The atrocities of Pakistan to torture Hindus have always been talked about. Here is another such incident when the only Hindu in Pakistan cricket team- Danish Kaneria is forced to face racial discrimination.
Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar claimed that his teammate Danish Kaneria faced racial discrimination by few Pakistani cricketers for being a Hindu. They even didn’t prefer to eat with him because of him belonging to a different religion. The spinner supported Akhta’s claim.
Kaneria is a second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his uncle Anil Dalpat who took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. he also played 18 ODIs.
Akhtar revealed this during a chat show’ Game on Hai’ aired on PTV sports.
Akhtar said he fought with 2-3 people in his team when the talks of religionism started. Things like ‘who is from Karachi, Punjab or Peshawar ‘ used to make him angry.
He also revealed that Kaneria was even stopped to take food from the same table. He was also not given any credit for his performance and was constantly insulted due to his religion.
Kaneria won the test for Pakistan against England. He should play if he is taking a good number of wickets for Pakistan. They might not have won the match without Kaneria’s effort but he didn’t get credit for the same from many, Akhtar said
Kaneria told PTI over the phone from Karachi that Shoaib has been a legend of the game and his words are blunt as his bowling. He further said that he did not dare to reveal and talk about this racial discrimination but after Shoaib’s comments, he did.
Kaneria has also been supported by inzy Bhai (Inzamam-ul-Haq), Mohammad Yusuf and Younis.
He also said will announce the name of those who were against him soon. He feels fortunate and honored to be part of the Pakistan team.
In 2009, while playing for Essex against Durham, this 39 yr old leg spinner was found guilty of spot-fixing alongside Mervyn Westfield. He was found to have convinced Westfield to agree 12 runs during the one-day game. Westfield was sentenced four-month prison and was banned by ECB for five years. And Kaneria admitted the spot-fixing after 6 yrs of denial.
Pakistan remains in talks to create trouble in parts of India especially in the strife-torn region of Kashmir. But such acts of racial discrimination for a player that plays well for the country is quite shameful.
According to Pakistan Hindu Council, currently, Pakistan comprises 4% ie around 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan.
Around 1200 people migrated from Pakistan to India in 2008 as they face back home problems that they were not able to educate their kids. They were treated like ‘second class citizens’. Also, Hindu boys and girls were made to read Quran in schools.
There is much more being cooked inside the country which will come out with time.
