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don't generalize please
by Amit Shesh on Apr 13, 2006 12:29 AM

I think we are too far off from the stage when any community can blame any other community for wrong-doing. Who starts a riot soon becomes immaterial because what starts as retaliation soon becomes senseless killing. Saying all (or "most") Muslims are enemies of the nation, etc. etc. as one reader has said is as stupid and archaic as saying "maharashtrians are bad businessmen" or "all upper cast people are evil". Stop it! If some muslims killing in the name of the Koran is taken as a "whole community gone bad", all Hindus have had criminal family backgrounds, since sati was very common 300 years ago, and its proponents provided a religious and cultural justification for it.

Take everything on a case-by-case basis. Indeed the author's dismay is justified after being refused a house because of his religion! However, it happens in Muslim localities too, no use in making it a "majority vs. minority" and "mainstream" issue. Not liking a neighbour because of fish smells, etc. at least makes more sense; it is a genuine inconvenience for people who are not used to it. And it is not as if others will take care of this and cook with an exhaust fan or with the windows closed to minimize the spread of smell.

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Why I won't live among Hindus