It wasn't a brilliantly written article, but the readers responses prove the author's point very well.
I would feel devastated if I heard that people of my community were told that they weren't welcome to live in areas open to others; I would wonder if this is what we got our independence for; whether it was for this that we stayed together as one country -
Here the author is told that his article demonstrates his prejudice against hindus for describing what happened to him. Prejudice ? He wanted to live among people of a different faith and he is accused of prejudice?
We win cricket matches and all, but inside we carry the rot which will destroy our country. Shame on you for not feeling the outrage at this.
And I Blame the BJP - because they proved that hate is an excellent alternative to tolerance.
I think Personal experiences cannot be the basis for a general statement. And moreover, the author himself has said that he did not want to live in Hindu community which shows that he is himself discriminating. It was his encounter with the sikh friend that changed his mindset.
I am a young muslim student and majority of my friends are hindus.This was never a conscious effort,it happened over the years and none of us ever let it bother that we belonged to different religions.And then Godhra happened.I saw some of my best friends turn away,while some on the fringes rallied around me and condemned such a heinious act;just as I condemn an atttack on innocent hindus. Come on,who are we kidding.There are extremists on both sides,people who believe in killing men,women and children alike:whether it's in the form of a bomb attack or a mob of over 5000 people.I agree with the author that muslims are biased against at some places and also with some responses that hindus also have to face it.What does not make sense to me is why some of you are justifying it.Intolerance at any level,religious or cultural,should not be justified.It is time that we, the Indians rise against communalism and it is the duty of both communities to marginalize the extremists.Only then will this come to an end.But reading the responses to this column has shaken me,just like it did after Gujarat. Why don't you understand that it is not even about loving each other,just not hating.
I am so sorry to hear such kind of accusations being hurled at every community in India through such inflammatory article and responses from people. It is sad that everyone has forgotten one thing, we are Indians and we are known for our "TREMENDOUS TOLERNACE FOR DIVERSITY and PEACE". There is no nation in the world where such variety exists and the Nation can till prosper.
If you go anywhere in the world, there is some sort of discrimination that occurs be it race, religion,color of skin etc... The biggest discrimination in the world is about HAVE'S and HAVE NOTS... So money is where all discrimination ends and begins. Heck, it happens in our own families as well, and we have witnessed it probably everyday of our lives. What do we do for that? Write such INFLAMMATORY ARTICLES on rediff and wash our laundry in public????No we don't. We get along fine after sometime. If you seriously think about all the problems, they all arise from "LACK OF TRUST". We are not willing to be better citizens of country and world, or even humanity in general.
The one thing we Indians have to learn is TOLERANCE. Religious, linguistic, personal, political tolerance. United we stand, but in any union the single most important biulding block is tolerance.
Please forget about religion and live in a world which is more International. All the gods up there are friends if you are too religious to believe in you god.
Being a muslim myself I have seen people of both the religions fight for what? Nothing!! Anything gained? Nothing! Anything lost? Yes, prosperity, integrity, security, brotherhood.
I agree with your point that you were discriminated but its not a one person's fault. These are all repurcussions of what had happened in the past. It is just the one side of the coin. I have witnessed muslims discriminate against non-muslims too. I know there is a difference of faith but do we need to carry our religions on our sleeve? Neither Islam nor Hinduism or any other religion preaches to fight and take lives of innocent people.
So, peace out brothers. Let us live peacefully making a peaceful, wonderful & a beautiful nation of ours - INDIA.
