IF a Jamaican football team was coming to Guyana and one of the Jamaica-born players had Venezuelan parents and he was denied a visa, I would have sought an explanation from our government for two reasons and would have shut up if the explanation was that the footballer was a terror threat.

If he was not and he is a clean Jamaican citizen then his visa should not have been denied. You cannot blame people for having parents they did not choose. You cannot blame people for having roots in a country they were not born into. India has done something this week that the world of sports must nip in the bud before it destroys world cricket.

There is an important member of the Australian test team by the name of Usman Khawaja. He is of Pakistani heritage and was the only member of the squad that faced a visa delay when Australia went last March to India. In the World Cup last year in India, the entire Pakistani team was unable to acquire match practice when their visas were issued just 48 hours before the start of the tournament.

In 2019, England’s test player Saqib Mahmood had his visa delayed on the English tour to India and had to miss the series.

Shoaib Bashir was born in Surrey in the UK to Pakistani parents. He is 20 years old. He plays county cricket for Somerset and was picked for the English test team that will play five matches.

The team arrived in Abu Dhabi to move on to India but had to move on without Bashir who had to return to London because, after a delay of six weeks, his visa was still not granted.

The issue hit the British press with major newspapers and prominent sports journalists calling for a boycott of the tour. The English captain called for a boycott.

Then the controversy entered the Office of the British Prime Minister with the British PM saying: “We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage have experienced. We’ve raised the issues about their experience of applying for visas with the Indian High Commissioner in London.”

Bashir was picked for his test debut but would have to miss the test because the visa was only granted on Wednesday and the test starts on Thursday (yesterday). It could easily be deduced that the reaction of the press and the British Prime Minister caused the issuance of the visa.

The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma must be praised for the following words he said: “I feel for him, honestly. He is coming for the first time with the England set-up, and it’s not easy for anyone.

It could be one of our guys, who comes to England and is denied or is not able to get the visa. I hope he can make it quickly, enjoy our country and play some cricket as well.”

Let me state what I have written long before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India. I printed my disapproval of the prospect of him becoming Prime Minister because I believe as Chief Minister of Gujarat, his approach led to the anti-Muslim riots getting out of hand after a delay of almost a week of sending troops to stop murderous violence against Muslims. The US had sanctioned him for that conduct and his visa was suspended.

When Trump entered the presidential election his rhetoric was openly race-based. His demagoguery was dangerously racist.

Mr. Trump won and his policies have created havoc in the US that it is uncertain where the US is going in the future with what Trump created. It is my inflexible position that Modi is slowly creating an anti-Muslim awareness in India. You have to be blind not to see the signs.

India is one of the world’s most beautiful civilizations in world history. It is perhaps the most democratic country in the world.

It is not only the most democratic, but, by international standards, it has been the most tolerant, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious country in the 20th century onwards. Most countries with that kind of diversity would have imploded a long time ago

It would be a loss to the world if India declines as a world power.  There is a general election this year. I hope persons look in the other direction for leadership. If not, India loses and so does the world.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of  the Guyana Chronicle.