As India prepares to compete against Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 in Dubai on Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) has cautioned hotels, restaurants, and clubs in Mumbai against broadcasting the significant match. The party has threatened protests if any venue proceeds with showing the game, renewing its longstanding opposition to cricketing relations with Pakistan. This assertive position comes even as its coalition partners, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), remain silent on the matter. In addition to the warning, the Shiv Sena has initiated a symbolic campaign encouraging women to send *sindoor* to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referencing “Operation Sindoor,” India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year.
This strategy mirrors past actions by the Shiv Sena, which in 1991 famously disrupted an India-Pakistan One-Day International by digging up the pitch at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and pouring engine oil on it. Similar protests occurred in Delhi in subsequent years, highlighting the party’s unwavering hardline position against sporting engagements with Pakistan.