Bridging the divide between communities : Part II
Monday, 17 December 2012
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Bridging the divide between communities : Part I
It was 13th October, the Dusshera day. The giant size
effigies were erected in the ground and several stalls adorned the adjoining
streets. Destiny was on the boys’ side this time. Their idea worked and a large
number of people congregated in the ‘maidan’
(ground) to be counted in the quest to restore peace and unity. Indeed, it
helped a large number of people repose their faith in the victory of good over
evil.
The sunshine was waning towards the west as it grew darker. A large
number of birds could be seen perching on the trees and rushing violently
towards their home. The river reflected vibrant colours of the fading sunshine,
trying to suffuse calmness in the air. The silence broke as the evening tea
arrived for the three of them.
“Fetch me some biscuits with my tea”, Gopal ordered in a harsh tone
to the kid who had been delivering tea and snacks to his clients for years and
labouring hard with his father and contributing to the family income.
Although child labour is prohibited on paper, it is still a harsh
reality. At such an impressionable age this kid had succumbed to this harsh
reality.
“I want some samosas”, Imran placed his order.
In his turn, Farhan
remained silent for a while but as the kid was about to leave, he asked for
some jalebis(Indian sweets).
Tea is indeed incomplete
without such Indian snacks.
Gopal continued with his
task of separating the entangled jute threads and bamboo sticks as others
waited for their snacks to arrive.
“Farhan”, Gopal asked,
disheartened, “did you ever feel that you grew in an atmosphere of mistrust and
injustice? We have been making effigies for nearly a decade now and have always
been together in our thick and thin”.
Farhan remained silent. A
sense of fear had ripped his emotions apart.
Gopal continued, “Why do
you trust these demagogues? Come elections and they will take out the tool of
communal hatred and misunderstanding from their armour”.
The snacks had arrived by
now. Imran grabbed his samosas in
haste. As he took the first bite, he showered his words of wisdom. “None of
these self-styled leaders can succeed in creating divides in the heart of our
communities if we stay united and strengthen our bond of mutual trust and
affection.” The samosas were so hot
that steam was visible emanating out of his mouth as he continued
enthusiastically, “So, let us initiate a quest to bring the people of both the
communities closer to each other”.
“We can be the torch
bearers of this great effort!” Gopal exclaimed as he dipped biscuits in his cup
of tea.
Hearing these words, a
sense of pride awakened in the heart of Farhan. In an apologetic tone he
reprimanded himself of being swayed away by the irrelevant and prejudiced views
that he had overheard from his neighbours.
“We will burn these
effigies with great razzmatazz!” he exclaimed as his eyes got filled with tears
of both happiness and shame. Flies had started gathering over his jalebis as he shooed them away and
stuffed his mouth with a few pieces.
It may still be easy to
plan things out in the wake of a disaster, but it is equally difficult to
execute the plans as desired. Neither fortune nor circumstances tend to lend a
helping hand in such desperate situations. Some land up accusing the Almighty
for their woes while many others tend to seek solace in the shadows of
divinity.
It was a near impossible
task for the trio to sort out the differences between the two communities or
appeal to the perpetrators of hatred for sane views and judgement. They were
repeatedly warned to confine themselves to being the aamadmi and threatened of dire consequences if they followed their
idea of putting their thoughts to action. Farhan and Imran were denied entry
into religious places and barred from participating in prayers or any other
community activities. They were chided and rebuked wherever they went and were
even warned of their expulsion from the ‘biradari’
(community). On the other hand, Gopal met a similar fate. Neither could he pray
in the temple nor could he participate in any community activity. Wherever he
went, he was greeted by pale faces. He felt himself gripped in the arms of
solitude.
“I wish I could expose
their evil designs”, Farhan murmured as he brisked towards his shop. He was
being accompanied by Imran.
“Yes we can…”, Imran
nodded, “I’ve a plan”, he said.
As they approached towards
the shop, Farhan was slapped hard on his face by someone.
It was Zubair, the local
goon who had been involved in several heinous crimes like rape, molestation,
vehicle theft, burglaries etc. In retaliation, Farhan was about to blow his
clenched fist on the face of the goon, when suddenly Gopal intervened.
“Bhaijaan, aapko is pavitratabeejkavaasta (Brother, please leave us
for the sake of this holy amulet)”, he pleaded.
In a trice, a crowd
gathered around that spot, curious to know what had let to this combat between
the two. It was only after some senior citizens pleaded to the criminal with
folded hands to ‘pardon’ the boys. The goon did leave that spot but even then
he threatened them of his presence in the vicinity.
Hardly a couple of days
were remaining before the festival. Ramleelawas
being showcased at a very low profile this time.
“Let’s get to work now”,
Gopal requested others as he crouched to raise the shutter of his shop.
“Imran, you had a plan?”
Farhan smirked.
“Yes…I thought of asking
for the assistance of some kids to distribute the invitation to the function
among people of both the communities”, he revealed.
“Why would they help us?”
Gopal asked as if the kids were to be asked to surrender their pocket
allowance.
“They certainly will…I
have kites and cricket balls in return for them”, Imran assured as he chuckled.
With such turmoil in their
heart inside and the tense moments outside, the three took the courage to abide
by what their heart felt. Soon an invitation was drafted, it read as follows:
“Respected sir/madam
You are cordially invited
to grace the occasion of Dusshera celebration along with your family members
and be an integral part of the proceedings.
The forces that are bent
on to spread mayhem in our nation by fanning the flames of hatred will
ultimately be defeated.”
As the people witnessed the effigies go up in flames, they were
enlightened by the fact that the true elements of a religion are love,
tolerance, humanity and brotherhood. Only a compassionate soul is religious and
pious in true sense.
The election that followed a few days later saw active participation
of people who were determined to stem out these perpetrators of violence and
hatred from the system.
Creation of effigies by Hindu and Muslim artists together is a
perfect example of the secular ethos which needs to be emulated to destroy the
evil designs of the present day Ravanas
of hatred. Let us contribute our bit in narrowing these chasms of differences
and misunderstanding and bridge the divide between communities. Let us pledge
to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
JAI HIND
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