Intimacies Remapped

Dear Mr. Nambiar,
You have a nice narrative style. I would like to urge you to analyse the communal problem in India in its proper context i.e. analyse it with the past history of 1000 years, and not with the events of last 50 or 100 years. Has it ever occurred to anybody amongst the ``elite`` in India that the collective Hindu psyche has deep gashes and scars? When somebody like V.S. Naipaul points out these gashes and scars, he is branded as ``communal``. That`s the problem. Pakistanis and I suspect Muslims in general are clear in one respect: they did not simply coexist with the Hindus, they ``ruled`` Hindus for 700 years. There is no confusion in their mind about that.
I would like to see prominent Muslim religious and political leaders in India to come out and admit that a lot of wrongdoings took place during the Muslim period and they feel really ``sorry`` about it. But can they do it? I suspect not. The fundamental problem is that Islam is a confrontational proselytising faith. It does not recognise the validity of any other way of life. Islam can never be assimilated and Islam has failed to convert Hindusthan into ``Land of Islam`` in 1000 years whereas it took Islam around 100 years to convert the whole of Middle East and North Africa into ``Land of Islam``. Therefore I think that unless these are some dogmatic changes within Islam, this confrontation will carry on until one side is decisively defeated. What side are you on Mr. Nambiar?

harish,

there is so much here. . . i like the way you have described all your friends and their importance in the unfolding of this journey you are on, and the commonalities among you in the midst of communality.

look forward to reading more. . .perhaps then i can voice more thoughts, and not be so quick to judge what the proper context is here.

--ana

re: Harish Nambiar

This was a very insightful article. It offered a slice of a very unique perspective on India. Since the article was based on personal experiences, it did spotlight a very interesting topic; the nature of Indian perceptions about India itself.

Harish, I have question, which is more a point of clarification.

It seems that there is a very fine line between communalism and prejudice. It is a known fact that prejudice; religious, social or cultural, has existed in India for centuries and is as common as it is in the rest of the world. Communalism, in my understanding of the term, is when politics is infused into this equation and the problem becomes more pronounced.

Therefore, when you suggested an increase in communalism in India, you are simply reacting to the vocalization of an already existing problem of prejudice. Again, based on what I understood, Nehru`s brand of socialist secularism brushed many issues under the carpet and these issues were not allowed to be said aloud and recently, all these issues became a part of the public debate and re-surfaced into the Indian political discourse. It seems that Nehru`s secularism was based on the idea of denying the chacteristics of a Hindu majority and BJP`s vision of Hinduvta politics simply removed that restriction. Hence, there has been no tangible increase in communalism in India, but what has really happened is that there has been a more increased awareness of the prejudices, which already existed in the Indian society as a result of the majority reclaiming its dominant status in Indian politics.

If you are friends are taken as a barometer of Indian public opinion, which is a highly prolematic proposal in its own right, it would seem that people are not reacting to the politically correct secularism of Nehru, but are openly voicing their opinions on issues facing India and affecting Indians in particular.

Thus, the questions remain; was it your reaction, while listening to the conversations of your friends, which made you aware of this issue? I am sure, you might be aware of the problem, as a reporter, but you might not be aware or were not ready to accept the fact, with which ease the issue of ``communalism`` was discussed in a company, which you understood to be free of such prejudices?

Would that be fair question to ask?

Ciao

This has to be the best article on communal relations in India that I have come across on Chowk. I can see that many Indians are busy scratching their heads to discredit this author. JNU, P Secularist and what not! One response below shows the communal mindset that prevails in the educated and urban India. This poster wants apology from Muslims for the 700 years of rule in India. The apology is not beyond the realm of the reality but first the majority community needs to create conditions of peace, and harmony in the society for the other community to come forward. However, what the Majority community does? It first denies the basic human rights to minority and than forcibly wants apology. The majority community is holding a gun, keeping minority hostage, and threatening dire consequences to the minority to overcome its own deficiency in defending and NOT fighting for the freedom for 700 years. This article clearly and poignantly describes the communal conditions that are prevalent in India and as the events described in this article show, it is more than communalism. It is racial discrimination.

There was a time in the US when property owners were not willing to rent property out to the Blacks. It took years of struggle to change that mindset and now situation is better but there are still folks out there who, given an opportunity, would find a way to deny a rental property to blacks.
It is apparent that Muslims, Dalit and the other communities that don’t fit the mainstream Hindu religions tenets are not only denied basic human rights but also are racially discriminated.

“It has been three days now, of the Hindus killing Muslims allegedly as a reaction to the Godhra train burning incident,” I said.
“That’s okay. When the mians react, they’ll even the score in two days,” Suresh said. Mian was the local dialect for anybody from the Muslim community.”

The exchange above is brutal and shows the depth of deep-seated communalism in the Indian society. Killing of human either Muslims or Hindus is irrelevant for a common person. It is just a matter of “That’s okay.” If Hindus kill Muslims for three days, Muslims would kill Hindus for two days. Once the score is even both communities would go their marry way and starting looking forward to new sets of riots.

How the Indian society got to this level of spitefulness? Clearly, there are systematic and concentrated efforts undertaken by the organized communal parties such as the RSS, BJP, Sviv Sena, or the VHP and many more that are trying to raise the Hindu nationalism and they scapegoat minorities for cheap promotion of their hateful ideas.

