BLANK*

This is what I recall 

The issue started with the ‘Divide and Rule strategy used by the desperate and almost at the verge of the departing imperialist, the British, when they realized that a unified India was no match to their bullets. And so started the breakdown of the relationship between the two ‘clubbed’ religions – Hindus and Muslims. I say clubbed because there are several fractions in these two broad categories. The Hindus will include Sikhs, Jains, Buddisht, while people of these faith would probably not want to be classified as a ‘Hindu’. And to the extent I understand, Muslims include Shia and Sunni, and these two, definitely do not want to be associated with each other. I am sure there are more sects that can be and have been classified under the umbrella of ‘Muslims’, albeit, yet again, without any consultation or discussion with these sects on whether they want to be clubbed together.

And from then on, we come to the period of partition. The arbitrary, bloody, gory, maniacal, vindictive, hateful, regretful and countless such adjective full, Partition. The one where Cyril Radcliff (probably the only name in history that I remember – Cyril Amarchand and Daniel Radcliff, what can I say, I have my ways) drew a line based on his permutations and combinations and then the entire population of this magnificent country was asked to pick a side and to migrate to that side. Of course, the size of the remainder India was much larger than that of the newly carved out Pakistan, not to mention the fact that the carved out Pakistan was closer to Northern India as opposed to southern India. Thus, the migration, though it happened, happened in a manner which was polarized a bit. To my understanding, the Muslims who considered India their home, or who simply did not want to travel so far or to a land that they were unfamiliar with (demographically and geographically), decided to stay, which was an option given to them at the time of partition. But the aftermath of the blood and gore of partition, which came down to killing and raping on both sides of the partition of the people who were migrating, left its stain on the relationship that these two words was to have for the remainder of the life of India. And let me tell you something about stains, especially those of blood. They don’t go away. It requires a lot of soaking them in cold water and then brushing vigorously and .. oh right its not about my constant struggle with my menstrual waste.

And then came the political heads of this proud and full of potential and independent country. One fraction subscribing to the might of Hindu and the other to the aftermath of partition. Am I being partial here. Is this the line where I express my true opinion on the whole issue of divide between the two words, where while I am referring to one religious party (in whatever form it existed then) as ‘might of Hindu’, I am referring to the other political party (mainly those in power) as the bearer of torch for the aftermath of partition. Ah well, to whatever extent I may be expressing whatever I am expressing, this is what it is. No one had the best agenda or the best intentions. But I subscribe to one agenda over other. Development has to be more important than development of just one singled out word. Equality has to be more important than might of one. Forgiveness has to be more important than vengeance and revenge.

So whosoever be at fault, it was time to focus on rebuilding the nation and not on dividing it further on sectoral lines. I was listening to Mohommed Rafi in the morning and thought that had some people got what they wanted, I would not have been able to say that Rafi was part of my India. And this is what got me thinking to what I wrote above. I believe there was a time in the history of this country where these two words were at peace with each other. I believe that time can come again. And I believe that the way to get that time is not by violence or my marginalizing one of the two. Its by peace; its by forgiveness; its by common development; and its by equality to ALL.

I don’t know what the political situation was at the time when Rafi lived in Bombay. But I do believe that people, of all religion, were just picking up the fallen pieces of the broken and scarred India and trying to make a living out of it. Trying to be big and prosperous in this land which is bountiful and all accepting. There came a time then of terror, perpetuated by the fundamentalists of one of the two words. I am not saying that their role in the terror and taking of lives of the countless invaluable lives is to be ignored or forgotten. These acts of terror on the name of religion did put another scar on the already scarred relationship of the two words, which was just now healing with the fresh new layer of scabs. But then, the act of terror by these ‘fundamentalists’ was theirs and not of the one word and to equate one with other is being ignorant at its best.

And then came time time of a new political regime. One that takes the colour saffron and somehow makes it more akin to red. For most of this country's past, corruption was the worry. But now, its something much worse. Its being questions on the ground of your faith and your choices. Its being questions on your eating preferences and your clothes as opposed to your education and belief. 

And in this backdrop (highly summarized and completely ignorantly put, I am sure) we come to today. Today when the society is indeed palpably polarized, all because people just remember some of the instances mentioned above, while forgetting the times of peace and harmony. Time has come for us to relaize the real reason for our hatred and distrust and to work towards mending it. As opposed to being at two banks which never meet, we have to be part of the river that flows in between. Harmony is possible. My belief and value system is sure of it. And I am not alone.

The formula is simple. Equality and no discrimination on the basis of religion.

One of the few such pieces where the heading was written first. No, scratch that, title changed.

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*Title (Pukarta Chala Hoon Main) changed yet again on 15.04.2020