The week that went by saw the worrying trend of right-wingers harassing a local hotelier over support for Pakistan in a cricket match as a symbol of macho-nationalism (sic) raise its ugly head in Calangute.
A hotel owner was made to publicly apologise after the video went viral in which he expressed support for Pakistan, intriguingly in a match not against India but New Zealand.
He was forced to kneel down, hold his ears and chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
Strangely the video in question, was uploaded by v-logger Davud Akhundzada on YouTube way back in November last year. He had shot a group of men watching a Pakistan-New Zealand cricket match, and rooting for the former. It however went viral only now (February 22, 2023) after it was uploaded on Twitter.
In the video, Akhundzada asks for the reason why they were rooting for Pakistan and the man responded saying, it is a “Muslim area”. Akhundzada is a Czech national and adds his own commentary to the v-log: “Interesting fact, seeing that they are cheering for Pakistan in India in the bazaar in Goa against New Zealand.”
While Akhundzada’s video went viral, the video of the entire drama in which the local hotelier was harassed also went viral and wildly made it to the news here in Goa and nationally as well. But, there’s no action or reaction from the authorities as yet, either from the cops or the administration. Many are shocked and waiting.
