The incredible journey of Sania Mirza (no thanks to religious and nationalist nut jobs)

Sania Mirza, India’s most successful female tennis player won her first Wimbledon Grand Slam title last week. Just a couple of years ago, she was exposed to all things ugly in India — religious dogma, partisan politics and the inherent sexism that underlines both.

In 2005, when the 18-year-old Sania had just about made a mark in the world of tennis, orthodox Muslim clerics had found her on-field clothes (skirt and T-shirt that exposed her midriff) “objectionable”.

Fatwas were passed against her and she was accused of corrupting the Muslim youth. In an interview to Hindustan Times, a senior cleric of the Sunni Ulema Board had said, “The dress she wears on the tennis courts leaves nothing to the imagination.”

The young athlete braved herself into issuing a statement to the media. She said, “How I dress is very personal thing…it is scary that every time I wear a T-shirt, it becomes a talking point for the next three days.”

After surmounting pressure from liberal Muslims and athletes, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board stated that such criticism of Mirza was both “unwarranted” and “uncalled for”.

When in 2013, Sania gave an interview to The New York Times, she spoke about the harassment she had to face, post the objections raised by the Muslim clerics. She said, “I remember having a thousand people for security. I couldn’t leave the hotel room without informing about five different people. And even when I did, I had a car in front of me and I had a car behind me. I had a guy sitting with me.”

In the same year, when Sania advocated “safe-sex”, her effigies were burnt in Hyderabad. She had to later issue a clarification, making clear her stand against pre-marital sex, which was a “big sin in Islam”, and unworthy of pardon.

After the first half of the last decade, Sania was a globally recognised sports star. But, in the following years, she was to be met with dozens of frivolous controversies.

Orthodox Muslim groups were not her sole source of misery. The Hindu brigade, led by some prominent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and RSS leaders, were quick to claim their share of the religious jingoism.

When Sania decided to marry Pakistani cricketer, Shoaib Malik, some BJP leaders were quick to score political brownie points, by pandering to fundamentalists. Then BJP Vice President Kalraj Mishra had said she should think twice before taking this decision of marrying a Pakistani.

Sania’s loyalty towards India was also in question after her marriage. In fact, the All India Tennis Federation (AITA) had to confirm, that Sania was “committed to representing India”.

In 2014, when the Telangana government decided to pitch Sania Mirza as the brand-ambassador of the newly carved-out state, Telangana BJP leader K Laxman was quick to call her “Pakistan’s daughter-in-law”, and question her credentials for the honour.

However, this year, India’s Human Resource and Development Minister Smriti Irani was quick to catch British Broadcasting Corporation’s error, when it “forgot” to mention Sania in a tweet, congratulating only her partner, Martina Hingis for the Wimbledon victory. The BBC deleted the tweet, and in a subsequent tweet, congratulated both Sania and her partner.

These controversies have tried to pin down the success of a sport’s star, who has fought religious bigotry and petty politics and emerged victorious. Probably, it is time that we revel in the glory of her wins, and not question her loyalty towards India.