valley, says he was revolted.

“It simply confirms the worst stereotypes

about Muslims.” To some, the boosting of

the film by Mr Modi, whose government

in 2019 imposed direct rule on the once

semi­autonomous state of Jammu and

Kashmir, and has cracked down fiercely

on dissent, feels ominous. “Kashmiris

see it as a prelude to more serious op­

pression,” says Sheikh Showkat Hussain,

a legal scholar and political analyst based

in the valley. “The movie will be used as

justification for whatever the govern­

ment is doing or will do here.”

Bollywoodandreligion

Horrible histories

D ELHI

Afilm on Kashmir opens old wounds and feeds new fears

Not a documentary