India is known to be a land of
religions, languages, culture, tradition and color. Unquestionably, religion takes the center
stage of them all. In this land where spirituality is considered an integral part of tradition, you will find Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Zoroastrians, just to name a few.
Ours is the land of Gandhi who was known for his tolerance towards people of different religions. Having said all this,
religious discrimination is still very widespread. One might assume that being born in a country where you are surrounded by people of different religions makes you automatically tolerant. Unfortunately this is not the case and intolerance is unconsciously ingrained in the minds of a lot of people.
I remember my college days, when I used to stay over at a friends home for "combined studies" (as they call it). This friend of mine was, and still is, a very good friend of mine. She belonged to one of the most orthodox castes in the Hindu religion and I am a Christian. She had a tiny shrine in her home where she, along with her parents worshipped the Hindu Gods. They would light incense sticks and offer flowers to the God. On one particular morning, I answered the doorbell and found the flower vendor at the doorstep. My immediate reaction was to take the flowers that were wrapped in fresh leaves and hand it over to my friend. I realized a little late that I shouldn't have done that. Her mother yelled out from the kitchen "See that those flowers are sprinkled with water before you offer it to God". It took me a few days to figure out that this happened because I (a non-Hindu) touched the flowers. I was broken and have never felt worse.
Why did I narrate this story? Simply because these are the tiny instances or religious discrimination that we Indians face in our every day lives.
A friend of mine was narrating a story where she said that as a child she was never allowed beyond the verandah of her neighbor's (who was from a higher caste) home and was never invited in. Why? Simply because, she belongs to a very poor and a "low-caste" community.
And no, I'm not saying that this is a problem with only the Hindus or the Muslims or any particular religion. This happens in every single religion, even amongst the Christians. I know of a church where non-Christians are not allowed to partake in Communion. Why? Christ never said that his flesh and blood were for only a certain group of people! He loved people! He even loved his enemies! Yet, people interpret and practice the religion the way they want to.
I was always taught in school that people of different religions co-exist peacefully in this country which has the second largest population in the world. And for a very long time I believed in it and was proud of it. I was too young and hadn't really had a first hand experience with discrimination!
Political strife between different ruling parties has paved way for a lot of discrimination, for which the people of India have to pay a very high price. Either we have to deal with the repercussions of a temple, mosque or church being demolished or the fact that the government decides, like a bolt out of the blue, to reserve quotas for the "low-caste" in private sector companies, schools and colleges. This is what I see as hypocrisy at its best. Don't they understand that they are worsening the divide between people of different religious communities?
Is there anything that we as the people of India do? Or just leave it at "C'est la vie"!