Protest in Meerut: Hindu Organization Chief Smashes TV in Protest Against India-Pakistan Match
Meerut : Tension and dramatic scenes unfolded in Meerut when the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Sangathan staged a protest against the India vs. Pakistan cricket match. The organization’s national president, Sachin Sirohi, along with his supporters, carried out a symbolic demonstration by bringing a television set from his home to a busy intersection and smashing it with a hammer in full public view.
The protesters raised slogans condemning the cricket tie, accusing it of mocking the sacrifices of Indians who have lost lives to terrorism. Sirohi declared that while Pakistani terrorists are killing innocents in the name of religion, India continues to play cricket matches with them, effectively “celebrating on the blood of martyrs.”
Holding the hammer as he struck the television, Sirohi made an impassioned appeal to what he called “Sanatani Hindus across the country,” urging them to boycott the match and go further by breaking their televisions and LED screens on the streets in protest. According to him, this was the only way to send a strong message to authorities and the cricketing establishment that sporting ties cannot exist in the shadow of violence and terrorism.
The demonstration at the Meerut Commissionerate drew the attention of passersby and quickly turned into a flashpoint of debate. While the organization’s workers supported the dramatic gesture, some bystanders criticized the act as extreme, pointing out that sports should remain separate from politics and conflict.
Nevertheless, Sirohi stood firm on his stance, reiterating that no “entertainment” or “celebration” should be allowed when the country is still bleeding from terror attacks across its borders. He accused authorities of ignoring the pain of victims and their families by allowing cricket matches to continue with Pakistan.
The symbolic smashing of the television reflected a broader sentiment often expressed by hardline groups who have consistently opposed sporting or cultural exchanges with Pakistan. With the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan among the most watched sporting events globally, such protests strike a deeply emotional chord, tapping into both national pride and unresolved tensions between the two nations.
The Meerut protest is part of a series of demonstrations planned by the Hindu Suraksha Sangathan in different parts of Uttar Pradesh. Local police monitored the protest but did not intervene, as the demonstration remained limited to symbolic actions without large-scale disruption.
As India and Pakistan prepare to clash on the cricket field, the divide between those calling for separation of sports and politics and those demanding a total boycott grows sharper. Whether Sirohi’s appeal will find resonance among wider sections of society remains to be seen, but the spectacle in Meerut has once again brought the intersection of cricket and nationalism into sharp focus.
