SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION : GET REAL ... SOON

 

In the media recently been the news on incidents of Muslim youths denied employment or residence ; regardless of points of merit , since media channels have become more entertainment than news channels , this is a juicy matter for TRPs  . These days on TV news channels you find more ‘ debates ‘ than news  --- debates which are uncontrolled shouting sprees without a purpose or a conclusion

So was this time another aimless debate on this topic which I happened to watch today . That these channels , in their relentless pursuit of TRPs , give easy platform to various political dispensations to highjack any topic to paint the other side black , without any commitment to cause concerns me ; but what affects me more is the hypocratic , consciously superficial discussions on topics related to religion ,more so when it is about what gets referred to as ‘ minorities ‘ …. Instead of grappling with the truth it turns into a competition to speak ‘ politically correct ‘ language . My concern is that such superficial talks do not help bridge the gap ; they actually perpetuate the drift .

Here are my heartfelt observations and reflections

# Merit point in this case is very clear & beyond doubt . Discrimination of any kind is not just unconstitutional for us , but it is immoral & inhuman …. Whatever be the considerations , there is no justification & the guilty be punished … Period . It does not even need a debate to conclude that this is how it should be

# The larger & even worser point is that India is a country of discriminations across various parameters … caste , creed , religion , skin colour , language , geography , economic class & the worst monster of all : Politico – Criminal class v/s the Aam Aadami  . The even larger point is that it seems intrinsic to Human race to discriminate … seems compulsive and almost genetic characteristic of the human race …. Take a look around the world , if it is not one kind of discrimination , it will be another ; the moment you get rid of one cause human mind finds a new cause to discriminate , because no one wants to be ‘ a part of the crowd ‘ … everybody wants to be ‘ apart from the crowd ‘ & hence compulsively searches a new parameter for discrimination . This relentless urge to be ‘ one up ‘ from others will deter human race from being ‘ one ‘  ; the moment you douse one fire , there is another eruption .

# Hence to take every opportunity to generalize everything to religious platform & get into ‘ Hindu Bashing ‘ … because it comes cheap & sounds politically correct is very unfortunate . It does not help reduce the divide , it only serves nefarious purpose of antisocial elements and some zealot religious organizations who have malafide ‘ strategic ‘ agenda against India . Why play into their hands ?

# While without a question & without a second thought , the guilty in this case must be punished & every such case be arrested ; we should not get too carried away with certain political agenda to drift into superficial exchange of words without addressing the root cause

# In medical treatment , while it is urgent to handle symptomatic relief for immediate purpose , the disease is cured only when one treats the root cause , armed with a proper diagnostic analysis . In these cases of social discrimination against Muslims , unless we ask ourselves as to what is causing this unacceptable behavior , we will be condemned with speaking superficially & nothing will fundamentally change even with punishments … after all how many bodies can we punish , without addressing & cleansing the minds ?  

# Is this happening because Hindus are doing it purposely but without a reason , are they consciously targeting Muslims , because there is a generic , wide spread religious agenda in driving away Muslims . Quite honestly it does not appear to me , there is if at all evidence against such a hypothesis … other wise the same ( Hindu ) community wouldn’t have madly loved some of Icons – who were Muslim by religion across field of Art / Music / Movies / Culture / Sports . Hindus have never had qualms of humming Hindi film songs with words like Allah or align sounding Urdu words – such things will never happen in Pakistan , Hindus have had no qualms of worshipping some Muslim pilgrimage places . In fact , India – with majority Hindus is probably the only place on Earth where there are instances of non –Hindus occupying highest posts across fields , with so overwhelming regularity . I do not know a single country with this magnitude … do you know ?

# It should therefore be important & interesting to ask & know , when it comes to social transactions that we find instances of discrimination , because unless we find out why , we will never be able to resolve it permanently .

# It is important that we scientifically research the factors , but for now , based on my exposure & understanding , let me hazard a guess . I feel it is the deep seated distrust & fear that causes the suspicion & the divide . At least knowing the psychographics from ‘ this side ‘ I can say that Hindus have deep fear of Muslims coming from the deeper ‘ memories ‘ of atrocities brutality from the then Muslim invaders . However what adds suspicion fuel to this is the neo terrorism , claimed to be a religious cause by their perpetrators . I think Hindus fear & avoid either living around Muslim localities or passing through ( like how Behrampada in Bandra East become in riot times ) The fast spreading , religious based terrorism has only increased the divide and added Suspicion to Fear . And while people involved or related to terrorism may be a minor % of the total community , since you can not make out by the looks as to who is linked to terrorism & who is not , the mind over simplifies the matter by avoiding a particular community 100 % . And when Hindus see no attempt being made by Muslim scholars & religious leaders to turn Muslim youths back from straying on the wrong path , it does not help to reduce distrust which prompts the mind to the primitive thinking of avoiding everybody from Muslim community when it comes to close dealing

# If even if a trace of what I’m guessing is true , has anyone tried to understand & address this issue … which could actually be the core issue . Has anyone made any attempt to reduce the trust deficit & help cleanse the minds . Has any body from the Muslim community shown the courage & character to stand up against terrorism in the name of religion & worked to turn the tide … How on earth then we expect weak minds of a lay man to show courage not to discriminate

# And if we do not ( want to ) address the core issue how would minds transform by punishing more bodies ; we may continue to speak superficially on this matter , but then nothing will change ; it may just get worse . The choice is ours !