I am sorry muslim bhai...

/*please pardon me if i hurt anyones sentiments...*/

4 days post the terror attacks in mumbai...I finally set foot out of my house with a purpose...not to show my courage to the world but to collect my hall ticket from college and spend time with my friends during the course of the process...

As usual i kept my friends waiting at thane station and unlike most people i dont hurry if people are waiting for me...so i was leisurely looking around in the train checking out the people inside ...everybody was busy with themselves or with those around them and most of them were busy talking abt the recent events and abt experiences that they got to hear of from those directly involved with the event...

my journey to thane is via 2 routes the fast track that is a no halt dombivli to thane travel and the slow track that halts at kopar(where no one lives) ,diva (where no one can live) mumbra (a location densely populated by muslims) ,kalva(a small place yet so many people get into the train from there is always something to think about) and thane which is my destination.
by now i am sure most readers would have an idea of where i am going with this.

So... me in the train watching people ,listening to music and also avoiding calls from my restless impatient friends at thane...:p
The train arrives at mumbra and suddenly i sense a complete change in atmosphere or vibes in the train...there is silence but not a comforting one to say the least...everyone in the train is looking at the people boarding with the most suspicious looks they can possibly carry... those coming in have the most innocent look that they can carry ...those inside were making space so that those boarding could comfortably come in (which if u are unaware of train travelling in mumbai is very unusual)...and if someone boarding had a big bag you could almost feel the tension inside the compartment...

surprisingly I was also doing the same...i was constantly looking at a guy visibly restless(bhai log dont shift tracks here..:p ) and in return he was looking at me as though he was sayin.."äb maine kya kiya"...
but i could not help but look at anyone entering the bogey non-suspiciously...there was this alertness in me to look around ...check their baggage...etc.
the train journey continued to thane with just a little buzz in the train and without much talk...but it was a thought provoking situation...and i did think about it until my friends in thane pounded me for my delayed arrival..

The thought i had is what the title reads...
post 26/11 there are many very observable things that people talk about regarding its effects...the more evidently observable ones have been pointed out by most people or by media like bad politicians ,inefficient system,lack of security...etc.
But this is one thing that i have noticed (i am sure more have also) but would like to blog about...ie the outloook towards muslims in india.

Its not that muslims were in the best of terms with other religious sects in India...especially the majority in terms of religion (Hindus)
especially after so many religion oriented issues like the 93 blasts,the gujarat incident..etc. the muslims have always been in the notorious books of the majority religion more than any other religion.
To add to that our neighbours are also muslims with whom our relationship is worth having a highly patrolled LOC...
yet we few (open minded)indians somehow have the heart and space for muslims to live happily in the country and that the country is home to them as much as it is home to us...so much so that our best actor,actress and their deputies,cricketers, poets, writers ,politicians etc. and even one of my best friends during school days is a muslim...and they truly deserve the space and love we give and take...


But every time there is a terrorist attack ...guess who is behind those black masks...a muslim fanatic...
and then when u learn that they were living amidst us and planning an attack on us ...you just cant help but lose faith in them...for eg. when we learnt that they were living in the Nariman House building and planning the attack for 9 months ...you just begin to wonder who else could be doing it...
Every time you see a muslim you will be like...he could be a terrorist...

I would never believe anyone who said that if tomorrow 5 muslim men shifted as neighbours to his place he is gonna welcome them with as much sincerity and love as he would welcome someone of the other religion ...on the contrary i dont think people would like to have such neighbours and wouldnt be surprised if they had problems to sleep if they did...
suspicion levels are always gonna be high with them around...and there is no denying that fact...

But the thought provoking point is....DO THEY DESERVE THIS??
I am sure not every muslim dreams about blowing up this country... there surely are muslims who love living here,are as Indian as we are if not more,love other religious sects as we do,have friends and relatives following other religions,who would like others to see them as Indian muslims rather than muslim indians...

so i feel the answer is no...they dont ...
so now what...here is the deadlock point...
they dont deserve this for sure...but we just cant prevent ourselves from looking at them non-suspiciously after all that has happened in recent times...
so what is the solution to this...
As of now there is no solution of what I could possibly think of and hence the title to the blog...

Hopefully...things will change for the better in the future ... the other indians(if i may say) are definitely at this time closed minded(which has been forced upon them and not chosen by them)...and due to this closed mindedness we would surely act stupidly or irrationally towards the muslims in the near future...hopefuly not to an extent that its intolerable for them...
But with time i am sure this will open up and the bond between people will break the bonds between religions...ie.people treat each other for who they are and not whom they pray...but until such time...i just hope the muslims bear with the intolerance and partiality that we shall have till such a time comes...and dont react in a way that spoils any hopeful situation... since they are a minority,in a democracy minorities will never have it their way and will have to suffer a bit(i hope not more than what the word means)...i hope they can forgive us with an open mind as i know it is unfair towards them and be able to bear the discomforts they have during this period of distrust...hence i would like to apologize as its unfair on my part as well but i am forced to look at them differently...

"I am sorry muslim bhai..."

/*please pardon my grammar... and comments would be appreciated(preferably on the topic)*/

NEx'''®