‘Our Jan Sangh has told the government to take action to oust the Chinese. But the government has failed to do so. What we have read in the newspapers only indicates that the Chinese army is more powerful.’

‘Just because they have attacked an auxiliary post doesn’t mean that we should jump to conclusions. Had it been a regular post then it would have been a different matter. This post had been set up just for the use of the patrolling parties. Think carefully, how many soldiers and arms and ammunitions could be there at such an auxiliary post?’

‘It seems that you spend the entire day reading newspapers and listening to the radio.’

‘What to do? We have to keep track of things. Our country is in danger. The Chinese army has encroached, no doubt, but they won’t be able to stay for long. Our army is not weak at all.’

‘I don’t think Krishna Menon is doing the right thing. It seems he has no idea about what is happening at the border. He is only visiting foreign countries. Doesn’t he have any sense of responsibility?’

‘No doubt he is a learned man. But I think he is overconfident. Perhaps he is sure that if there is a war the Chinese will be defeated. That’s why he hasn’t taken the issue that seriously.’

‘But I think things will be a little different now. A special taskforce has been formed with its headquarters at Tezpur. It will only look after the NEFA frontiers.’

‘Go-o-o-a-l!’

Lee Chang had scored. The audience turned boisterous. All political discussions came to a halt. Forgetting the war, they got engrossed in the game.

‘We will win this time, too. Had Robin been here we could have shown them our mettle. We coaxed Ming and Hong to join Seven Star Club, but they didn’t agree, you know,’ someone said.

‘I also told them, “All the Chinese players are in Seven Star Club. Why don’t you join too?” Oh! He was so angry! He said, “Why do you call us Chinese all the time? I will play for Duliajan Club. All my friends are there.” I said, “We too are your friends.” Do you know what his answer was? “You are my friends? Huh! No way. You are our enemy. All the players of Seven Star Club are our enemies.”’ Narayan laughed.

Sipping beer, Addison and his friends watched the match, their faces red with excitement. Manager Daman Singh, Addison and a few others supported Seven Star. O’Connor and the others supported Duliajan. Each time, they divided their support in this way to encourage both the parties. They paid all the expenses of the football matches with the help of the garden fund.

‘Go-o-o-a-l!’