Indian Identity

Here goes a song by my favorite legendary singer BoB Marley:

Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war, me say war

 

Just finished reading Sudhir Kakar's insight on Indian Identity. Especially  the paper "The colours of Violence" is a very noble service to mankind. I wish someday maybe common people get to read his work as well because most of the time they are the one who get instigated.

Religious violence has a very dynamic nature with no one reason which can be pinned down. But ignorance of course is a reason. What makes me wonder after reading "Indian Identity" is that seldom is religion the cause for so called religious violence and most of the time the reason are socio-politico-economic. Religion is just used to fuel the fire. 

Hindus are living with their Muslim counterparts since long enough to be dated, but they never really mingled, their colonies were different from each other and though we may have history of Hindu-Muslim living together, they relationship was never homogeneous in nature. It is almost like animal Kingdom, they all live in jungle but in there own territory and with there own herd, pride, flight, group or whatever.

Hindu and Muslims are living separately together. As a Hindu I Know Id and Ramzan but that is it. I don’t know the significance, story, belief, epic and legend behind it so though I want to respect them; I am not real able to. And its not only about Muslims, Hindus have some kind of reverence for Buddha, Mahavira and Sikh Gurus. The reason as pointed in the book may be one that these are religion of Indian Origin. The other reason may be that we know the legend behind the Buddha and the Mahavira.

I personally like Bible and its stories a lot. The more i read it the more I love it and the more I love my own religion, may be because I see a connection (people are fond of find differences rather then similarities). Coming back, because I read Bible and know the legends I have a lot of respect of Jesus, the Christ and never ever I can think of vandalising a church. I will be scared of Jesus just like any other God of my religion of birth.

Though Hindu-Muslims-Christians live together, we are ignorant when it comes to respect each others belief. Every thing which doesn't go with our belief system is illogical to us. We explain even our occults with lot of logic but are not patient enough to mingle study and lend our heart and ears to the belief system of others.  

Until we are able to do it "India will always remain the melting pot of cultures, with lots of heterogeneous mixture and fire beneath the pot", and this heterogeneous mixture will never become Indian but will always be seen as Hindus, Muslim...etc..etc.    

 As Bob Marley used to say: 

That until the basic human rights are equally
Guaranteed to all, without regard to race
Dis a war