Communalism Does Persist
Emran Hashmi and Mahesh Bhatt are both blowing out of proportion a personal issue through persistent media attention to create a huge hue and cry. Every Housing society has a right to say no to any such person or persons, whom the society does not like to accommodate in their premises. It is a usual affair in almost every nook and corner of the world. Emran’s issue is getting attention for being a celebrity and that is how he is trying to en-cash upon a personal problem by accusing discrimination on religious grounds. I have lived in Mumbai and faced a tough time finding my self accommodation due to similar reason on one account or the other. I remember one occasion when I was transfered from Narimanpoint to Juhu West, I was greeted warmly by one lone Muslim Employee of the Branch. He did a great gesture by offering me his suburban flat keys and telling me that I need not worry about any thing so long as I would stay in Mumbai. His magnanimity was waxing me. But I could very immediately guess that my Muslim colleague had committed a mistake by taking me as a Kashmiri Muslim because of my name, M K Shah, because in the ensuing days, he had tried to make me understand his mind and feelings and give me his entire mind to learn, how to bog down the Hindu in your front. I had felt so bad about the entire situation because when in company of the same Hindu colleagues he behaved in most cooperative manner and would go beyond his limits to help them. This complex minority behavior syndrome is quite familiar to my own psyche for I belong to a tiny minority in a heavily dominated Muslim population.
I understood Mumbai more when I got to go for hunting a house for my self and faced lot of bias in every society on quite different reasons. What should have I concluded from these experiences. I could only tell my self that these are definitely excuses to keep trouble away from your neighborhood. Yes it may be true that despite being a celebrity Emran may not be liked by certain people. He cannot take people for ride and use his religion to settle issues with any social group. The discrimination is evident visible and living in society where every thing exists in terms of strict watertight religious divisions. In the last 20 years due to political interventions the divide on the basis of religion has increased and it is compelling people to think in different directions.
Otherwise what keeps me away from my Home for the last 20 years? You are going to minority commission for this personal issue, while as we have been deprived of our Birth Land/ Home and hearth by the Religious Brigades of ISLAM and no one seems to be doing anything for it. Every one thinks that we have settled down and compromised with the situation. We are only laughing at their thinking.
You have faced nothing unusual, only a bit of your pride is hurt, look what are your feeling, Now let me ask you to imagine my plight for the last 20years I have lost my every thing to Islamic radicals, militants and terrorist. You are not a terrorist and no one is saying so but just look around your self and try to find one answer. You can pressurize the society people and get your home but will that solve this problem of religious hatred unleashed by the present international political set up. So why do you complicate problems by bringing triviality to fore. If you are really interested in doing away with this menace think in a much bigger perspective. The virus of communal hatred is much deep-rooted and has got socio-political and economic reasons responsible for it. The society people are not discriminating you on religious grounds they are only seeing you as a person of different attributes than they themselves are. The kink is laying in the nature of the City the Metros are turning towards. I personally wish you get your dream house without any hassle. We love you and admire your talent.
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