/*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'''®
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13 comments:
The fault is on the part of all Indians equally. Its already in peoples minds, hence at the drop of a hat they jump to generalize.
The resentment created in the minds of the Indian common-man towards sections of society by our politicos for their advantage is the root.
To change it unfortunately we would need to flush out the mind set of the people.
Second thing that you pointed out was the deadliness of GENERALIZATION. It is exactly why people will blame a whole sect of society and not the people who damage its name. Leaders of jihadi movements dont realize the image they are creating for the people who dont want to involved. I feel afraid that our Maharastrian friends are also running that risk because of the Thackerays.
We should teach people not to generalize. Even the terrorists are making the same error. They are targeting a nation, forgetting the policy makers they disagree with.
While every terror situation is not created by the single sect, for we have people in FEAR of leaving home during the protests of the MNS, or the Bajrang Dal for what they did in Orrisa, very often it is. The language of the law in this country is clear, but the execution is bent as per convenience. So we find our papers and TV splashed with islamic fanatics, and a small corner with the similar hindutva chanting clowns.
But i suppose we can change all this by continuing to accept our friends from other religious circles and not look upon them with suspicion. For no one likes to be distrusted, ESPECIALLY WHEN they have done nothing wrong.
i guess not only Indians but people all over the world doesn't trust Muslims anymore and to bring about a change in their outlook will take a long time unless ofcourse there is some major revolution happening... post 9/11 attacks people look at them with an eye of suspicion..sadly because of this the innocent muslims are the victims...they may not be remotely connected to all this but people do suspect them ...
police make arrests of innocent ones and torture them just to show that they are leading somewhere with it...even at airports they are cross checked several times..
still the ones responsible for the terror attacks get away with it..
i really feel sad thinking about the ones who have done nothing wrong still are targeted...
the problem is with people who believe in religion tend to see the terrorist as a muslim.
these godless minions of darkness have no god they have no religion
they are only being brainwashed by people who want to earn money
it is always about money
the quran says
" taking an innocent life is equivalent to killing the entire humanity "
if these people were so devout muslims as they would want us to believe then
i think they would be protesting through proper mediums.
Forgiving is upto god they believe
but if there is a god i seriously doubt he would waste his time pondering over wot to do with an asshole who has just gunned down a defenseless 5yrold with an ak47 assault rifle none the less
its str8 to the deepest pits of hell for them
no need to open the file even
Well Nex, your sentiments and outlook on this issue are shared by many of your generation. Let us be thankful for that. A nice article indeed especially the citation from your train journey helped create that instant connection to the stigma around. You seemed hardpressed for answers...well heres a very simple one..
The terrorists that paid us a visit recently were not long bearded white clad muslims, they were dressed like any other fella from our friend circle. So to be suspicious of any person who overtly "looks like a muslim" is in no way rational. The need is to be vigilant, to be alert NOT TO BE SUSPICIOUS. The terrorists arent dum to g with the flow and dress up like a muslim and carry a bag full of explosives on a local train from mumbra, they have got more brains than to do that!!
I think the message ought to be,
"DONT BE SORRY...MUSLIM BHAI.."
-JJB
I have to agree that most people around us have the same opinion abt muslims. I sincerely feel that this attitude needs to be changed.I am sure all the Indian muslims must have felt equally bad seeing the tragic event. Its even possible that they had been one of the victims.Generalizing can be very disastrous. I feel sorry for them who they are constantly eyed with suspicion. The comment above made a very valid point that 'The need is to be vigilant, to be alert NOT TO BE SUSPICIOUS'.
If the act of suspecting muslilms all the time continues, they will soon find it very difficult socialising with people other than their own religion. And i wont be surprised if this would end up building negative feeling in their minds for the Indians.
I hope things change and an entire religion is not targeted.
I must appreciate Joe Jacks comment. It is absolutely spot on. [i]"The need is to be vigilant not suspicious."[/i]
and with amar when he said the problem is with people who recognize religion! Totally. I say remove the tags of religion from people. igonre it OFFICIALLY.
Actually these terrorists are pretty dumb, their families are paid to let their sons go and i presume they are from not so well to do families.Anyway,so they are made to believe they will come back "unscathed" and that they are doin it for the GREATER GOOD of the people which isnt TRUE. It's not so much about which religion they believe in coz no religion preaches KILLING.
Then again we are a country of a billion people.We have anti social elements within our own country, remember ORISSA and MAHARASHTRA. I empathise with the muslims living here because all muslims i ve known are really nice people.
We just need to reform ourselves in terms of our outlook towards others, UNITY IN DIVERSITY is what we talk about ,it shdnt be only during the good times, it should be Unity in diversity always.
and one more thing the leaders training terrorists tend to use religious scriptures and twist words,make situational changes and draw parallels according to their preference to make students see their point and achieve the goal of MASS DESTRUCTION.Terrorists dont tend to see through it,What a pity for them and for everyone else world over!
Every single person would identify with this scenario to different levels i think... A man sporting a long beard with a white rounded cap on his head with a kurta and his children holding his hand.... and people gazing at this particular set of people.... they stand apart in the crowd.... the situation has existed for a long time now....
the 'gaze' does not necessarily mean they are looked upon as terrorists by people....as joe jack pointed out....'can he be a terrorist?' is somewhat irrational... the point is he is suspected because he is not considered one amongst us....
Now that, a muslim DOES NOT DESERVE.... the dicision has existed ever since this country was 'independent.... so the point that the author makes at the end...'to bear with the intolerance for some time' is a little inaccurate.... the 'suspicion' may have been aggravated at this point of time....but the roots exist in most people's minds....none amongst us can say that there was no bias in our minds before this incident.... or even 10 years back.... muslims were always looked upon with a strange perspective.... some people might argue that they never let the goodwill come into us... everytime they came up with something or the other to trouble us... now here is the point...who is this 'they'?? we ALL are victims of generations of generalization...
whether to preach love or forgiveness lessons or not depends on whether one believes or considers it necessary to be virtuous.... but the solution to this problem is being rational....discourage ideas that show that muslims are 'they' and we are 'us'....ideas that generalize....
Look i still feel it would be unfair to target the entire muslim community residing as Indians as a community consisting only of "T's".I agree that those who were involved in the attacks in the recent past were muslims{rather believing in NO religion at all}...but this does not justify the assumption that every muslim at sight is of the same mindset as that of the "T's".
At the end of the day no community is a saint existing today...each one of them has it's jewels and stones! It is all about individual perception and as far as I am concerned I would not see every indian muslim with grave speculation and doubt but will definately be aware and alert about activities and elements around me be it a muslim or a non muslim!
Look i still feel it would be unfair to target the entire muslim community residing as Indians as a community consisting only of "T's".I agree that those who were involved in the attacks in the recent past were muslims{rather believing in NO religion at all}...but this does not justify the assumption that every muslim at sight is of the same mindset as that of the "T's".
At the end of the day no community is a saint existing today...each one of them has it's jewels and stones! It is all about individual perception and as far as I am concerned I would not see every indian muslim with grave speculation and doubt but will definately be aware and alert about activities and elements around me be it a muslim or a non muslim!
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