Acknowledgements:

This is after around 10 months that I am writing on my blog. I guess I have laid low owing to several factors, my lethargy topping the list. The great bloggers around me, those who inspired me to blog (Vinayakzark and Sunny the Somani) and those who took to blogging very recently (the list has quite a few dear friends), come second on the list as I was perhaps scared of writing badly and they finding the proverbial and the poor black sheep. The disinterest my girlfriend shows in all things related to literature also played a part but mind you all, I was never short of ideas during the barren period. There were numerous train sojourns with the usual culprits Kisalay, Arpit and Sunny (different from The Sunny) and we fought like dogs with several Hippopotamuses. Then, there was this great internship saga which deserves to be told but I will keep it for now and then, several brain waves later, Here I am - once more.

Now, please get serious.

Anecdote:

There I was with a Muslim friend of mine. We had to go somewhere on a Scooty and needed some fuel for the same. As we were on our way back to the Scooty with the fuel, just out of curiosity and for poking fun, I asked him what if the security guy at the main gate hollers at you for carrying an inflammable inside the campus and accuses you of being a terrorist once he knows your name. The reply I got had me stunned into silence that day. He – the one who is known for his equanimity in all conditions, the one who is affable to the whole of my group for his cherubic smile, replied, “ Yaar, agar aise kisi ne kabhi kaha naa, to, I will turn into one”.

Post:

I am still dumbstruck by the firmness of his voice; the spontaneity of it still rings in me. I have thought about the enormity of it and have felt that we need to strike out the cause for such a response coming from an IIT undergraduate. I mean, if education does not lead to a rational way of thinking, we are in serious trouble. Something somewhere is wrong and so much so that we are taking too many clichés for granted. Sample these and see if you too are.

Muslim – Probability of him being a pro-Pakistan, pro-terrorist is approaching unity. He cheers for Shoaib Akhtar and occasionally for Irfan Pathan and Kaif.

Bihari – Creates nuisance everywhere, spits on the road, breaks rules, has poor English, has designs against the hands that feed him and is ready to fight anytime.

Bengali – Is a coward, is a communist.

Foreigners - Sexually promiscuous, get divorced at least once, are rich.

There are many more but I neither have time nor the tempo to enlist all of them.

Now, have not all of us met Muslims who are truly Indians, and Biharis with better civic sense than, say, a Non-Bihari? Why can’t we accept the simple fact that man is far too superior a creature to have his characteristics/behavior predicted by interpolation or extrapolation? Why can’t we give everyone a fair chance to show his/her evil side before castigating him/her? Why can’t we have the default status as innocent for everyone, be it a Muslim, a Bihari or …..?

What happens instead is that our tinted views irritate the person/community concerned to such an extent that subconsciously they start conforming to the stereotype. So, this blog is dedicated to all those with such tinted views with an appeal to give your heart a chance, think of the ignominy you will feel if subjected to the same kind of racial slur, think of the innocents who get killed in the riots and blasts, think of the color of blood and please give humanity a chance.

I feel the post has come to an abrupt end but I believe ramming the idea won't help. I just wish that you all start giving others a chance to behave against the set notions that you have.