[Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Vedavati jee (and all)

By subscribing to a particular language, a particular institution to learn
about your religion, by adhering to a particular religion, by having
affection for one's own background, one's own region, one's own sex too, one
does not become an outcast for the mainstream.

By going to a madrassa, by learning Urdu, by stating that their needs should
also be fulfilled and by demanding their rights as Indian citizens, they are
not out of the mainstream; infact they further become a part of the
mainstream. It's only when Muslims decide they would only interact with
other Muslims and not with other religion members, it's only when Muslims
believe in a fantasized separate state within India only for them, it's only
when the entire community organizes violence not only against Indian
citizens but also against the very Indian state, that it becomes an outcast
against the state.

I think you should better go and understand what is an outcast for a state,
before giving such great lectureships on who is an outcast and who is not.
It's people like you and the RSS which portrays Muslims as outcast. Muslims
vote in large numbers in every election (thanks to the RSS and the BJP which
ensures at least Muslims vote for their security, if not development).
Muslims join the police and the armed forces if they have the capability of
doing so. In commensurate with their academic and education qualifications,
as well as depending on the social and economic background, they have taken
up jobs across India. They too sing the National Anthem like the rest of
India does.

Take that for patriotism.

As for the RSS, they are an outcast. They want the current Indian
Constitution out of India. They are of the lot which resulted in death of
Gandhi. They think India is feminine and needs to be masculine, which is
against the very philosophy of Gandhi. What's mroe, they organize riots and
propagate ideologies which go against the very foundations on which the
state of India is based. They have already communalized Gujarat, now they
want the 'Gujarat laboratory' to be propagated across India, in the name of
portraying Muslims as Ravana or adharmis (as Krishna used the word in
Mahabharata).

Today Muslims, most of whom are poor, actually have to vote for their
security more than development thanks to BJP (go and read Yogendra Yadav's
election analysis reports for this). It's the RSS which is outcast against
the nation state.

Will the RSS shut down its Saraswati Shishu Mandirs and the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad which propagate a false based notion of India, which creates an
intolerant population who are bent on violent activites all the time,
whether it be moral policing, Muslim bashing or something else?

Who are you to talk on behalf of the Hindus? How many Hindus have voted you
to be their voice? The same question, I ask here to the RSS and the VHP. How
can you say Hindus trusted Muslims and now it's Muslims turn to reciprocate?

If you think that's the Hindus' point of view, let us have a referendum on
it to see how many Hindus support you, the VHP-RSS bandwagon, or anybody for
that matter? And let us have a referendum on Muslims as well to see which
organization represents them?

As for reservation, you don't even know for why it was brought in the first
place. While Ambedkar and old Congressmen can state it was done as an
affirmative action, an important reason for doing so was to safeguard and
forge national unity among the SC's and the ST's, who form a substantial
number of India's population. And why should politicians anyways stop the
reservation?

How many upper caste people are there in India to begin with? Isn't it true
that SC's alone outnumber upper caste in India? Then what about the ST's?
Then, how come we can stop it? Is there a way you can suggest politicians to
win elections without these? What about others asking for reservation?

Further more, how can you say reservations have failed? When reservation was
started, it was believed that by seeing those among them who had succeeded
(irrespective of their economic backgrounds), the others among the reserved
category would be inspired to do well and secure good opportunities for
themselves. (The reason for initial reservation). What is wrong in that? Can
anybody prove their own community doesn't get inspired by these
achievements?

Then why should we stop it?

Whatever arguments have been given against reservation say about free
education. Where was the same class of people talking about this, when it
wasn't introduced uptil a year back or so, in the Constitution of India,
regarding primary education? Does any of them even bother about the way
their own money is spent in anything? And when the people at the grassroot
don't get what was due to them, then they have to turn to elections. Do you
do that? Do you vote as well? The middle class hardly votes, as we know.
Look at cities, voting rates are low. Look at urban developed areas, the
voting rates are even lower. And then, we crib about our politicians, about
reservation, about this, about that.

Do you have any data as well to prove that reservations have actually
failed? Do you have any data to state that reservation is only useful for
the well off of these castes and people? And even if it is true, does that
go against the very argument of reservation?

But we are ready to discuss about Katrina Kaif, pornography, about Sachin's
achievements (not that they are not achievements), about Pokhran nuclear
tests, about this and that and about gossip. Not that these shouldn't be
discussed.

But then, if that's what we are and that's all we can and are discussing,
then we should stop cribbing about our politicians not doing what they
should. We should stop chiding them when they take bribes, for we are
responsible directly or indirectly for how they behave and act. We are
responsible for failing our nations. We are the outcast in our own nation,
for we not only are away from the very idea our Constitution was created
for, but we are also alienated from the duties which we are supposed to
perform as responsible citizens.

Are we doing that? Do we even go out and vote? Do we know who are the
candidates in our constituency and actually look about for information about
them? Do we know who are the people who decide our future? Do we even
discuss about the kinds of laws made? Do we know the foundational values and
basis on which our Constitution was made?

And we talk about Muslims being outcast, about reservation policy not
working (are there even figures to prove that), about anti-incumbency, about
imperialist policies in India and all that....Bravado indeed!

And as for your understanding of your problems, the less said the better. As
an argument, can you explain the reasons as to why a normal person like you
or me would join terrorism, and what are the values a terrorist would have,
what circumstances make a person terrorist? Instead you and other folk here
go about things like tough terror laws, security improvement, and all crap.

Let me ask you here: If I wish to kill you come what may, regardless of the
consequences, what can save you? Tough laws against killing?? Improvement in
security and intellligence (one lapse and you could be gone, mind you)?? Or
something else??

And as for your trust of Pakistan, India has 1 billion plus citizens. Just
because you don't trust  them does not mean others don't trust them as well.
And we are a democracy, so we may as well respect other's views about them.
If you would like , we can put up a joint request for a referendum on such
issues like

a) Does India trust Pakistan (or do Indian citizens trust Pakistan) ?

b) Do we want a Ram Mandir any more? Or a Babri Masjid? Or a third
alternative?

c) Should we bring in a uniform civil code? Or is it not required?

Bring such referendums (and get all the people to vote), and that will spell
the dooms day of the nationalists and the BJP-RSS-VHP bandwagon. More
importantly, it will help us secure the foundations of our state.

I am very sorry indeed for such an outburst. But I am absolutely frustrated
at the fact of our understanding of issues. If this is what we know, then
how are we different from the politicians who take these decisions affecting
common people? And shouldn't we stop our cribbing about their actions?

Regards

Rakesh