it just got scarier

A democracy guarantees you certain privelleges and i believe one of its greatest components is secularism. the very reason that we can break away from religious dogmas makes living in India such a blessing.

i hope i could really mean what i said above..i wish that someday in the future somebody can say that. i know what i say is nothing new but when what you hear and believe stares you hard in the face, you shudder and realise that somethings will never change.
today i went to drop a friend of mine to the bus stop and on the way we stopped over to meet another friend. it was half past ten and the roads were empty. our friend who was waiting near his house walked up to us and told us to hurry things up. extremely surprised at his demeanour we asked him what was wrong and he reminded us that tomorrow was the 6th of december and when we didn't realise the significance of it. he enlightened us.
not wanting to push our luck, we moved away and i made my way back home. it was a short walk back home but the dark has never scared me like that before. i was ashamed at my fear because i knew it was unwarranted yet there was no escaping it. suddenly the same streets i walked everyday looked haunted and it felt like that there was something simmering at the bottom of it. the i realised that as an Indian i'm trained to prepare myself like this. a car passed me at breakneck speed and the orange flag flying atop it made me a greater believer in my fear. i know that i should think beyond everyday prejudices that we all go through but i'm no extraordinary mortal and i can't pretend to be one. few men passed by me but i felt the stench of hate. maybe they weren't even on the same wavelength but when you think of what is possible, it scares you to think that it can happen anytime.
as i reached my house, i swallowed a dose of relief and walked into my house aware of the fact that some years ago on this day many people could not feel as safe as me. its not just what happened on this day that scares me, its what all that has continued to happen since that day that really makes me wonder what the word 'secularism' really means to the everyday Indian. because i know that for a few moments in that walk i had lost my secularism. my fear proved it.

many of you will find out what the 6th of december signifies, many will know and many more will read it in the papers in the morning. but if you do none of the above and just ignore this day as just another day, then you will just make this country a little more secular.

2 comments:

Som :) ... Im not a GREAT LITERARY ACHIEVER or anything of that sort but i know a good blog when i read one :)
A very sensitive issue to write about but i must say excellent choice of words ...
A really smart and sassy way to write...
Keep up the good work :)

oh, i rember this day... nice article.. thank god i reached safe.. he he he