If cricket is called a religion in India, then the same game has given many fierce rivalries to the world over the years. India and Bangladesh’s World Cup rivalry has recently taken centre stage. What was once a one-way affair is now a battle for which cricket lovers wait with bated breath.
But, some video clips of huge joy in Bangladesh at India’s defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup finals have raised a question. Has there been a spurt in anti-India feelings in the nation that India helped liberate? And if yes, what is the reason?
India vs Bangladesh: An emotional & frantic cricket rivalry
This rivalry between India and Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup is only a decade and a half old. The first big game between these two sides in a World Cup came in 2007. They faced each other at the group stage in the West Indies.
In a huge upset, Bangladesh beat India by five wickets, thus eliminating the stronger team from the World Cup, and shaking the cricket world.
Four years later, in the 2011 World Cup held in the Indian subcontinent, India took their revenge by winning a thrilling match against Bangladesh in the group stage. The game saw Virender Sehwag’s 175 and young Virat Kohli’s 100 not out. It took India to a huge total of 370/4.
Bangladesh fought well. But they had no answers against a strong Indian bowling line-up and were beaten by a margin of 97 runs.
In the ODI World Cup final on November 19, the Indians lost to Australia. A few clips came in from Bangladesh of huge anti-India celebrations. There were hoots and shrill cries of joy.
The clips were shared on social media. Some said that the videos did not reflect the mood of the nation. Others asked if the anti-India feeling was on the rise in Bangladesh, a nation that India helped liberate from Pakistan in 1971.
Bangladesh Cricket Fans or Religious Fanatics
A giant screen was put up in Dhaka University for the India-Australia final match and many students watched the game there. They started rejoicing over India’s loss, with many of them dancing in joy. Some videos of them celebrating India’s defeat in the cricket World Cup went viral.
“India’s defeat is like Bangladesh winning the World Cup,” a man says in one of the clips of huge celebrations.
One person in the video that was posted on X and had views over 2.6 million times said.
In a video, another person said, “We all wanted India to lose. Our joy is more about India losing than Australia winning.”Dhaka University was not the only campus in Bangladesh to rejoice.
Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury said that the videos of the celebrations post the Cricket World Cup final don’t give a full picture. “Many people there harbour anti-Indian sentiments. It happens everywhere,” Chanchal Chowdhury says.
Some Bangladeshis support the Liberation War, but not all of them do. It’s not like the 20 crore people in Bangladesh are anti-India,” says the actor.
Bangladesh under Mexican Syndrome?
Journalist-author Jayanta Ghoshal says that besides the Jamaat-e-Islami trying to fan anti-India feelings, there is also a feeling among them against “India’s big brother attitude”.
As per Ghoshal, Bangladeshis view India’s “over-friendliness” as meddling.
Watcher Suman Bhattacharya says the videos are due to “Mexican Syndrome” and aren’t new.
“It is important to keep the US-Mexico Syndrome in mind when we see the Indo-Bangla relations,” he explains in Indian Today. As a result, Nepal, Maldives, and Bangladesh are bound to have more anti-India sentiment.
Suman Bhattacharya does not believe anti-India feelings are linked to the January 2024 elections. He says things have always been anti-India since the ’70s within Bangladesh and gives historical reference to Bangladesh’s 1970 elections.
In 1970, politicians who were in favour of Pakistan received almost 35% of the vote, with Sheikh Mujibur Rehman spearheading the political struggle. He could get 62% of the votes in the best election. Supporters of Pakistan and Jamaat were always present in the social and political area of Bangladesh,” he adds.
