Are India and Pakistan enemies of each other? Yes! They are. But does that mean so? Is the heart of every citizen of these two countries filled with enmity against each other? Of course not! And especially when it comes to a mother’s heart, all these limitations, all history fades away and all that remains is love and compassion.
The story of the hearts of two mothers from both these countries is currently being discussed all over the world. And the reason for that is the fact that athletes from both the countries who competed against each other in the Olympics but are each other’s good friends. One is India’s Neeraj Chopra and the other is Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem. In javelin, Arshad won a gold medal while Neeraj won a silver. When mothers of both these athletes were asked to react to the duo’s performance, Neeraj’s mother Saroj Devi said, our silver is like gold and whoever got gold is also our son! Arshad’s mother RaziaParveen responded that he is Nadeem’s friend and also his brother. Defeat and victory are matters of luck. He is also my son and may Allah bless him too.
Give him a chance to win a medal too! The videos of the reactions of both these mothers and Neeraj-Arshad together carrying the flags of their respective countries went viral in both the countries. We have seen such incidents in many films. But this is happening in reality. When two mothers who are 550 kilometers apart, their words prove that the countries may be different, but the mothers are the same. Be it the Mian Channu area of Pakistan or Panipat of India. When Neeraj and Arshad started running to throw the javelin at the Paris Olympics on August 8 midnight, all eyes were on them. Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem threw the javelin at 92.97 meters and India’s Neeraj Chopra’s javelin stopped at 89.45 meters. Arshad got gold and Neeraj got silver. But after this incident, India got Razia Parveen and Pakistan got Saroj Devi. Now how touching will it be when the sons of those whose mothers speak so lovingly converse with each other? After winning the gold, Arshad Nadeem said, I played my first tournament with Neeraj Bhai in Guwahati in 2016. Since then it has emerged that Neeraj Chopra Bhai is winning. There I broke Pakistan’s record for the first time. From there, I thought that if I worked hard, I could go further. On one hand, Arshad was praising Neeraj an on the other, Neeraj was respecting Arshad’s hard work. Neeraj Chopra said that every player has his day. Today was Arshad’s day. A player’s body is different that day. Everything is perfect for Arshad today. It was the day of Tokyo, Budapest and the Asian Games. When the reactions of both mothers reached Arshad, he said, everyone’s mother is the same. We are so blessed to have mothers like us. Praying for us.
When the India-Pakistan cricket match is on, the animosity between the two countries is at its peak. There is also pressure on the players. And so naturally, we have seen the feeling of enmity in their cricket many times. But even a player like Shoaib Akhtar is introverted by the reactions of both these mothers. Shoaib said that only a mother can tell this. I realized that it is not that difficult to stop the oxygen of hatred that is often spread between India and Pakistan. The friendship between Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra is not new today. There have been many occasions when Neeraj and Arshad were seen as rivals despite being friends. Neeraj and Arshad were seen shaking hands and hugging after the Paris Olympics match.
On one hand, the fire generated from the India-Pakistan cricket match is burning the fans, Arshad and Neeraj hang a bag of love on the tip of their javelin they throw. The affection has been evident even when Neeraj won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and Arshad finished fifth. Neeraj looked downcast after winning a medal at the Paris Olympics. In some parts of the video interview, he could not hide his feelings. Neeraj’s smile disappeared from his face before wearing the medal. After winning the gold medal, a video of Arshad, in which he was seen crying, went viral. India and Pakistan could be at the bottom of the points table in the Paris Olympics. But these two so-called enemies have pushed aside this mentality. Saroj and Razia are more than just friends. Neeraj, the son of a farmer and Arshad, the son of a mason, have laid such a foundation of friendship that the people of both countries can leave their spears behind and build a tomb of goodness. If one hoists the flag of the other country, the citizen can be jailed. Saroj Devi’s house is situated in such a locality. There is also a picture of Arshad Nadeem displaying his country’s flag on his chest. Neeraj is also there with the tricolor stuck next to him. The flags of India and Pakistan are almost rarely seen together with a smiley face.
The flags placed on the table of the many bilateral talks that took place after the annexation are a witness to this. Saroj, Razia’s upbringing, philosophy and this event will forever be written in the history of both the countries.
