Kartikey Sehgal

The author writes that, “‘Indian culture’ is a cover-up for religious enforcements. Most colleges that enforce codes to ‘protect’ culture are protecting the religion. If Indian culture was so dear to them, then the study of Indian philosophy would be an important, if not a compulsory part of the curriculum.”

A popular college in South Bombay (Mumbai) had, some years ago, and much to the dismay of the students, banned the prom night. Nobody called it a fascist (oppressive, dictatorial) move. Mind you, the ‘night’ was absolutely banned and it was not to exist in any form or variation. The students were not taken into consensus and the decision was described as cultural. Something on the lines of ‘It is against Indian culture…’. It was either a sad decision or an unfortunate one, but it was not fascist; it was not described as fascist by the society. 

Near to this South Mumbai (Bombay) college is another college of note; it allows shorts and skirts and other such things that are disallowed by the other college. Are we to believe then that this college, that allows the students their choice of attire, is against Indian culture? Or do we conveniently use terms to get through uneasy explanations? Perhaps ‘Indian Culture’ is an excuse to justify restrictions. ‘All that I consider good and moral must be accepted since I use the trump card of ‘Indian Culture’.

Clearly, one of the above colleges is not cultural. One of them believes that shorts are not conducive to education but the other one does not feel so.

Restrictive colleges are not called fascist and there is no movement to fight the restrictions. At the most they are called conservative. The conservative tag does not apply to political parties that stop youngsters from candooling on the beach side. That is called fascism. The party does the same job as the teachers in the college; it stops ‘moral degradation’. But the college is termed as conservative and the party as fascist. It may be argued that the party forces its moral dictums on the youth and at times uses physical violence but then the college doesn’t even give space for dissent. ‘Inappropriate’ clothing is banned outright. You are not allowed to enter the premises if you are dressed ‘loose’’. If you have a problem with the ‘rules and regulations’ then leave the college and find another college. Who, then, is more fascist?

‘Indian culture’ is a cover-up for religious enforcements. Most colleges that enforce codes to ‘protect’ culture are protecting the religion. If Indian culture was so dear to them, then the study of Indian philosophy would be an important, if not a compulsory part of the curriculum. The culture tag is used to hide the religion tag to avoid problems. Once the culture tag is used, no questions are expected to be asked. To differentiate themselves from the political parties and organisations, the educational institutions use the term ‘fascist’. They are fascist, we are not, we may be conservative. But observe that these educational institutions come across as stricter and harsher than the so called rightist and fascist organisations whom they curse.

Hold a girl’s hand and walk in the college premises. And wait for the teacher’s halting orders. Be prepared for rustication orders should you not abide by the law. Any questions on reasoning are ultimately met by the ‘Indian Culture’ response. If you know about your Indian culture then be prepared to hear the merits of non-distracting dressing. The result is singular; listen or be expelled.

(Bear in mind that conservatism may or may not be good for education but this story is not about the righteousness of dressing.)

Now wear a skirt and walk on the road and ensure that the top is sleeveless. The rightist/fascist people will not always (at least in the cities) stop you and ask you to leave the mohalla/ country if you don’t abide by their dressing rule. If they trouble you then you can approach the police/media/passersby and bring an end to your trouble. You can argue with people that the midis and minis can be graceful if the woman can carry them off with grace.

Try arguing in the college. Tell the Principal that you have been brought up well, that you know your body and that you are confident and aware of your womanhood. Tell him that you believe that conservatism should apply to women who are confused and not ready to make decisions or don’t understand the meaning of decisions and who are charmed by factors other than self-will. Tell him that you are aware and confident of dealing with stares from men and women who have been brought up on the wrong dosage of Indian culture and should you encounter cat-calls and whistles or teasing, then you are capable of conversations and tactfulness. Convince him that you are the quintessential Indian woman who loves her saris and ghagra cholis and festivals and who knows the importance of conservative dressing as a means to entice men and who alters between politeness and nakhras to play biologically sanctioned mating games with the opposite gender. Then, if you want, sing a song for the principal; do anything you like.

