The majority of the crowd that booed Moeen Ali at Edgbaston did not have race or religion in their mind. But a smaller section did, and that should not be condoned

Akshay Loomba11-Sep-2014Many Indian fans have had bad press and the finger pointed at them for booing Moeen Ali. It has brought to the fore a range of issues and strong emotions.Firstly, I truly believe the booing of Moeen cannot be and is not religiously directed. The Indian crowd cheer with passion for players such as Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif all of who are Muslim. In the stands supporting India are Muslim Indians and in fact India has one of the highest Muslim populations in the world.When South Africa were playing India in the Champions Trophy last year, when the stands were full of Indian fans and Bharat Army members, there were no boos whatsoever for Hashim Amla who is of Muslim descent so I think the issue is more of the fact Moeen is playing for England which is a big grey area for British-born Asians rather than of his religion.A lot of fans were upset with Moeen’s recent comments challenging the allegiance of British Indians, suggesting British-born Indians should be supporting England. He also unexpectedly went through the Indian batting order in the Test series so was already under the skin of many Indian fans which probably acted as a catalyst in the booing saga.However, I would be ignorant to say a minority of fans weren’t booing purely because he is of Pakistani descent. This should not be condoned in anyway. The reason would stem from the Indo-Pak rivalry in cricket and politics which is a lot more complex and hostile than most people are aware of, although that is no justification and an individual shouldn’t be targeted for where they come from regardless of the extent of the rivalry.Reasoning aside, cheering and booing is part of all sports – what about when Andy Murray was booed by English fans because he is Scottish? – but it should not turn into personal verbal abuse. Bringing it back to Moeen I feel claiming ‘racial booing’ is jumping to big conclusions for the thousands of non-racists booing last Sunday.As you are aware the booing wasn’t just at Moeen but at Ravi Bopara too, being British Asians we want them to do well against other nations but some fans felt betrayed and made them aware of it, similar to the South Africans booing Kevin Pietersen in 2009.Indian fans have booed and given stick to Samit Patel in the past about “eating all the Ladoos” (an Indian sweet dish), and although that was unsettling to him and isn’t a nice thing to say, he took it well and played along with the crowd.I remember the Bharat Army crowd in the past singing the song: and somebody shouted ‘Samit clap your hands’ and so he clapped his hands and the crowd was more accepting to him after that. I feel the hostility shown in the stands to the players is due to a feeling of betrayal, although I’m sure every single one of them would play for England if they got the call up.In regards to recent articles of why British born Indians support India over England, most are actually big England fans in all sports and I myself represent England in Kabaddi as well as run the Bharat Army.Despite this, the vast majority do not support England in cricket because of the general over-reaction to English success and with the big rivalry between England and India in cricket. Many of us see it as our chance to remember our roots and give something back.India is a place of rich culture and history and many British-born Indians are proud to show this off. Cricket gives them an opportunity to demonstrate through colour, song and dance in the stands. The cricket is a time we can show some patriotism for our ancestral roots and cheer along with the whole family. Whether you are a British-born Indian who has been to India or not, the average Joe in the street would still classify you as an Indian as that is still your identity at face value.There are a growing number of British-born Indians supporting England and there is a lot of banter in the stands between the two. I feel with future generations there will be more and more English fans who are of Indian descent.We are in a generation now where our parents or grandparents were born in India and we are born in England so it is a choice many have to make. Growing up I had the choice of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly or Hussain, Stewart and Caddick: Bharat Army or Barmy Army.The Bharat Army cannot speak for every single person in the stands last Sunday but some people have pointed the finger at us. The Bharat Army take up half a stand and not all India fans represent the Bharat Army. We are a supporter’s organisation that encourages families to join us for a cultured sing and dance in the stands to get behind our team and we have always had a great competitive rivalry with Pakistan and Pakistani fans in the past and we hope to continue this.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line