Divided by ethnicity, united by cricket
Eric Hobsbawm is of the opinion that sports play a "uniquely effective" role in the process of nation-building. Sport inculcates a great "sense of belonging" amongst inhabitants of a nation, he argues.
Sporting successes in recent years have fetched Afghans of all ages and ethnic groups out on the streets in celebration.
The deeply divided society erupted into festivity as a nation, abdicating their differences, on more than one occasion. The intense win over Scotland in the league stage of ongoing Cricket World Cup is one such occasion.
Afghanistan is going through a rigorous process of change. What complicates the matter is that the social, political, economic and security transition is coming about at the same time.
To successfully complete the transition, the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimaks, Turkmen, and Balochs (who comprise a majority of the Afghan population) are required to lay a collective and consistent effort.
The challenges are needed to be addressed as a single union, rather than make it a separate struggle.
In July 2014 India approved a grant of one million dollars to enable Afghanistan to build a cricket stadium in Aino Mina locality of Kandahar.
Towards the end of the year, cricket in Afghanistan got another boost when Germany sanctioned a sum of €700 000 for the construction of another cricket stadium in the eastern province of Khost.
In addition to advancing the popularity of cricket, the grants also serve as recognition of the talent and potential of Afghan cricket team.
Acknowledging the role and influence of sport in bringing people together, a letter from the Indian embassy in Kabul which announced the grant reads, “We have realised that sports, both cricket and football, have united the country and enthused the youth as nothing else.”
The chairman of Afghanistan Cricket Board, Shahzada Masoud, has also reiterated the fact that “sport unites people.”
Afghanistan’s performance at the Cricket World Cup will motivate many children to take up the game, which in turn, would provide the government and other stakeholders with a greater window to implement sport for development and peace initiatives and to build a lasting peace in Afghanistan.
Cricket has caught the fancy of this “imagined community” and it could be well used to encourage different ethnic groups to work towards a shared goal in unity.
[This article has been edited by the Operating Team]
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