He won’t budge. He won’t make exceptions or listen to your reasoning because religion demands obedience. Maybe he’ll smile at you and express regret, ‘”Sorry daughter, I wish I could listen to you but the culture does not permit”.

He is sure that you know nothing about Indian philosophy. It is not taught in schools and colleges and parents don’t bother about it. If you do know about it then go ahead and argue with him and let me know about the results. Chances are that he won’t make exceptions for you.

Educational institutions based on religion maintain religion and use ‘culture’ to prevent any problems from the organisations they call rightist/fascist. If they don’t agree with you, then they are conservative, if you don’t agree with them, then you know what you may be.

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Kartikey Sehgal

I had predicted problems for Omar Abdullah in my earlier story on Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Chief Minister.
“Omar would be better because others would be worse. And that shall be the bane of being Omar Abdullah.”
[Read that story Here]

The Omar led government is now funding an organisation that aims to spread jihad; and cleanse non-Muslims from the state. Former J&K chief-minister and Omar’s grandfather Sheikh Abdullah had described the organisation as “the real source for spreading communal poison.” More on this later; let me talk about Omar first.

First things First
Omar first sought to placate the Muslims, telling them that the land to be transferred for the benefit of travellers to the Amarnath Yatra was Kashmiri land and “we will fight till we die” to ensure that the land was not given to the Hindus. In effect, he worked towards dividing the state into two parts; he implied that Kashmiri land was not a part of Jammu and Kashmir.

The people who supported him are now after his neck. They want him to be the same old Omar who had once espoused anti-India sentiments and who had successfully bartered nationality for power.
If he doesn’t listen, then they will implicate him in a sex scandal. Basically, they’ll make it tougher for him to be the boss.

Omar had threatened to resign over the scandal. His resignation was refused. He claims he is upset. Or maybe it is drama. In any case, he is not able to govern a state that requires ICU level treatment. So what’s the use, Omar?

Brace Yourself
From the article published in The Hindu.

“Back in 1945, Islamist ideologue Abul Ali Mawdudi called on his followers to “change the old tyrannical system and establish a just new order by the power of the sword.”…
Last week, the National Conference-Congress government quietly moved to help realise Mawdudi’s ugly dream. Hundreds of jobs, a Cabinet decision taken on July 14 mandates, will be handed out to schoolteachers linked to the Jammu Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami, the party set up in Mawdudi’s name.”

At the end, the writer says,
“Chief Minister Omar Abdullah — whose secular credentials are impeccable — must act to prevent the poisoning of the State’s school education system.”

Perhaps it is right to say, “…whose secular credentials were impeccable”, secularism implying that no harm comes to any community. In addition, as the chief minister, he is responsible for the “poisoning” as the writer calls it. So he can only remove the poisoning; the task defines his role and it is not a favour.

I had also written in the earlier story that,  
“Perhaps, in his private chambers, he will regret his religious tones and vow to never repeat them. Maybe he has sure ideas for economic and social prosperity of the state.”

Where? And,
Now what, Omar?

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I met the poet Gulzar some days before he was nominated for the Oscar award. We were at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) that was hosting a theatrical adaptation of his writings on Indo-Pak border issues titled ‘Lakeerein‘.

“Would Pakistan have allowed such a performance in its theatres?”
“Is the polity there as embracing as it is here?”

Such questions got lost in the midst of questions in the post-play section where the audience got to interact with the poet.

“What happened to us (26/11 attacks in Mumbai) and what our neighbour allows in its territory is unfair and needs condemnation,” some ladies discussed someplace behind me.

A question about Pakistan supported terrorism was asked and Gulzar said that many warnings were given to the Indian government about the possibility of such attacks but it did nothing. A vague answer; he could have declined to answer any political questions; his prerogative.

A lady stood up and said that her family member had suffered in the 26/11 attacks and in a long-winded statement that was hard to decipher she stated that an Indian soldier during the rescue asked the troubled member if he was a Hindu or a Muslim.

The people were confused but they got the last part of the statement and some of them started murmuring and clapping. While clapping, the ladies behind me and many other men and women were confirming the details of the statement. Nobody bothered about the actual turn of events. No clarifications were sought form the lady. But they all clapped in support of the lady and against communalism.

