India In The Eye Of The Storm

India is a unique country because of its rich cultural diversity, ethnicity and amalgamation of different religions. This country epitomizes what religious tolerance means. How many times have we heard the above lines, read them in our textbooks and essays or described this while explaining to someone what our country is like.

The intricate fabric of life which gives life to this country is unravelling and we have taken the easy way out - either watching it with detachment or lashing out with misplaced frenzy.

Islamophobia has not just seeped into the psyche of the common man, it has gripped us and paralyzed us to an extent where rational thinking is disappearing only to be replaced by us looking at our countrymen with mistrust and asking them to prove their loyalty to us.

The common refrain I hear all the time is let the liberal Muslim rise and speak out and the mullahs didn’t condemn it (the cartoon protests, the Bush visit, the blasts – a list which is ever growing).

When the liberal Muslim speaks out and condemns it, we look at him and say, “He has to say this if he has to live in this country. How do you know he’s not happy from inside?” And when the mullahs condemn it, then it becomes a page nine story in an obscure one coloumn box or a 20 second sound byte in 1.40 minute news story in an 11.00 am bulletin which no one watches.

When a fatwa is passed saying no religious monument (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Christian) should be a target, somehow we push this ‘news’ to the back burner. But when a fatwa about Sania’s skirt is passed, we have special programs on it. I remember Aaj Tak doing a graphic and visual of what Sania would be wearing if her head was covered or if her legs were covered. Without deviating further and driving my point forward, I shall talk about the political parties.

Political parties and politicians have gained mileage and will continue to do so by whipping up emotions of people. We are nothing but pawns in their game. To be remembered when we have to vote or to keep the vote bank intact and to be forgotten all other times. Just like Yaqoob Quereshi, who desperately wanted a political upheaval and his ticket to the big league. The pawns took to the bait.

And then we cry hoarse that the Muslims are destroying our country. I agree, there are snakes amongst us but putting everyone on the same pedestal is acceptable? Why can’t we address the roots of the ‘snakes’? Unfairly bracketing every person from the Muslim community as a terrorist or a terror loving, hindu-hating, anti nationalist person is myopic. Oh! And we have brackets for Hindus who write posts like is, they are called minority appeasing pseudo liberal secular people.

Err…Did I just throw myself out of the frying pan and into the fire?

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Originally posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 1:52 PM