Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is not to upgrade or degrade any
particular religion, neither to draw any conclusion, nor it is to hurt
sentiments of any.
And well, the "disclaimer" is one of the most misinterpreted and bullshit things - the bigger the disclaimers, even bigger is the hypocrisy of people... And moreover, I care less, so I bring it on...
And well, the "disclaimer" is one of the most misinterpreted and bullshit things - the bigger the disclaimers, even bigger is the hypocrisy of people... And moreover, I care less, so I bring it on...
One
cold night, Rajdhani express, 3-tier AC coach, I am sleeping my way from Delhi
to Ahmedabad. At 12:55am, I am suddenly awakened by continuous whispers by few
people trying to settle around. While this is a very common scene in trains,
the thing which intrigued me was the inconsistency between their get-ups and
their behaviors. They were 3 Muslim guys, and a lady - probably their mother.
Now
when we live in a non-cosmopolitan city or local household, we know and expect
people around to be of approximately similar culture, language etc. But metro
cities, airports, trains etc. are the places where we get privilege to see all
the variety of cultures in India. And after a certain point, you get acceptance
of the diversity in cultures and it doesn't fear or thrill or intrigue you...
So it is, with me. I have friends, colleagues, and acquaintances from diverse
cultures and religions - they are as human as all others... The thing different
about those people in train was that they were unknown to me.
Photo credits: http://blogs.voanews.com/
When
we meet any person for the first time, at least in India especially in trains,
we try to figure them out by the minimal information available - 5 things to be
specific: clothes, religion (sometimes by clothes), language, region (by
language), social standing or "class" (by clothes, region, and language).
Coming back to the people in question - those were well-dressed, usually smiling, and they were whispering continuously in English. The suspicious thing to me was their accent - which was heavy British to somewhat American - but they looked all Indian (or at least Asian)... There was something unusually peculiar about them, or it seemed so (to me at least)... While it is no big deal that a person working in a corporate MNC set-up, or one who has stayed in Europe for few years, can speak or adapt the accent, but that was not the first thought which came into my mind.
Coming back to the people in question - those were well-dressed, usually smiling, and they were whispering continuously in English. The suspicious thing to me was their accent - which was heavy British to somewhat American - but they looked all Indian (or at least Asian)... There was something unusually peculiar about them, or it seemed so (to me at least)... While it is no big deal that a person working in a corporate MNC set-up, or one who has stayed in Europe for few years, can speak or adapt the accent, but that was not the first thought which came into my mind.
Well, in the state of terror in which world is nowadays,
the Indian Muslims whispering among themselves, in British English accent at
midnight in train, was sufficient to alert me (that is what we are supposed to
and told to be all the time in these unfortunate times of bomb blasts,
killings, and what not)...
And for a moment, I even thought not to sleep for the remaining time, and observe the surroundings as a "responsible citizen"...
As they settled, slept, and set me writing this, I can now totally believe, that the whispering was all about not disturbing the fellow passengers who were sleeping... I had over-analyzed the situation... My "alert mode" has been calmed down... I have now come to believe that it might just be the cultural diversity, beyond a threshold of usual acceptance to an un-anticipating mind awakened at midnight - which triggered "alert" mode instead of the "accepter" mode...
And for a moment, I even thought not to sleep for the remaining time, and observe the surroundings as a "responsible citizen"...
As they settled, slept, and set me writing this, I can now totally believe, that the whispering was all about not disturbing the fellow passengers who were sleeping... I had over-analyzed the situation... My "alert mode" has been calmed down... I have now come to believe that it might just be the cultural diversity, beyond a threshold of usual acceptance to an un-anticipating mind awakened at midnight - which triggered "alert" mode instead of the "accepter" mode...
Nonetheless, it triggered more important questions to me:
(1) Do we really trust
people or their religions?
(2) While it is not by choice, but by force, utmost
important to be alert in the today's terror-stricken world, is it really not
important to trust people?
(3) Not to preach about "atheism" or
"secularism", but will India ever become a truly
"religion-neutral" country?
Worth a thought.... isn't it?
Religion is deep rooted in india and so is its influence on the minds of people, whose faith is measured in terms of the number of gods/goddesses they worship and not in the soul which characterizes a human being and a seeming manifestation of godliness. Ideally, faith and religion are inseparable and come with their diverse set of beliefs and brickbats. The religious fanatics want to monopolize their religious domination and tend to desecrate their counterparts to transcend human bonds that yearn for harmony and peace. With this background, even whispers can be amplified to obstreperous levels and can be misconstrued as a plot of conspiracy trying to demolish the very foundation of a specific religion and stamp their domination over the remaining faiths. In this environment of pogroms of religious activists, even the slightest shred of a dubious dialogue will set out suspicions that need to be weeded to ensure our own safety. This is exactly the message that you conveyed here. It is simply feckless and you have gleaned all the questions that usually get elicited from a numb and nervous mind.
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