Outside the theatre, a small group was still decoding the statement. But it was agreed that the soldier was communalist.

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The superhero stumbled as he jumped across the roofs of the neighbouring buildings.

Superhuman effort.
Saviour.
Proud of you.

The superhero reached the building and saved the maiden from the raging fire.

“Come now, say something romantic to me”, the maiden said to her saviour.
The saviour thought about the green fields.

“Ai lady, are you country or city?”
“City”, she blushed.

The saviour thought of cow and milk.

“Working or homely?”
“Homely”, she shied away.

Then the saviour thought about her habits, her style of greeting and what she wore when not these torn clothes.

“And lady, are you Hindu or Muslim?”

Then the lady told the people about her talk with the soldier.

They didn’t understand why he asked her about milk and green fields and religion. But he asked about religion.
“Tch..tch..”
He must be communalist.

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About the personal and cultural disintegration of a tribal village

There is a small tribal village in India. Malathi belongs to this village. The women here are happier than women in Delhi.

After puberty, Malathi was inducted into the village dormitory where she learnt weaving, knitting and other arts from the elder women and men. She also learnt the art of love-making through practice. By the time she was out of the dormitory, she was sexually and socially confident. Unlike the city girls, Malathi and her friends did not face ‘growing-up problems’ or ‘attitudinal disorders’ that lead you to the psychologist.

Sure, she did not study like the city girl. Many city girls read about USA and China and Russia. They attend ballet dancing classes and sing beautifully. Then they fall in love and depend and sometimes cut their wrists. Or they grow serious, laugh a little and are praised by the society for their “focus”.

“She is such a focussed girl. You must be like her”

The tribal girls, instead, focussed on happiness. They were natural, as God or aatman or nothingness made them. Whenever they felt that they were losing this natural state of being, they let out their pent-up psychological tensions till they were satisfied.

One evening, Malathi’s friend was feeling gloomy. Malathi asked her to sing and dance in the moonlight. At some distance, a young sociologist observed the girls and wrote in his diary that the tribals needed civilization.

Moving on; the tribals were thrilled when condoms were introduced in their society. The procedure of using this balloon-like thing was better and easier than their traditional methods. New tradition! Progress. Happiness. Much Joy.

“Promiscuity”, noted the young sociologist who would soon be a leading writer.

Of course, the tribals needed progress and new tools and new money. But all that did not dictate their happiness. In the coming sentences, the government will take away their land and relocate them and some religious groups will force their religion on them and spoil the tribal life. But let it be known that happiness-essential to live-was a characteristic of these tribals. And now I proceed.

Malathi and others refused the new religion. They were tortured. Some tribal men and women attacked the preachers. They were branded as savages. Promiscuous savages. Some were arrested, some ran away from police. And some women were raped. Etc… The regular.

Malathi’s male friend, one of her lovers in the dormitory, who had happily welcomed the introduction of condoms, went to Delhi/Mumbai for job and money. His land was taken away by police/government/religion.

Without education, he struggled. He had lived like a king in his village. Here he was dying. Before his death, he scribbled in his book… “tribal society progress… same life plus education. Preserve….”

Some other tribal men grew accustomed to city life. They saw that women here, even the rich ones, were treated like money. There was no dormitory here for them to relax. Instead, there were open brothels. The tribal men laughed. And perhaps they grew mad.

Something major happened to Malathi in the village. She got raped. Rapes didn’t happen in tribal socities. Very few. But Malathi didn’t mind. She coped well. That sex education!

The boy who raped her cried when he was told about his crime. This is his story:

The village dormitory was shut down by the police/preachers/government and instead of the dormitory, the boy was provided religious lessons. Women are bad, or they are inferior. Man of the house. Sex is sin. God is great. Tch..tch… very confusing to him. Then he went to town to look for a job. Here he was told that he is ST/SC/Adivasi/ABCD. He laughed at the official’s “stories” and was, therefore, suitably thrashed by him. With no money for hospital care, he went to a village where all women covered their head with dupattas or burqas when they saw a stranger amidst them. Until one woman tore a part of her dress and covered his wounds and gave him water and gave him food.

