After global celebrities like Rihanna and Gal Gadot, it is the 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova who has taken a keen interest in Indian politics and has come out lashing the alleged ‘fascist regime ruling the country.
After spreading fake news just a week ago, the tennis player has now condemned the Uttar Pradesh police for arresting students who cheered Pakistan’s win against India in the first Super 12 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Navratilova reacted to a post where a Twitter user named Anjali Mehta (ex-army now a social activist as per her Twitter bio) tagged several sportspersons from across the globe to condemn the arrests being made in India of students who celebrated Pakistan’s win.
What? https://t.co/NRhU0fO3DO
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) October 31, 2021
To this Navratilova expressed bewilderment. After another social media user shared a BBC report on the news, the tennis player Tweeted, “Didn’t realize cheering for a particular team was against the law?”
Didn’t realize cheering for a particular team was against the law? https://t.co/xHgpg2Np4u
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) October 31, 2021
Netizens, however, were quick to tell the new social justice warrior on the block to study the context and history before commenting.
So why did they get arrested?
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) November 1, 2021
Interestingly, scores of anonymous Twitter handles came out supporting Navratilova’s statement while commenting how lawlessness has taken over India, especially Uttar Pradesh.
Why Navratilova needs a history lesson
It is not uncommon to find supporters of foreign sportsmen in India, especially when it comes to tennis and football. Indians also cheer for foreign cricket players when they play in a fan’s favourite Indian Premier League (IPL) team.
However, it is an altogether different equation when it comes to people living in India supporting Pakistan, a country responsible for cross-border terrorism in India.
It is imperative to note that not long before Pakistan defeated India in a cricket match, as many as ten Hindu civilians were gunned down in Kashmir in the month of October by the Islamic terrorists sponsored by Pakistan.
India lost more than 110 security personnel fighting terrorism in Kashmir from the year 2019 till date.
Hence, if personalities like Navratilova wish to understand why supporting, cheering and bursting crackers for a country responsible for terrorism in India is a punishable offence, a short history class or flipping through a few reports apart from the likes of BBC and The Print might help.
Navratilova spreads fake news
On October 21, Navratilova took potshots at the BJP government in India on the basis of fake news peddled by CJ Werleman, Islamism apologist profiled by Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint.
In a tweet, she wrote, “Quite the democracy, eh? Trying to catch up to trump, I see. But then Modi and trump were pretty chummy from what I could see… will Modi speak up against this man and his rhetoric? I doubt it…”
Sadly, her comments were based on a piece of fake news, which was shared by columnist and ‘Islamophobia crusader’ CJ Werleman.
