Indians Arrested For Celebrating Pakistani Win — Is This Right Or Wrong?

Given that I speak about India & Pakistan on my youtube channel and most of my subscribers are Indians and Pakistanis — the question is always asked — who is right or who is wrong in this issue. I’ve always tried to maintain a level of neutrality. However, it does prove challenging especially when the news channels spew out what they feel brings more eye balls or views.

So I posted a 30 minutes video with regards to my opinion on my channel. You can watch it if you have the time.

If however, you do not have the time, here are the key aspects of my argument.

1. India or Pakistan — who is right or who is wrong normally comes down to which side you are on, what bias you have or which is your preferred choice of media for news. If for example, you are a TRT or Al Jazeera News channel viewer — India, BJP & Hindus are the bad guys and Muslims are the good guys. If however, you are a Republic TV or any of the Indian news channel fan, Pakistan, Muslims or Non-BJP parties are bad.
2. You need to be aware of the language that is being used and yes, the way the message is put across. The western media is famous for calling all its Allies — partners of democracy or peace. While Iran, China & Afghanistan is always described with words like “regime” or “oppressive” forces
3. The fact is India is not a perfect democracy, Free-Speech in India is NOT free & India is more inclined towards being a Hindu nation than a secular country
4. India & Pakistan will always have bad blood between them and the politicians are never going to let go of this strategic trump card — which is always useful to rake in votes
5. Hindus & Muslims — the majority are peace-loving folks. They have enough and more day-to-day challenges to worry about. However, when the flames of hatred & suspicion are fanned repeatedly, it becomes very hard not to hate the other side
6. The India-Pakistan cricket match is a double-edged sword. On one side it brings about billions of dollars worth of attention, revenue & brand value. But on the other hand, it also has its dark side — the competitive spirit, mixed with years of bad memories and wounds always surface, no matter how pleasant the situation
7. While the winners in any match receive all the glory, the losers of a game wait to come back another day. This is common for any sporting event. But where India Pakistan cricket is concerned — the winners make sure to rub in enough profanity, insult & salt on the wounds of defeat, that it only widens the already ever-increasing distance
8. Indians & Pakistanis have to ensure that their emotions — joy or anger is communicated to many. When being surrounded by many, it only empowers them to feel that their message is heard. Given how social media today amplifies such messages — you cannot stop people from wanting to use this medium
9. And because of these platforms on social media — you will always have one person doing the sharing and millions of others ready to absorb what is being shared. This however presents a problem — you will have admirers & haters. It is not the admirers or followers who pose a problem. It is those that disagree with what you have done that will cause even more harm
10. Messages of Hate always is more powerful & fast-spreading than messages of Love
11. When you are in a country — whatever the laws maybe — even if you agree or disagree with them — you must follow them. Not following them or making an error in judgement can and will result in a price to be paid. This is what has happened to those students in India
12. I always believe you should be responsible for your actions. Like I tell people — when in doubt — leave it out.
13. You cannot fight the majority, the one in power or the one with oodles of money. Especially when you do not have enough yourself
14. Finally, in a day and age where anything you say, share, tweet or upload can have dire consequences — why do it the first place if you know what you are doing can bring out challenges?

To conclude, all I can say is this.

I’ve lived in UAE for the first 40 years of my life. Given that expats are never given citizenship, I was a nomad in a no-mans-land. Eventually, I had to leave and I decided to move my base to Thailand.

Now though I lived in UAE all these years, I never had a single legal complaint against me.

Why?

Because I choose to remain smart, remain silent and remain sensible with my opinions, my judgements & my social media usage. And this is despite me not agreeing to many things about UAE, its laws or its religious practices. But like I’ve always stated — when you are a guest in someone’s house, learn to be humble, simple & gracious with whatever it is you are given. Never complain. Never make a noise. And most importantly — never let anyone know your true feelings especially if they are not good.

I continued living in UAE until it was time to leave. And when it was time to leave, I left quietly. It is only now that after I’ve left UAE never to go back, have I decided to publish and share the realities of life in UAE — hence my youtube channel that came into prominence.

I wish most of our Indians would realise this simple truth that in this dirty game of politics — might is always right. The faster they learn it, the better. Until then, we can only hope for common sense to prevail and peace to exist between the rest.

Until then, lets not complicate the game too much.

Who Am I?
Google: Loy Machedo
(Article Number 2)