Stupid woman. Didn’t see her husband watching her. Didn’t realize that what she tore was not just the sleeve but a large part of her blouse. The boy smiled at the husband and told him that that nothing is shameful and that all humans were born equally… the husband pulled the wife inside the hut. Three days later he divorced her by saying, “I divorce you” multiplied by three.

The boy went back to the village. He was told that he suffered because he had forsaken God. The boy was hurt, angry, confused…he was a boy after all. Didn’t you wonder why I have been calling him “boy”?

With rising psychological tensions and insecurities, he raped Malathi just to prove to himself that he was a man and that he existed.

The village elders, in consultation with Malathi, forgave him because he was really suffering… the boy met Malathi, cried and apologised, promised to get back on track…the elders reminded the boy of his tribal education and the pride of the village… Malathi forgave the boy… The Women Rights Association stormed into the village, met Malathi and told her that men are pigs… the police arrested the boy and tortured him… the boy hung himself on a tree.

The preachers photographed the boy hanging from the tree. They pointed at him. This is what will happen to you if you don’t listen to God.

The young sociologist, now older, came to the village with some journalists.

No food, no electricity.
These tribals are against development.
Women are promiscuous.
No culture.
They have always been unhappy…

Boom … boom … as soon as he heard the last sentence, he threw the smuggled bombs at the sociologist…  “Eminent sociologist killed by tribal terrorist”

As he was being dragged away, he called out to Malathi.

“Daughter, try not to pick arms, but continue our struggle. Remember our happy times. Get education and write about it. We were happy once daughter. I love you”

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Caught!

[Fiction]

“Oh, you know him not!”

I said to my friend while walking along a peaceful country road. He is a patient of chronic back-ache and today was especially a troublesome day for him.

“Why is he blue? Because he is conscious of having brown skin like Indian men.”

My friend was aghast. He said that the colour blue was only symbolic and that nobody would bother if you drew him brown or black. He also urged me to come back to my senses.

“Krishna was non-monogamous. He could not stick to any one woman. Look at his erotic paintings and you will find that none of them have the same woman. He tortured Radha and ultimately was married off to another woman.”

My friend was silent. He said that there surely was deeper significance in this God’s actions since he is revered by Indians and even foreigners. He asked me to look at Indian philosophy from an Indian point-of-view.

“What significance? That person in my dream was correct about Krishna”

My friend interrupted me to ask me about the person but I continued talking.

“Krishna has always attempted to hide his devilish actions with innocence. Take for instance his habit of stealing butter as a child. If any young boy steals butter then his mother would punish him. Even Krishna’s mother punished him. But instead of condoning that action, we celebrate it and write songs about it.”

My friend was not impressed. He was now pressing his back as he walked.

“Look at other Gods, look at other religions. Do you find anybody as impure and vile as Krishna? Does he fit into the mould of any religious character you know? He doesn’t.

When people look at the image of Gods of other religions, they bow their head and mutter respectful words. But who would really want to give any respect to a thief and a promiscuous God? Tell me, can any woman pray to him? For all you know Krishna would be winking at her while she shut her eyes during prayer time. Would any other religion support such a God?”

My friend told me that ‘Hinduism’ is different from other religions and that I must be fair to the goodness in every religion. Every religion is unfair to women…

“In every other religion, women have a sense of modesty. They are not promiscuous. And the male Gods are humble but powerful. They don’t waste time chasing and seducing unsuspecting women. Krishna had lots of time in his hands; lots of time and very little clothes. And he was willing to take them off at every opportunity. You call this a God? An object of worship?”

I was reminded that Indian philosophy was liberal and unlike any other religion with respect to the attitude towards women and sexuality. I was also told that if I didn’t like Krishna then I could look at the life of other Gods.

“Why? Then do you accept that Krishna is very inferior to other Gods? If he is a God then you should accept everything about him, if you have he courage! You may have heard the tale about that famous singer-poetess who considered Krishna as her husband and refused to let her husband touch her after marriage. And she didn’t mind when her husband made love to other women. Isn’t this madness? Is this what Krishna inspires? 

And was this God of yours ever faithful to any woman? Did he ask them if they would permit him to sleep with other women? Or did he simply pick his filthy self from one hut and enter another?”

