On being Hindu

When India is publicized on an international platform, it is flaunted as a rich country that accepts all religions. People from diverse cultures and languages, celebrates all sorts of festivals, together. There is no doubt in the fact that India is the only country on this earth, where there are so many different languages and so many different religions living collectively.

However, I think that this quality of India has now become a burden on her. For how long can one pretend? For how long can a person suppress their hatred? It seems that these days, India only wants to breathe in one word as though it is a lifeline, “Hinduism”. From time to time, those who belong to a different religion or cast, are forced to take in that they are not Indians, and so they should always be ready to face hatred and demise.

Usually we get to see that a Lion kills other carnivorous of the jungle, because he believes them to be his competitor, although he never eats them. When given a closer look it becomes clear that the temperament of every (carnivorous) being is quite alike. Humans are the only living beings in this universe that holds analytical and logical wisdom; and this the quality that makes humans different/singular from other intelligent beings.

However, why should I talk about the universe or the world, I am more worried about the place I live in; I am concerned for myself. I am concerned for my thoughts, for my existence. I am worried about the religion and values, which I have inherited. I am worried (scared) about being a fraction of Hindu, despite the fact that I am Bhartiya. I am worried about my Christian mother. Will someone cut me in two pieces one day on the middle of the road, and would name one part Hindu and the other part Christian?

A few days ago, I got the chance to read news that said, “Nawazuddin siddiqui was stopped from playing a role in Ramlila, in his own village; because he was a Muslim who was daring to play the role of a Hindu.”

It would be wrong to think that Indians (Hindus) have started to believe these things unexpectedly. Discrimination among casts is the very foundation of India. History of India is replete with stories of racial discrimination, in which Hindus (of “Upper Cast”) were always given priority. Any other casts or religions on Indian soil were considered as aggressors and encroachers. They were never believed to be an equal of Hindus.

Karn wanted to learn archery, for which he went to Guru Dronacharya. However, Dronacharya only trained Shatriyas. He insulted Karn by calling him a “Shudra Putr” and refused to teach him, after which Karn sworn to become a greater archer than him. He then went to Dronachrya’s Guru, the Shiv bhakt Parshuram. Parshuram only taught Brahmans; and so afraid that he too would refuse to teach him, Karn lied about being a Brahman.

However, even Karn did not know the truth about himself at that point of time. When Pashuram found out that a Shudra family had raised Karn, he cursed him; a curse that ended up being the reason of Karn’s death. Dronacharya had also refused to teach Eklavya, for he was a Bheel by cast (and was a better archer than his prized student Arjun). Eklavya then became a great archer on his own, and was tricked and killed by Krishna in a war.

There is no sign of sorrow in the books of history, for the disdain these two characters (Karn and Eklavya) had to endure. What we do get to read quite often is the mention of their defiant nature, which simply was the result of the disdain they had to endure even though they were proficient.

Even today, whether the person is alive or dead, he/she is treated according to the cast and religion that they practice. However, it seems that nowadays, all the boundaries of cruelty and hatred for casts and religions have been crossed in Hindustan.

An open letter to Mr. Bachchan

Dear Mr. Amitabh Bachchan,

A few days ago, you had written an emotional open letter to your granddaughters. The letter was about what the society thinks of women and how women are disgraced. All the things written in this letter were the same that has been said by all from ages now, all the blames were the same. Nevertheless, I still felt connected to the letter. Things written in this letter were the same things that every girl, every woman thinks, no matter which country she belongs to.

If I had written something on this topic, I do not believe I would have had influenced many people by it. My friends (those whom I know personally and those whom I know on social media) and family might have had agreed with me, but what about those millions of other people?

You are a National Icon Mr. Bachchan. You are famous, well respected and a brand-ambassador of many endorsements. I thought, or believed, this would mean that people would understand you more easily. For example, you became the ambassador for the "Polio free India" campaign, and today, India is a polio free country. So when you wrote the open letter, I thought that would help make the big change this country has been yearning for.

I like you, as an actor, but I am not as inspired by you like others that I would follow you on Twitter or any other social networking site. However, I liked your letter so much that I shared it as much as I could have; I tagged people in it when I posted it, and I told as many people as I could about this letter.

There has been some news flying around for some time now, about how you have told the directors to cut Ashwarya's intimate scenes from her recent and upcoming movies. I had thought of them to be a rumor or maybe as you had said in your letter about how people look at woman in the wrong way; maybe you were being protective about how people might look at Ashwarya because of those scenes.

Today, I stumbled upon another piece of news ( http://khabar.ndtv.com/news/filmy/navya-naveli-nanda-replies-to-his-grandfather-amitabh-bachchans-letter-1463744  ), about how the open letter was a promotional stunt for your movie "Pink". 

 

(A piece from the interview) अमिताभ बच्चन के बताया, "शूजित ने कहा कि क्यों न हम फिल्म के मैसेज को एक खत के रूप में सामने लाएं और क्यों न आप इसे अपनी पोतियों के लिए लिखें. यह एक अच्छा तरीका होगा लोगों को फिल्म की कहानी बताए बिना 'पिंक' के बारे में बताने का." उन्हें लगता है कि इस पत्र ने अपना काम किया.

 

I was shocked, and somewhat hurt too. Shocked because you are supporting the "Beti badhao, Beti padhao" campaign. Hurt because I was emotionally attached with the letter.

The mental and emotional torture a woman goes through every other day; you are using that and that too for promoting your film. It is truly shameful Mr. Bachchan.

You have been reciting your father's poems all your life, everywhere, on every stage. You have always been reciting dialogs (whether on your own or public demand) everywhere, dialogs that the scriptwriter had written.

Now tell us the truth Mr. Bachchan, who had truly written the script of this letter.

                                                                                                                  Sincerely,

                                                                                                                  A woman.

#Haiku लाचार

मजबूरी हैं

मंदिर-मदीना की

लाचार तू-मैं

मनीषा शर्मा~

हम सब को ये समझना होगा कि Ram बिना Ramzan नहीं और Ali बिना Dipawali.

#Haiku आश्रित

बेघर मैं क्यूं?

कोख़ में तो तुम थे

आश्रित कौन?

मनीषा शर्मा~

बेटी, पत्नी और माँ, हर रिश्ते में मुझे (औरत) पुरूष (पिता, पति और पुत्र) पर आश्रित माना जाता है। 

परन्तु, हे पुरूष तुम मेरी शरण (कोख़) में थे, तो मैं आश्रित कैसे?

#EndMaleGuardianship 

#TryBeatingMeLightly

#Haiku मर्ज़ी

तेरी तू जाने

मेरी मर्ज़ी में है तू

जब तू माने

मनीषा शर्मा~

#Haiku एकांत

Grave of Razia Sultan in Bulbul-i-Khan near Turkmen Gate, Delhi

एक खामोश

एकांत की पुकार

सुनी किसी ने?

मनीषा शर्मा~

आज कितने दिल्लीवासियों को पता है कि उनके शहर में रजिया सुल्तान की मज़ार है और अगर है भी तो कहां हैं।

#Tanka भ्रम

देह ही में हैं

नदियाँ, सूर्य, चन्द्र

देवी-देवता

सब तीरथ तेरे

भटकता भला क्यूँ?

मनीषा शर्मा~

धर्म और आस्था एक निजी राय होती है, सार्वजानिक नही, तमाशाई और तमाशबीन मत बनों।