Hindutva is an ideology of hate. This ideology has taken over the Indian Middleclass. It does not seem likely that the secular Indian institutions that are already weak or immature would survive the communal onslaught or barrage of false propaganda in India. The minorities in India must be ready for another round of hate that would come their way in the near future.

India seemingly fast polarising along communal lines. Cant argue with that!

Harish - this is brilliant!

I think a part of my admiration for this work comes from my realization that this would have been terribly hard for me to write. It`s never easy to capture people you love and are invested in and with whom you share yourself as simply and gently shaded as you have done here.

Reading this, I felt like you`ve told my story in yours. Thank you. I can`t wait for the next part.

Amrita.

Nambiar Sahib, Wah!
Beautifully written. I am speechless!

By the way, Nambiar Sahib! Are you related to Sonora Jha Nambiar!

bucaphelus, I think we need to first understand the contemporary situation there before knowing or getting into the 1000 years history of it.

Dear Mr. Nambiar:

I do have some comments on your article but will withhold them until I read your second (concluding?) part. (I am surprised that others seem to have already made up their minds on it.) However, based on what I have read so far, I consider it safe to make the following two statements: (1) although you are perhaps only setting the stage in Part 1, you seem to be taking an awfully long time with it and beating around the bush a lot (or is that an unconscious way to postpone the inevitable facing of (unpleasant?) realities as long as possible?) (2) I wish you had written this article earlier. I realize that the passage of time may allow one a better perspective etc., however, if one is trying to deal with a problem or disease, timeliness of the medicine is rather important (writing a journal paper on a disease may spark a lot of intellectual discourse but provide little succor to those who have already suffered.)

Thanks.
BeeJay (still on sabbatical)

Shambhu incident brought back memories of a similar incident we had in our group...

We used to celebrate TGIF, TGIS and other assorted festivals with free flowing alcohol and unlimited bakwas. In one such get-together, a guy from a friend`s hometown joined us. He was studying in Bangalore at that time. He has a Hindu pet name and does not sport a beard. Even look-wise he does not have the tell-tale signs of mians (don`t ask me what they are).

After a couple of large, the topic switched to defence. One of our pals is a major enthusiast of defence related issues and has three shelves filled with books on strategy, warfare, foreign policy and other such stuff. Somehow the topic veered to RAW and mians crept into the discussion. My friend loudly proclaimed that RAW does not induct mians coz they are not trustworthy. We tried to warn our friend that Pappu is not Pappu, but alas! Pappu didn`t agree to his proclamation. Drinks and UP, Bihar background made it worse and they switched to `Hindi` to put across their point . Ultimately, Pappu threw up his hands in despair and fired the Brahmastra - his uncle is in RAW. The truth took some time to sink in, and then our defence kid went ashen faced. Even today, he gets embarrassed when we mention the incident to him. He blames it on us saying we should have warned him; Baccardi has nothing to do with it.

``I would like to see prominent Muslim religious and political leaders in India to come out and admit that a lot of wrongdoings took place during the Muslim period and they feel really ``sorry`` about it. But can they do it? I suspect not...``

That is rubbish!!! going by this logic I would first ask the Hindu first borns to atone for the sins of their forefathers when they used to put molten lead in the ears of the Shudras.....or atone for all those tribal kingdoms that were razed and their people massacred by the Kshatriya kings....I would like all the Brahmins to atone for the sin of enslaving the shudras in their households.....or of Vaishnavas for killing the Shaivas vice versa....or the Hindu kings who vanquished the Buddhists and ensured that Buddhism is wiped out from India forever......

This is utter nonsense.....it is time people forget the dark ages of Indian past and talk about Indian democracy in 2005!!!

Re: # 4

``This poster wants apology from Muslims for the 700 years of rule in India. The apology is not beyond the realm of the reality but first the majority community needs to create conditions of peace, and harmony in the society for the other community to come forward.``

Only a fandu Pakistani can talk about IM-s in the year 2005 apologizing for the sins of those who used Islam for political purposes in the dark ages !!!

Re: # 11

Goofy Ballu :-)

`First-borne` is incorrect, the correct term is `twice-born` or `dwija`. The second birth is the `sacred thread` ceremony.

Ballu Khan:

Hit the nail on the head as usual. Its not Fandu Pakis, we have enough idiots on our side who need to have sense slapped in to their heads.

HP the Islamic Fanatic

Mahesh G`s response to tahmed on the Islamic Science thread:

[[#274 by MaheshG

let me get this straight.

1. Pakistani army kills more than a million bengalis in Bangladesh whereas Bengalis are not attacked in Pakistan. Indian mobs kill 3000 Muslims in Gujarat where as Muslims in the rest of India are not affected. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

2. Some Pakistani chowkies advocate jihad on Indian Hindus and some Indian chowkies rationalize Gujarat. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

3. Pakistan wipes out its minorities, Indian minorities grow in number. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

4. Some Pakistani chowkies condemn army action in Bangladesh while sitting in the US, some Indian chowkies condemn Modi`s govt in Gujarat while sitting in the US. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

If I have got the flow of your argument, let me know]]

Let us know you snivelling shivering twat.

Whatever the nature of the prejudices, has the walk down right-wing Fascist Lane been reversed with the new government in place? Or do you feel more needs to be ‘unearthed’ before the ‘emotional thirst’ of historical ‘rectification’ is complete?