Sorry?

Is it strange that the world is just chugging along? There have been bomb blasts in what is one of Hinduism's most sacred spots and my colleagues and I didn't even discuss it at lunch. Shortly after 9/11 I was fascinated by how paranoid Americans had become. A majority believed that being in a public space might expose them to a terrorist attack.

In India, we have bomb blasts every day. True they're mostly in areas known to have insurgent activity but there are actually lives lost to violence every day. When did this stop affecting us? How come it doesn't afect me at all? Is it cause human life is fairly cheap in India? How is it that violence doesn't shock? Isn't that a warning sign? Shouldn't we be concerned that we're all able to shrug off terrorist acts and death... just?

I just read a live jounal maintained by a guy who was my classmate for 1 year. Somewhat a friend... about ten years ago. He'd written about the Babri Masjid demolition. Earlier this week, a panel concluded that the fire that sparked off the Gujarat riots was accidental. Did any of us really feel that the Babri Masjid demolitions and the riots in Gujarat or any communal riots were justified?

When people that we all know, reasonable, sane people, argue that the policies of the government are 'appeasing' in nature, what do we do? Does the majority owe a duty to the minority? I believe we do. In any society, the laws and policies should attempt to protect the weakest, because they can't protect themselves. Call it a colonial hangover, but where an underdog is left to fend for itself 'it's just not cricket.' So where does that leave us?

As a country, India is not really multiracial though we would like to be able to discriminate on this ground as it appears more legitimate than a pure colour test. What we are is multi-cultural and... I guess heterogenous is the word I'm looking for. Hindus from one part of India may have very little from Hindus in another, except that they may be from the same caste. I guess what I'm trying to do is identify why we're able and willing to discriminate against Muslims. Are they so obviously different?

You could argue that all Muslims dress alike but then... so do most Indian Hindus. So do most Chinese. In advanced Muslim countries, western clothes are as popular as they are in Western countries. So dress cannot be the reason. What then?

I don't have an answer. Muslims are ... Muslims. They're not Hindus but they're Indians. Strangely enough I had this discussion with a friend of mine in Singapore. Of late, Singaporean Muslims have adopted styles of dress that are... odd for the climate. Her explanation was that people are generally worried because no other religion owes it's allegiance to a specific region. Hindus in the US don't claim that they will support all Indian causes. But would many Muslims in India (free of any fear of retribution for an honest reply) answer that they're not Indian?

If they would, the problem is much much larger. If they wouldn't, then are policies that promote their welfare wrong? The examples cited to me were grants for poor Muslims to go on the Haj. Why don't poor Hindus get such grants? Becuase their politicians don't care. I met a Hindu lady corporator once who explained that her ward contained Muslim slums but they're supportive and she's managed to work with them and improve the conditions they live in. So basically, if your politician cares about your real problems, religion cannot be an issue.

I've rambled on a lot, I know. I'm stunned at my own apathy about the blasts and quite worried that there will be a backlash of a horrific nature. All we need is for some report to be released claiming it's the work of Islamic terrorists and some short-wearing, lathi-weilding hysteria. I'm hoping though, that enough people will be able to tell the overgrown schoolboys where to shove it.