“Hinduism and Islam, two religions with absolutely and unreservedly varying practices, customs, rituals and methods of preaching the omniscient, omnipresent almighty.”
Distinct in innumerable ways but both the creeds cross paths at one point which is the ‘Ayat-Al-Ukhuwah’, the verse in the holy Quran which certifies that all believers of god are true and veristic brothers in nature and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ in Hinduism which expresses that the entire world is one undisputed and wholehearted family, yet it is infelicitous that these two inevitable and indispensable off springs of Mother India are at a constant state of direct or indirect war with each other, most of the times mendaciously impelled into it by self-concentrated and egocentric spiritual leaders from both sides.
I ask you to envisage yourself in this locus I mentioned above. What if you are blessed with (let’s say) 5 equally exemplary and proficient siblings? Won’t each be proud of the other? What if one day they give rise to dissimilarities and a series of disagreements among them because an acquisitive and heedless person instigated one or two of them into these deviations, will your mind not be invaded with despondence? Will your well help bonding not get affected? That’s it, if your answer was affirmative, the brothers are Indian folks belonging to different religions. Confrontations between “Indian” natives belonging to any belief, hampers the overall communal integrity, solidarity and wholeheartedness which is India’s prominent feature since innumerable years. Let’s assimilate and prove that pseudo religious invocations of egotistical leaders stand no chance before solidarity and we are Indians before being an adherent of any religion.
I want to divulge the reader of an incident which a relative of mine encountered himself and merrily informed me of it. I was categorically touched after hearing it. My kinsman was in Barcelona, Spain and was returning from a tourist site to his lodging. The second half of the day had commenced and due to unavailability of cabs, he decided to walk down the streets. After a due course of time, a cab passed by from the opposite side of the adjacent road. My relative didn’t even try calling the cab because it was but natural that a cab from the opposite side of the road wouldn’t come to this side taking a turn from 3 km away. Astonishingly, the cab driver brought the cab to my kinsman and asked him to get in. The cab driver looked Indian according to his looks, and the eruption of Hindi out his mouth strengthened the guess of him being an Indian. Throughout the way to the lodge both talked like this was the last day of language and soon they arrived at the destination of drop. The service redeemer sincerely thanked the driver for facilitating him in reaching the hotel and took out the money to make payment. “No”, uttered the driver,”Bohot saalo baad koi apna mila hai sir, rehne dijiye apno se kya paise lena.” were his words which pierced my kinsman’s as well as my mind, heart and soul. “Sir aap kaha se ho, mai toh Mumbai, India se hu?” asked the kinsman. He replied, “Sir mein Pakistan se hu, desh se door kaun apna kaun paraya, sab Indian, Pakistani, Hindu, Muslim sab ek hai yaha pe toh!”. A series of emotions housed my mind and merriment and gaiety were the prime feelings left in my heart. I ask you, why was a feeling of unity and solidarity, sincerity and peace in the wits of that cab driver? Because there wasn’t any inward-looking religious leader to proffer them false doing in the name of religion? If a person who belonged to India’s biggest rival – Pakistan, could lose all the misconceptions and manage to talk about oneness with all that affection, it isn’t difficult for mortals from different religions to assemble as one. We all are ‘Indians’ at the end and disposing India from our identity isn’t acceptable to any kin among us whatsoever may happen.
The global community is diverting its concentration and engrossment from China post it’s roguish and sly trade tactics and dishonesty about emergence of the deadly Virus COVID-19. India has prodigious opportunity replacing China’s Stature in the global economy and trade structure. It is highly feasible, that after the Japanese Government provides incentives to its industries to move their production from China to other countries, these industries may look at India as a hub, because even we hold the intelligence and potential of developing contemporary machinery and rendering cheap and large scale manpower. Now, the question is, if I appoint you as a MD of such a company and I ask you to invest in a country which has a predominantly young population and ever innovating minds, you would assuredly and doggedly cling to it, your decision will have nothing but sheer tenacity, but, if I add later, that there are two communities which are intellectually and spiritually constantly in a state of war with each other, and the Helen’s in these battles of troy are self-centred and spurious religious leaders who are murderers of peace, that tenacity that your decision comprised of would suddenly recede and ask for more options. In the same way no one invests in a nation which has communal confrontations, conflicts and affray, everyone is worried about funds. This actually explains why China is an industrial hub for the entire world because there isn’t any prominent communal enmity among citizens and the feeling of developing China is superior to all these disruptions and barriers in the path to progress.
It is now the time when we should let go of our inhibitions and rivalry against each other, we should object the teaching of selfish religious teachers preaching and justifying wrong doings in the name of the divine with our sound wit and just like the freedom struggle, rescue India from the shackles of differences and emerge as a unanimous unibody before the world. One person can’t be called India, all of its people standing united is called India and the spirit of being an Indian.
By: Devansh Thakker.
Literary sources: Taylor and Francis online, Al-Islam, Brittanica, CFR, RepublicWorld, BusinessLine