My friend was silent and morose.

“Bless that person in my dream who opened my eyes to such vanity and vileness. When other Gods were preaching religion and peace, your Krishna was grazing with goats and cows. Is there any philosophy in spending long hours with animals? But you Hindus are going to write a thousand songs for every hour he spent at the mountainside playing his flute or chasing a woman. Why didn’t your God preach religion to his village women instead of feeling them up? Why didn’t he teach them virtue instead of sex? Were the women any wiser after learning about the different sexual positions they could manage with your God? Why didn’t your God start something like a Sunday school for women instead of pouncing on them seven days a week? Or perhaps, as my dream-person told me, he was too illiterate for that.”

My friend was silent and didn’t look at me. We continued walking.

“Perhaps you are angry, my friend. But it is my duty to tell you the facts about your blue God. It is time that the modern world wakes up to the truth. I hate it when I see young Hindu children praying to a wasted person. They should rather spend their time worshipping Gods of other religions who are virtuous and moral. I would never leave my children, especially my girl, in the company of a despicable and depraved animal called Krishna”

At this my friend got agitated.

“And who told you all this nonsense about Krishna. Who was that person in your dream?”

I took out my handkerchief and dabbed it to my forehead. Since it was winter, there was no need for me to do that. I was dry and comfortable. I carefully folded the handkerchief and placed it in the pocket of my trousers.

Then I smiled and spoke.
“It was Krishna himself”

Epilogue

We are bound by the force of Indian philosophy and free to question, debate and make fun. My friend and I shall again go for walks when his health improves and when I promise to not fool him again.

We shall sit at a garden and talk some more about Krishna. And girls. 

Image taken from here

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Kartikey Sehgal

Omar Abdullah could not become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir through honest means. So Omar Abdullah went to the parliament and stated that he would fight for “every inch of Kashmir’s land” and “we will fight till we die.”

And Omar made the Muslims of the state feel that he is with them in fending off the ‘aggressive Hindus’.

Let us quickly relive that glorious period in Omar’s political career which redefined his status as protector of the Muslims.

It so happened that last year, some politician asked the J&K Governemnt for 39.88 hectares of land to make arrangements for pilgrims to the Amarnath cave. You see, every year we have lakhs of people going to Amarnath and praying to lord Shiva and Parvati among other Gods. The politician asked for the land so that some makeshift arrangements could be made for the pilgrims (both Hindus and Muslims).

Enter the educated and ‘suave’ Omar. Along with other politicians from other political parties, he told the people of Kashmir that valuable land was being snatched from them and made available to the Hindus. Muslims got angry and started protesting against ‘Hindu aggression’. Then some politicians told the Hindus that Muslims were hampering with the Amarnath pilgrimage. So the Hindus started protesting against Muslims.

Of course, Omar never told the people that the proposed land transfer was temporary in nature and required only till the duration of the pilgrimage. Instead, he entered the parliament and declared that he would fight for “every inch of Kashmir’s land” and “we will fight till we die.” Notice the ‘we’ in his speech. It implies ‘Muslims’. Omar told India that Muslims would fight till they died. And whom would they fight? The Hindus, of course.

[Detailed Explanation of the event]

Such a determined human being is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately he would also have to lead the Hindus of the state. The same Hindus he had vowed to “… fight till we die.”

The Early Omar

Till he burnt his imagination and integrity in the Amarnath land issue, Omar was considered wise and mature; a rising politician; an enigmatic youngster and etcetra. He attended the well-known Sydenham College in Mumbai. Sydenham is (was) proud of Omar. I have heard teachers and students of the college talk proudly about their former student. Never, never, never did they say that ‘Muslim Omar’ is a product of Sydenham or ‘Omar, who is a Muslim’ studied at Sydenham. And the people who told me about him were Hindus or Christians. I am sure his “we will fight till we die” must have disturbed his teachers and peers.

Omar has got elected. Not by a clear majority but still, he is looked upon as the most acceptable face in the sea of coalition politics.

His divisive politics have helped him become the chief minister of India’s probably most troubled state. He has Muslim support with him. And the Hindus may have voted for him for lack of a better candidate or because Omar’s father is still a popular political personality.

