I am a Hindu. I follow Hinduism because I was born into a
family which has been practicing Hinduism since generations. I don’t think I
had any say in the matter. I grew up with a whole lot of friends at school and
college… and I never ever thought of them as Christian or Muslim friends. They
were all just plain ‘friends’. Our names or surnames hardly made any
difference. Neither did we classify teachers as Hindus or Muslims or
Christians. They were either good or bad, stern or lenient, friendly or
tough. I have good neighbors and colleagues at
workplace, and the only time where I selfishly make sure that I remind them of
their religion, is during festival times when I ensure my share of delicious
Biryani or Christmas cake.
I love watching movies. But the religion of the actor hardly
matters to me. It never bothers me that Salman Rushdie, Ruskin Bond, Agatha
Christie, or Charles Dickens were not Hindus. Do any of us ascertain the
religion of our plumber, electrician, or carpenter when there is an urgent work
at home? Or that of the doctor when faced with pain? I know of Hindus who have
married Muslims and Christians and are living happily in love. So why do we
allow this monstrous attitude of regression to creep in stealthily and destroy
our unity at a time when we are well into the 68th year of
Independence and surging ahead with development in all sectors? We have a lot
of things to be proud of, and this current intolerant attitude is certainly not
doing us any good either nationally or internationally.
Like a vast majority of Indians, I do not subscribe to any
of the ‘bans’ that are forced down our throat...whether it be the beef ban
or porn ban or the more recent issue concerning garba dance in Gujarat. Infact, these days, I cringe
inwardly when I read ‘jokes’ on the beef ban that is so widely circulated
through social media. It’s no longer a laughing matter ever since the slaughter
of Mohammed Akhlaq. Love for the bovine population cannot be justified in any
manner to develop hatred towards mankind. And for those supporters of this
heinous act, who call themselves as messiahs of Hinduism, let me remind you
that the majority of us Hindus are living our lives peacefully without any
prejudice whatsoever based on religion, caste, or language. So why don’t you
direct your energy towards more productive factors like banning dumping of garbage in public places, banning
destruction of natural water bodies, banning deforestation, banning rape,
banning the dowry system, banning hartals, banning corrupt politicians, and a
whole lot of other social evils?
I may be a Hindu, but I consider myself an Indian foremost.
My faith, my principles, my eating
habits, my attire, my personal or social attributes are my own and does not
depend on the unwritten dictum of any
extremist group or school of thought. We
are the largest democracy in the whole world and I am proud of that. Currently,
what we, as a society are facing, is an infringement into our basic
constitutional rights, triggered by a few unholy mindsets who are out to bully
us and jeopardize the social harmony in India for political gains. Let us stand together and weed off this
cankerous mindset from our midst. We certainly owe it to the coming
generations…
