Sunday, May 24, 2009

Merciless God ?

It was a boring day (must have been a Monday!) . The bell ranged .Everyone sighed a relief. The teacher moved out and the class became alive again. But soon it was a disturbed by a noise. The noise grew louder every second. We looked out of the window and saw an angry mob protesting. We got to know that someone somewhere had attacked a religious monument and so these people are now protesting against that. We found this highly amusing! Someone had attacked a religious monument thousand kilometers away from this place but these people were protesting here ! We found is stupid and laughed it off. Not for a second we thought that they might come and attack us. We infact were hoping that the protest should continue so that our studies get dismissed ! We were kids. We were ‘immature’ to understand all this. We were not taught the superiority of religion , religious ‘duties’ and the importance of revenge. In our book , one big chapter was devoted to communalism . We were taught how wrong it was for the nation and most importantly for humanity. We were taught that all the religions are same . They all have some thing in common – all condemn stealing and killing. God is present everywhere – it is present even within us ! We are all God’s children. ‘God sees us’.. this was always written on the blackboard. Our school , even though it was a Christian missionary , would honor all Indian festivals.
I grew up with this knowledge. Some of my school mates would often highlight stereotypes associated with religions other than their own. I would condemn them for such low-thinking. I was unable to tolerate such a behavior.
Being a humanities student , I became interested in politics. With the base provided by my discipline , I became a news person ! I would follow al political happenings. I read agendas of political parties and would condemn those groups which had a religious affiliation(couldn’t forget that chapter on communalism!) . In history , we had a chapter on post-partition riots. I found the chapter haunting. The chapter also discussed the stereotypes that emerged , based on the experiences.
I passed out with this knowledge. It is said that school sets the base. But I realized that people forget every single thing that is ever taught there ! I began discussing politics with people . I condemned communalism. I remarked ‘its disgusting that people kill in the name of religion’. I expected praise from people but they instead recited innumerable instances where the other community people had targeted their community. They asked me to see the ‘other’ side of the coin. They would teach me how great their religion is! I realized the difference between school and ‘real’ world.
I do not want to see a side of a coin , I want to see the coin. I had considered religion a way of life and not life. I do not want to identify people by their religion. Religion is a personal choice. In Sanskrit m I had read dharma is …what we believe in. Revenge is a venom .An eye for an eye will make everyone blind. People keep attacking each other to take age-old revenge. When will this revenge end ? Both sides have suffered tremendously. But If revenge is inevitable , punish the real accused. Do not kill the innocent. Ten people target a religious monument but the whole community is supposed to be wiped off. What was the innocents’ crime ? It’s the males who ignite the fire. But in riots , everyone is targeted. Women are raped. Whats the link? People often remark ‘ we did it coz they did it ‘ . This reminds me of a famous liner ‘If he falls in a well , would you follow him?’ .
We are humans before being classified under other heads. Religion never justifies killing. Those who kill in the name of religion are those who do not even know what religion is. Religion tries to differentiate between the good and the bad. It guides us how to live a virtuous life. Revenge is evil . God sees us all.
God creates life so its destruction should also be left in its hands. Love is the soul of the world.
Someone had said to me ‘You wont understand all this . You are still young.’. Well if growing up means forgetting this simple philosophy then its better to be a kid !

*******************************************************************************
In this article , I have not used labels. I have not taken any side. But if someone still feels I m ‘pseudo-secular’ ..well then I am not bothered. I care a damn what the other community has done. I care only about the innocent , I am not interested in knowing how great you religion is if it allows revenge ..if its merciless! Have mercy on humanity !

15 comments:

  1. true said...in our society..wat elders say is always right..tats wat the scenario is..howsoever it may not be universally true..

    ReplyDelete
  2. angry Devika :P ..you scared me..
    Well I think yes you're absolutely right. But would you tell us how can it be possible. I don't think me, you or any such educated person would get involved in this. So in the end, it's about those illiterate people who are made to follow the wrong direction in the name of religion. Innocents are killed and everyone like us feels bad but yes I believe, I represent humanity before representing my religion which I don't think will ever justify a killing as you said.
    It's an epidemic, you've read the thoughts of great men and may be highly educated 'book writers' and yes this is what it 'should' be.
    I believe it needs a whole revolution in everything - the law, the police, the government and the people to solve this.

