India: My country tolerates the intolerance and yet is called Intolerant!



I am an Indian who is worried, angry, tensed and scared. My thoughts are probably insignificant, but I would still like to convey them. Why? Because, I live among common people, I have seen how people react, what people feel, and I want to reflect, my thoughts about all of what I witness on a daily basis.

Constant bantering about intolerance in the country, constant battle between BJP and Congress, and never ending discussions on Hindu-Muslim tensions, has put me to shame. I am a liberal person, I believe in live and let live philosophy, I believe in development, progress, education and freedom. I am intolerant of the fact that we barely talk of things which are essential to our lives and rather waste our time watching sensationalized news and believe them without checking facts. I am intolerant of the fact that reservation has been ruining lives of hardworking students who miss out on an opportunity because someone less deserving gets it. The concept of reservation is being exploited by politicians and we let them do it because we vote for those jerks. I am intolerant of the fact that the one thing which can improve an Indian’s life- “Education”, is more expensive than buying a car. Education loans @14% and car loans less than 12%. Irony!

According to me liberalism is not a concept, it is an emotion, it has to come from within, and it comes from understanding one another. I believe that education can change a person’s ideology and make a person perceptive and tolerant. But young India keeps proving me wrong, I have come across educated people tell me that he/she did not hire a cook because she was a Muslim, and he/she cannot eat food cooked by her, and then I asked do you know the religion of the chef in “X restaurant”? Double standards are at unbelievable levels in our society. On the other hand I read about Sikhs serving thousands of hungry people at the Yemen border and at disaster hit areas, with compassion. What is the point of education which does not instil compassion? Humanity is what we lack.

Politicians and media/journalism thrive on our fear; both of them have become the biggest businesses in India. Sensation, breaking-news, scandals sell, not the truth. Politics has been as good as monarchy in India; we have had generations from a single family hold the position of an MP/MLA from the same constituency for years. Generations after generations have been minting money, giving away government tenders to relatives, allocating lands to family members, and who is to blame? Us! To add to this we say India is intolerant, I wish we were intolerant to all the corruption, vote bank politics, and inequality in our country.

We all fight for fundamental rights, we all know about freedom of speech, but do we know any of the fundamental duties? Do we ask what our duties towards the country are? We have been exploiting all our fundamental rights, we talk of freedom of speech but do we ever think that freedom comes with a limitation and that is our fundamental duty. Freedom comes with a responsibility which we don’t care about. The British have left our country, but they have left their weapon in India, - “Divide and rule”. Politicians will continue to divide us on the basis of cast and religion unless we put an end to it. The change has to begin from us, how long are going to close our eyes and let them do this? We are a country of 1.2 billion and we let some jerks divide us on the basis of something so stupid, that eventually we do not gain anything out it. These leaders will keep filling their pockets and we will continue to suffer.

Bans, intolerance, reservation are new weapons of the 21st century Indian politicians. How does it matter to anyone what one eats and drinks, they say Hindus don’t eat beef and Muslims don’t drink, I have come across Brahmans who love the taste of beef and Muslims who sit every Saturday evening and enjoy a mug of beer. Hypocrisy! How does it matter to anyone who one chose to spend their life with? It is okay, to not go against the so called law of nature, marry someone just because one is supposed to, and eventually destroy three lives?
Wake up Indians!

Regards

Prateek

Comments

  1. Unknown10 March 2016 at 06:46

    Abhishek Chauhan - Good article highlighting various issues. Media does play a very vicious role in all this. They are equally to blame, as the politicians. 1 word spoken by Aamir Khan has been used by Media and Congress repeatedly to attack a good Government who has the right intension. Even Aamir wouldn't have thought this word would snowball in such a manner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prateek10 March 2016 at 13:35

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  2. Unknown10 March 2016 at 12:03

    Speaking from my personal experience, my family itself is like a melting pot. There are with muslims, hindus, and christians....and its perfect....i get exposure to different cultures and learn so many things constantly..... Its high time we Indians wake up and realize that it is more fun if we all live together and not separately
    Thank u prateek for posting this excellent article

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    Replies
    1. Prateek10 March 2016 at 13:36

      Thank you Ani! A cultural bond without inhibitions is what we need right now! I hope people learn from your experience.

      Delete
  3. Unknown10 March 2016 at 15:53

    I agree on your thoughts and feel the same about the issues. Most of the highlighted issues in media are irrelevant to common man.The one that needs attention is ignored and the one that needs to be ignored is hyped everywhere. True journalism is missing in media at the moment.The struggle to bring out justice is so hard that many give up and try to escape from it. Fact about divide and rule is the terrific truth every Indian has to face .It is too deep to be resolved at the moment.
    Changes can come with the support and help of right people for all issues.For that people who get into politics or services should first be non greedy group ,who has a job or profession of their own and for whom politics is not the platform to make money. Great thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prateek10 March 2016 at 16:36

      Thank you for your words on the issue, journalism has to evolve and people have to unite.

      Delete

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