As UP and other elections approach, India must stop looking at people through the prism of religion
We have been sensitised in our schools not to differentiate in terms of gender, caste, color, or religion. Given to read books that have moral lessons and humanitarian concerns of compassion and tolerance. It may not have embedded as deeply as it should, it does leave an imprint. When we grow up, we wash it up. Why else we turn into hate mongers, suspecting, even vengeful grown-up individuals. Then there is Ajeera. An Indian no one knows about. As it happened, she needed a job as domestic help tried her luck in a Hindu family. She was refused. She wore a Muslim identity. Burqa. Then seven years later, she turned up again. This time more practical. Throwing nothing to smack of her Muslim identity. “Namaste, looking for work.” The work and payment details were done and dusted. Then something came over her, she added: “By the way, I am a Muslim.” Not important if she got the job. Now, really? Does it matter? Did it ever matter? It is happening in our cultural cauldron. India. Where people came made it home and assimilated. They lived together, shared laughter and their sorrows. Of course, sometimes they fought and then forgot. Nevertheless, not like now. The schism is visible. Split is wide open. How did it all come about? Didn’t we see it coming? We will never know.
No one knows when religion a personal expression for one's search for self turned into a political plot. One could ask maybe Donald Trump or Jair Bolsonaro or our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Why even blame anyone else. We agreed. Yielded. Unthinking. We nodded in agreement everything doled out to us; started suspecting our neighbor who we knew from childhood. Aren’t we all responsible for Ajeera’s innocent second utterance? Are we not pushing ourselves towards dispensation we despise most ISIS, Taliban, Burmese Tatmadaw, and what have you. There is a world beyond article 370, Ram Temple, love jihad, and many other divisive issues. Would we ever go beyond them? Building a home for God who left his kingdom is a good idea. But then Ram returns to Ayodhya — Ayudh(ya) — a place where there is no conflict. In that, state Ram resides. As Rumi reminds “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I'll meet you there..”. And then, there is Ajeera...