Perhaps, in his private chambers, he will regret his religious tones and vow to never repeat them. Maybe he has sure ideas for economic and social prosperity of the state. Vowing to kill a community that is considered very tolerant was perhaps just his plan to get ahead and later improve the political system.

Conclusion

The abysmal education level of the people from Jammu and Kashmir has also helped Omar’s ambition. People in the valley are guided by religious passions. These passions submerge the pain of living without enough food and security. Of course, religion will take a back seat when bullets pelt the brick houses and when the body is too weak to carry a blanket.

Whatever praise Omar earns from hereon would pale in face of the imagined ideal leader; an ideal Omar would never reach. It would also be in relation to the deficiencies of other politicians. Omar would be better because others would be worse. And that shall be the bane of being Omar Abdullah.

This is your work, Omar

Young children on the streets in Jammu asking the Governement to not go back in it’s decision to provide some land for Amarnath pilgrimage arrangements

Photograph: Jaipal Singh

And this too…

Women from Kashmir protesting against the Governemnt decision to temporarily provide land to the Amarnath pilgrims. They were not told by Omar and other politicians that this was a makeshift arrangement and that nobody was losing anything.

For this result

Photo Source

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Kartikey Sehgal

The Pope has stated that he wants to save humanity from ‘gay threat’. According to him, humankind deserves the same attention as the dying tropical rain forests.  

It is common knowledge that the biggest threat to rain forests is ‘mankind’ or humans. And the Church has maintained that one of the biggest threats to mankind is the homosexual. Thereby, the Church has always kept homosexuality out of the realm of normal sexual behavior. Never mind that it has always existed and that the church is among its secretive followers.

There are cultures where the sexual act is glorified and equated with the ideal of divinity. It is not the case in Christianity and the Church must not speak on behalf of the entire world on any issue.

For instance, homosexuality is unlawful in India. However, in Indian philosophy homosexuality is not devilish. There were opponents of homo eroticism but there wasn’t any talk of punishment for homosexuals. The Rigveda and the Kamasutra depict homosexuality as a natural act even though this writer has read more references to female homosexuality. 

Similarly, before Christianity was forced in Africa, the society was permissive to homosexuality. So the Pope must not speak for human race or ‘mankind’ as he calls it. The non-Christian world may not equate homosexuality with forest-saving.

In addition, the Pope is propagating and protecting a religion than the identity of the entire world.
Therefore, when the Pope says that the Roman Catholic Church must “protect man from the destruction of himself”, he must replace the word ‘man’ with ‘christian’.

The Pope has also said homosexuality to be disconnected from human nature. However, homosexuality has forever existed. It has always existed in Christian nations and it exists today in the Catholic Church. Thus far, the world has not been annihilated. And we realize that there are problems far bigger than the sexual orientation of people. Homosexuality is not as important as depleting forests. If forests die, we die. If people exhibit homosexual tendencies, nobody dies.

And if homosexuality is so against the idea of human beings, then why are catholic priests so desperate for one another? Pedophilia by priests is on the rise and recently there was widespread anger against the church for the acts of its priests. The church is unable to nullify or pacify the sexual urges of its people and it is adopting the task of directing the sexual natire of the world.

Gays and lesbians are not a threat to mankind. War is. Hunger is. Religion is.

A spirited rally of 1500 people protesting against the pope’s reactionary policies took place on July 19 against the backdrop of an important civil liberties victory in the courts.

Image Source
News 1
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Santa Singh

It is difficult to make friends who are free of any associations. All of us feel strongly for some institution or the other; religion, political party, language and even food.

Let me give you a recent example. A Muslim talked to me about problems faced by ‘his people’. I clearly remember that I met a young adult and wanted to talk to him about anything other than religion. But he steered the talk to religion. A few minutes into our conversation, I remarked, “What have you got to do with USA attacking Pakistan? We have our own problems here and they are serious.”

It was a mistake. He started lecturing me about his religion being targeted and involved several other countries into the discussion. I gulped a soft drink when he left my company.

This chap is somewhat like my fat Punjabi aunty who cannot stop harping about her political connections and her God; neither of whom have asked her to constantly munch on her greasy potato chips.