    You express well... and I'm still scared...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent post. Things do change from time to time.Hope the future India will be free from such riots, regional conflicts, religious fights. If India achieves it that will be the true freedom for every Indian.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ rohan

    yes ur right ..its mainly the iliterate..the ignorant who support this. bt how shd we change them ? this feeling is engraved on their minds when they r young..! 'revenge' becomes sort of hereditary..!

    and why r u scared ? :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ wilson and harry

    wilson ur absolutely right..secularism is true freedom for India :) ..as it was communalism which had consolidated the british rule.. !

    thnx .. wilson and Harry :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Devika
    I'm scared because you were so angry thought not at me :P

    Education is the way to change them and nothing else.

    ReplyDelete
  7. hehe yes i was really angry ..some people abused me..called me pseudo-secular !! i mean i m not interested in any religion ..! why will i take sides..!

    yes education is the way ..bt i knw educated ppl who support policies of hindutva... who think their religion reflects indian culture. some political parties support communalism..and some of the politicians are well-educated.hmmm???

    ReplyDelete
  8. Politicians are not accountable in our country yaar..
    We should demand political accountability and at the end they win yaar..... I mean we have elected them anyways. We get the chance to choose the right person for us. Why are such people chosen then?
    We get a fair chance to judge right/wrong and you cant judge the electoral anyways because you can't question my choice of representative.
    Politicians want to be in power and as a part of the ruling government. That's their prime aim and they do it by hook or crook. Your question is why??. It's hard to resist the temptation of being in the government. What you are saying is absolutely correct and I'd like you to answer what's the alternative if we have chosen them ourselves?? and not question why??
    Anyways.. keep debating :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. yes ur right ..its we who elect them .u asked y ..i'll tell u. theres this communalist party whose formative policy is hindutva (u knw which party..) ..it plays with the religious sentinments by raising religious issues ..so the 'religious' citizens think its their religious duty to vote for them(n mt joking..they r proud to admit this fact) .. then another reason is ..on the other hand this party talks abt development..ofcourse it hasnt managed any..bt ppl see it as an alternative. when they r pissed of with the current party..they elect this party. this is what is happening ..its nt easy to change this situation. i m saying this..coz i tried doing it. they accuse me then..they say m a kid..i hav to learn a lot of things! and its nt like the current party is that pure..ofcourse its also responsible for communalism.
    the alternative for this ..i dunno seriously!i think if some govt makes anti-communal policies and if the law is made strict..we can solve this prob bt then this is a distant dream !
    i m trying to change their mindset by writing such articles or discussing all this with them bt havent been very successful. so u tell me..ur views are really appreciated. i really want to do something ... thnx yaar for taking interest :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. well said..absolutely true!!!
    Its really an Eye-opener!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. "Those who kill in the name of religion are those who do not even know what religion is. Religion tries to differentiate between the good and the bad. It guides us how to live a virtuous life. Revenge is evil . God sees us all."
    ---Nicely put...

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Devika

    Well in MP and Chattisgarh, BJP was elected two times in a row. I don't favor BJP as such but two times in a row denies mere anti-incumbency as you said.
    I do believe religious citizens do exist but more so are those who vote for a drink. The poor, illiterate and polarized people together form this 'religious' voters community.
    Things are changing as BJP lost this time and quite heavily.
    Things in a system which has been going on for more than half a century can't change so swiftly and the current pace is a bit slow to be noticed by us but yeah things are changing and it'll be visible in a decade or so...

    All I can say right now is we're in a mess.. and the whole democracy thing in India is not flawless rather it is quite weak..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Devika...ur thinking is absolutely pure....but all these comunalism is the consequence of decades long ..no centuries long deep rooted way of thinking in India.
    Times are changing...but as we say "It takes time for the times to change".

    ReplyDelete