Seeking Unison

It use to piss me off when, some unknown person sitting on the other side of the border use to say that India is a pseudo secular country and the people are pseudo secularists.

I never believed them and use to get back at them with strong arguments.

I can assure that the Government to a larger extent upholds the secular identity of our nation (you may disagree with the statement if feel contrary), the issue here is not the government or any political party, its about us … We the People of this legendary country who are proud of its ‘culture’, ‘heritage’, ‘traditions’, ‘morals’ and ‘values’.

How much we respect this moral and constitutional ideal, which stands at the forefront of the identity and integrity of India?

The question remains the same, are we secular from our heart and not the prima facie show off where we wish the other community on their festival?

I’m writing this not after watching some mind-boggling movie, which astonishes my conscience.

Just some personal experiences, which make me, think that why we have set standards for each and every Indian or the communities living within and we judge them and be-friend them based on these pre-conceived notions?

Indians are highly opinionated about each and every one and the sad part is that this opinion is generalized, taking a slight racist bent. Punjabis’ are boisterous, clever and always ready to fight, Bengalis are cunning, self-centered, Keralities are cunning too (and no matter a person belong to Karnataka or Kerela or TN, he just a Madrasi for the rest of the world) Gujaratis’ are misers and Muslims, needless to say they all are stubborn, rigid, and can bluff you anytime for their own interest. All of us more or less live with such opinions and then believe that all Indians are brethren.

Antagonism against each other is so much that often before making friends, one looks at the caste and religion of a person. One doesn’t want to rent a house to a muslim or sell a property, one does not want their sons or daughters befriending people belonging to so and so community. We are creating a Ghetto around ourselves, which might be so harmful for the future of the country that it will become unimaginable for our posterity to associate with others. In the era of globalization we have created such boundaries with our own land that the state has become saddening. I used to think that it is the old generation, which use to think so, the new clan which is educated and ‘modernized’ will not be suffering from such biases but I was wrong here, the hatred has as usual carried forward. This new generation has the same thoughts too; they might not show it but inside have the same feelings, which are now concretized. Its like the era of imperialism is gone but the white man still thinks he has the burden of civilizing the rest of the world.

I talk to my friends and they believe the same, that every Bihari is cunning and not even a single Muslim can be trusted, etc, etc, (other comments are not even worthy to be read or be written).

I’m sincerely waiting for the day when we really live up to the Gandhian ideals than having a national holiday and a dry day on 2^nd October. Where unity is not only outside but also within our hearts. It can only happen when people for the sake of the interest of the country come out of such disgusting biases, it’s very important that we give up such communal ideology, which exists in majority of the minds of the Indians or else it will be quite easy to disintegrate again. And my personal experience say that brain-washing is the not only the job of some madarsa or some jehadi group … most of our homes do that too by prejudicing one from the other, which is quite worse from the former.

I’m reminded of few line by Faiz, which goes like this, “jism par qaid hai, jazbaat pe zanjeerein hain, fikar mehboos hai, guftaar par tazeerein hain, apni himmat hai ke hum phir bhi jiye jatein hain”.

I really feel despite of such growing antagonism and mistrust against each other what is that one thing which is still making us survive? I don’t know what is it, but if such scenario continues for a long time, we may not survive any longer.

I can only request every one to believe in the ideals of the country, let every one live, befriend, and grow as one entity, come out of the ghetto created around yourself. … It’s us who can return to this land its lost glory, peace and prosperity …

To end I would like to quote Ahmed Faraz,

“jab qatal hua sur-sazon ka,

jab kaal padha aawazon ka,

jab shehar khandar ban jayega,

phir kis par sang uthaoge?

Apne chehre ko aaino mein,

jab dekhoge, darr jaoge.”