Should India play Pakistan?

Should India play Pakistan?

          Whether India should play Pakistan is a controversial point. Undoubtedly politics and sports are poles apart. Many a time India has turned down the request of Pakistan for sending cricket team to their country. Playing Pakistan in any discipline is just like making mockery of sacrifices made by our forces in guarding our borders. What is wrong if Indian Government has adopted tough posture in asking BCCI not to send cricket team to Toronto (Canada) in the wake of massacre of Amar Nath pilgrims. It should be clear to sensible Indians that sports played on the fields don't matter as long as Pakistan is hostile to India. It is wrong to believe that sports and cultural exchanges between the two countries can create goodwill. Leave alone sports, our renowned gazal singer Jagjeet Singh was hounded out of Pakistan. On the contrary, Pakistani artists get warm welcome and earn huge money when they perform in India. In the name of secularism Pakistani artistes are accorded warm welcome. It is bane of Indian ethos that media would jump into every controversy irrespective of hurting the sentiments of the people. How far is the claim valid that the government has no business to dictate terms to sports persons and the organizations managing sports? One wonders how sports can bring about qualitative change in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Sadly enough, the memory of our media persons is very short. They have conveniently forgotten the bycot of 1980 Olympics in Moscow by the grand old men of democracy like the U.S.A. and Great Britain with host of their stooges including Pakistan. Why does China show annoyance whenever Arunachal Pradesh is shown to be a part of Indian contingent in sports? India has taken a bold step by not sending hockey team to Malaysia. Our scientists were humiliated and detained by the Malaysian Govt. AU the same there is nothing wrong if India and Pakistan play against each other in international meet. Have we not played against Pakistan in World Cricket Cup 2003? Given the extent of bad relation between the two countries, we should be candid enough to admit that political healthy relation can only promote cultural & sports links & not vice-versa. We are right in refusing to play Pakistan till we are assured of good intentions of Pakistan.