A bespectacled man asked me recently,
“Are you a communist?”

Why should I tell you? Why don’t you ask me if I like the oceans or if my liver can sustain alcohol?

Wherever we go, we are confronted by people who want to know how much we are earning, ‘what’ are parents are and how successful we are. Based on these factors, they will decide how much of their speaking power they should invest in us.

Even the beggar targets rich looking people for alms; he should know that he won’t get more than a rupee or two anyway.

I wish I could dress like those ‘easy going’ boys; wear a loose shirt and some type of alien cargo pants and keep the hair ruffled. Let nobody guess who or what you are. Even the girls will look at you for more than a few seconds. How about an expensive watch to go with the poor clothing? Let them guess whether I am rich or poor.

I believe that someday, I will meet a person (hopefully a girl) who would bother more about my thoughts than my associations. Only then will I start thinking about marriage.

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If you have read the articles on Jammu and Kashmir (here and here), then you’d know that the Kashmir land issue was political fabrication. While political parties were wasting time in preparing for elections in the state, and provoking people to kill, a bunch of people were preparing to plant some bombs in Delhi.

The politicians and the bomb planters achieved their aim.

The politicians succeeded in dividing people in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) along religious lines but the bomb planters united many religions on September 13 when the survivors and family of victims cursed terrorism despite any prior religious bias.

Perhaps it can be inferred that had the bombs been planted in empty places, with the blasts not hurting or killing people, the event would have been more meaningful than the wasteful exercise of the government and its rivals in J&K.

The elected representatives of ‘We the People’ spent months over an infertile stretch of land when they could have planned to start thinking about public safety. And therefore, should we not tell the aggrieved families–if they ask us– that the source of their anguish lies in the minds of decorative kurtas and seamless cotton saris?

It can be expected that the thrust of politicians would be towards managing people and soothing their fears instead of generating ideas to prevent future killings.

A solution that has taken centre stage is the formulation of a ‘Federal Agency’ to deal with terrorism or religious killings. If this idea, floated some years back, had force and purpose behind it, then it would have been implemented immediately. It was rejected by the political opposition that is now keen to accept it since it is in power.

This is an apt example of the usage, ‘playing with lives’.

A solution that I propose has assumed a sense of cliché among the non thinking section of the people who are bored or discouraged by promises of social change. Education.

I have mentioned about education in my earlier story on ‘Orrisa Riots‘.

“While you are building nuclear missiles, the country may be bustling with riots.
Make some libraries and schools. Include sex education in every curriculum.”

Open public libraries and stop censorship. Let people indulge themselves in subjects of their choice and do away with the importance given to religious identity. Let children and adults unite under the pretext of thought. If a thought has any potency, then it will not advocate murder or injury. A human thought that is allowed unhindered exploration of the self generates ideas for its betterment.

Understand this.

The number of religious killings may reduce if we allow education to anybody who seeks it. The unlettered masses must be set free from adopting the thoughts of the politicians and they must think for their self.

Illustration: Kartikey Sehgal

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Kartikey Sehgal

“Violence in Orissa is largely a backlash against the murder of a Hindu leader who ran a local campaign against Christian conversion. Maoist rebels said they had killed him but Hindus blamed Christians.” (Reuters)

The people of one religious group should stop killing people of another religious group.
And supporters of the aggrieved religious group should organise petitions for floods, droughts and other issues; not just when they are affected.

• Future tense:

→Tell the nation about the people affecting you; don’t kill or harm them.
→Don’t convert people to your religion if you are doing so.

• For Government:

While you are building nuclear missiles, the country may be bustling with riots.
Make some libraries and schools. Include sex education in every curriculum.

• From what perspective should a story write itself?

A writer wonders about the perspective of his or her story.
Is she writing for the living or the dead?
The dead is neither a Hindu nor a Christian

She is in Mumbai and far away from Orissa. She realises,
The pen traces the silences between huts and seeks outlines of faces.
It borrows ink from roots of trees and chlorophyll. Thus, it is warm in the jungle.
When it sees a human stab another human, it eats a fruit from the tree; it cannot stab and force. Maybe it should just write.

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