I almost went into depression reading the article on the terror suspects recently arrested / implicated.
Reasonably well educated, Indian born Muslim youths in 20s - proficient computer engineers, doctors, teachers, electronics specialists. Add to this the charade happening in Kashmir through the I Day celebrations and its now clear that religion has become bigger than country for millions.
The funny thing is,as I read the article, the places mentioned there made me nostalgic.
Vadodara - a city I worked
Ernakulam - city I was born
Pavagadh - ranges I've trekked & camped through beautiful full moon nights
Ahmedabad - City I went for a post graduation in management.
It is then that it stuck me with a finality that sent a chill down the spine.
Terror has come home to roost. And unlike the cows and the crows, they are not going to be shooed away by the first rays of a new morning. They are here to stay. And no, they are no longer visitors from our northwestern neighbor, they are our own brothers, comrades and countrymen. And they are out to kill us.
There have been times over the last week where I wondered if the price to pay for secularism is so huge, would we have been better being a mono religion country. Answer was clear. An emphatic NO. But there are no solutions for the current mess.
Its not a problem that one can state, understand constraints, boundary conditions and find a logical solution to. My personal belief is there is only one way to fight this and that is through Madrassas and spiritual teachers. Madrassas, Ive personally seen, touches children at a young age and touches them deep. What gets indoctrinated at that impressionable age remains firm for long. If it is love, we have a bright future. If it is not, we have a dangerous one. Same holds in case of Hindu terrorists. It might not be madrassas, it might be some other agency. But touching them young and making them proud of our multi cultural fabric is the one and probably only way.
Al Kafiroon
Chapter 109, 6th verse
109.006
YUSUFALI: To you be your Way, and to me mine.
PICKTHAL: Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.
SHAKIR: You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion.
3 comments:
i hope ur comments were before the vandalisation of christian churches across many states in the country..thts pretty much terrorism !!...atleast terrorising..and i dont think terrorism is only in Islam !
Hmm...I'm sorry but equating islamic terrorism which has resulted in the violent and brutal deaths of thousands with the breaking of a few window panes and knocking down of tables is plain stupid.
>>"and i dont think terrorism is only in Islam !"
You're right.But no other religion preaches,encourages and employs terrorism more than Islam does.Not by a long long stretch.
More so because their Religion bestows upon them the divine duty to eliminate "infidels" (the fact that non-muslims are called so is a small indicator of their vituperation).
Perhaps you should get to read some of the pamphlets that Christian missionaries peddle.Extremely derogatory stuff."Satya Darshini" is the one that incensed the Hindus in Mangalore.
I hope you agree that the right to practise one's religion does not imply the right to hurl invective upon invective upon other religions with such absolute impunity.
And fyi: http://tinyurl.com/3qfmat
(could easily be a case of making a scapegoat of someone but the Blore attacks are unrelated to the Mangalore ones)
Been ages since I blog-surfed, but really must take issue with this post. The attacks on churches have been provoked by vicious propaganda. I have myself seen not just pamphlets but books circulated by missionaries which label Hindu gods and goddesses as "rapists" and "prostitutes". Given what happened in the aftermath of mere cartoons in Denmark or a book by Rushdie or Nasreen for that matter, I think these attacks have been a rather muted response.
A little more thought and tad more perspective may help. The last I remember, 9/11, the Mumbai train blasts, the famous Bombay serial blasts, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Madrid, London etc were not quite the Bajrang Dal/Hindu "terrorists". Frankly, I can't comprehend the concept of Hindu terrorists... Totally with Dushyant on that one...
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