What’s happened to my Democratic India?

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 68^th 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…