Birds of the same feathers seem to have spread
their wings to spread hatred and intolerance…
I am wary of voicing my views in public,
lest I should be jailed or branded a ‘traitor’, or maybe charged with sedition
and get labeled as an ‘anti-nationalist’. All throughout my life, I have taken
immense pride in being an Indian and needless to say, I have been very very
vocal about my love for my motherland. I also confess that I have been partial
towards my own religion (I believe that except the atheists, everyone believes in
their own religion) and have tried to follow the rituals and ceremonies
associated with it. But that does not mean that I am a connoisseur of Hinduism.
I have read about my religion, and I have a decent knowledge about the epics
and the religious books associated with the religion I was born into. Also, I
never harboured any repulsion or hatred for my friends, acquaintances and peers
who were of other faiths.
Hindutva, or Hinduism if you prefer to
use the term, seems to have imbibed a sense of urgency these days. The religion
which I have been following since my birth, replete with the soul- stirring ‘rupang dehi’ of Durga Puja, or the ‘lakhi pasani’ recited by our mothers and aunts during the quiet
yet profound Lakhi Puja of the yore, seem to have faded into oblivion. What I
see around me now really astonishes me. The loudspeakers belting out noisy ‘devotional
songs’ with melodramatics lyrics and with tunes of popular Hindi-film songs,
the exorbitantly lavish Puja pandals , and above all, the slow but sure change
in the thought-process of the people in my life, make me wonder if I am a ‘bad Hindu’.
The tolerance associated with my
religion seems to have disappeared. I can no longer associate Hinduism with the
all-encompassing ethos which made it a profound faith (as I say this, I wonder
what my family/friends would say. I can almost hear them saying, “All Brahmin
girls are somehow unnaturally attracted to Muslim boys. They run off with
Muslim boys and settle down, and thus the Muslims successfully convert many
girls.”). I remember Mr L.K Advani of decades back, a strong, opinionated and
popular leader, doing Rath Yatras; and when I think of Advani, another image
pops up in my mind’s window – that of a gentle, patient, yet firm Atal Behari
Vajpayee. There was an element of balance between these two – if one was fire, the
other one was water – if one was loud, the other one was serene. Isn’t this is
how a balance is maintained? I do not know anymore, I do not know what I have
always felt about this aspect anymore.
‘Secularism’ is now just a chapter in
the Civics textbook of my kids. I find it hard to explain the concept to my sons
who are entering the threshold of teenage-world. I do not know what to teach
them about the ‘equality of religion’ and ‘to harbor a feeling of respect for
all faiths and beliefs’. Yes, I feel I have failed them. I feel we all, the
parents of these times, have been mute spectators to things which we do not
believe in, yet we keep dumb, we pretend that this is the right way.
Imagine this. We are living in the year
2020 A.D. And what the national obsession is right now? Picking up and
dissecting historical wrongs and reacting like absolute fools! Babri Masjid, an
issue that took place 28 years ago, still remains fresh. Not only fresh, we
deliberately scrap the wound periodically so that it bleeds and we react.
Forget this three decade old issue. There are incidents of the 15th century, 17th
century, which we like to dig out, and debates lasting hours at prime time on
national television ‘analyse’ and opine on these mummified incidents/issues. Such
is the situation that a girl getting raped and killed might not get justice,
but a cow getting slaughtered will cause national pandemonium. The icing on the
cake is to rope in a couple of fanatics from different religions, and make them
spew venom on cacophonic news channels.
And now I feel, this situation is here
to stay. Unfortunately, our country’s oldest political party, with its
obsession for dynasty-dominance, is incapable of providing a strong, robust
opposition. With the passage of time, there is increasing re-affirmation of
the hyper-nationalist rhetoric with Muslims as the thinly-veiled other. We are currently
a nation where people sit with their evening drinks cursing Mahatma Gandhi/
Jawaharlal Nehru for the partition, or have highly polarized discussions about
how the Muslim youths of today are increasingly becoming radicalized.
I do agree that in the past few decades,
Islam has acquired a very sinister face. The brutal videos released by ISIS and
Al Qaida send shivers up the spine. Till date, I cannot get over the gruesome
video of Daniel Pearl. But deep within, I had a feeling that my country would
be different. Alas, that is no longer the case now. The transformation
currently under way in Hinduism is among the most significant in our country’s
history. It has much in common with similar changes taking place in Islam,
Buddhism, Christianity and other religions. Buddhist monks sworn to nonviolence
lead massacres in Myanmar and Sri Lanka; most radical Islamists are poorly
versed in the Quran; many evangelical Christians care so much about issues
never mentioned by Jesus, such as abortion and homosexuality.. Is it increasing
intolerance to beliefs which are not in tune with our own? Or is it that religion is no longer a matter
of what we believe or do, but rather it is something that we are required to
portray before others? People from all faiths are radicalized. There is no space
for any liberal thinking. At times, I wonder if I am besmirching my religion by
having these thoughts. I am sure that I will be called a ‘leftist’, ‘urban
naxalite’, ‘anti-Indian’, etc if I voice my opinions.
But I cannot lie to myself. I cannot harbor
so much hatred for everyone who is not a Hindu.
Is this the true, unalloyed form of my
religion? My religion is at its glorious best now. There are temples being
constructed with billions of tax-payers money. There are festivals being
celebrated with unparalleled fervor. History textbooks are being rewritten.
Cities and states and streets are being renamed. I guess my religion never had
it so good, but ironically, national harmony never had it so bad….
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