Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir):Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is all set to conclude his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir on Monday and he will address the Congress leader and the people of Kashmir at Sher Kashmir Cricket Stadium Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar. The leaders of the opposition parties will also participate in the yatra. To look back at the stadium's historic moments, ETV Bharat goes down memory lane and digs into the old memories at the stadium.
In 1983, when the world champion India played a cricket match against the West Indies at the stadium, the fans looked excited, but they cheered for West Indies. After winning the World Cup trophy and defeating West Indies, the Indian team expected a rousing reception at the stadium in the valley. However, it turned out to be quite the opposite.
In his book "Runs and Runs", Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, wrote, "Being hooted at after a defeat is understandable, but this was incredible. Moreover, there were many people in the crowd shouting pro-Pakistan slogans which confounded us, as we were playing West Indies and not Pakistan."
Gavaskar also wrote, "To be fair, it was not the entire crowd, but sections of it. But these sections were the most vociferous and thus it seemed most of the crowd was against us." Later, a group also invaded the pitch and tried to damage it. This group included Shabir Ahmad Shah, who later became a Kashmiri separatist leader. Then in 1986, one-day international between India and Australia where Australia won the match.
Also read:Bharat Jodo Yatra alternative to BJP-RSS narrative of hate and arrogance: Rahul Gandhi in Srinagar
Additionally, the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Ground in Sonawar has likewise been an observer to serious political addresses, be it by former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh. The arena has seen each and every individual, who has discussed recuperating the 'injured spirits' of Kashmir. It is likewise observer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's discourse in 2015 in which he pronounced that he need not bother with anybody's recommendation on Kashmir.
This stadium likewise saw the funeral gathering of former Chief Minister and late PDP founder Mufti Muhammad Saeed in 2016. In 2017, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti released a harsh admonition to the Centre. It was then that Mehbooba Mufti said that separatism is an idea that cannot be killed or imprisoned.
As Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra will be on the same pitch is of significance, this is especially so when there is minimal opposition on the ground to the government's policies felt by the political parties in the Valley. In Kashmir, the enthusiasm among Kashmiri politicians for Bharat Jodo Yatra is palpable. Analysts believe that the Yatra is the first major platform for Kashmiri political leaders to re-establish themselves in the region's political landscape, which has been frozen for a long time.
Rahul Gandhi's speech at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium will encourage Kashmiri politicians, who are facing an onslaught from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. This was revealed when former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah met former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi in Lakhanpur, Jammu. Farooq boards a bus from Jammu to Lakhanpur to welcome his friend's son, who has chosen to open a "shop of love in the bazaar of hate."
