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It's only Modi visiting, quit sparring online

India and Pakistan have, historically and politically, had a complex relationship and it is unfair to give it a simplistic black-and-white spin - so let's not go there. In the 'popular zone', there are heightened sensibilities at play whenever there's a cricket match in progress: 'beating' each other takes on a special significance, and an Indo-Pak outing always has an extra something about it (much more than, say, the classic Ashes showdown).
This 'popular' outbreak went the extra mile this week, when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UAE. It was after 34 years that an Indian head of state was on UAE soil, so the sizeable Indian expat population went into a tizzy. Understandable. But this also gave way to some intense Indo-Pak 'encounters' on social media all over the country. While Indians were chest-thumping (no, not about Modi's 56-inch chest), their neighbours were mostly miffed with the Modi hype - and the standoff was leading to all kinds of virtual altercations, and even name-calling.
At some crude level, it may have been entertaining, but it is rather mystifying why there's a constant need for one-upmanship; this is neutral ground, a level playing field, not a cricket stadium where you have to win. In the UAE, Indians and Pakistanis have lived in peace and harmony, away from the political underpinnings back home; and that's mostly possible because they share a lot in a common - from cuisine and culture to value systems.
Yet, despite all these commonalities and a mutual respect for each other in many 'soft power' sectors, Modi's visit triggered off an online sparring of words that was quite unbecoming. Many Indians were being far too reactionary to their neighbours' verbal volley - this is one-upmanship, remember? - and missing the import of Modi's visit by turning it into a 'contest'. As one Pakistani commentator observed on the Khaleej Times' Facebook page, why not let Indians enjoy their PM's visit, it does not have to take away anything from anyone - or undermine anyone.