Tomorrow is the 15th of August, our independence day. For the average Delhiite, it’s not our independence that we remember on this day but the threat of terror. That is the legacy of 50 years of living under the cloud of terror, you know it’s an important day in India when hordes of heavily armed policeman descend on to the streets of Delhi. For me it’s the police are more unnerving than the actual terror threat. They are constant reminders that no area is actually safe, while you may be tempted to ignore the terrorist or think that will never happen to me, the presence of police on every street corner forces you to acknowledge the threat. This year after the Bombay blasts and now after the whole airline thing, security has been stepped up to unheard of levels. I was driving down one of the roads leading out of Delhi to Gurgaon, this particular road has been widened to 8 lanes to accommodate the ever-increasing volume of traffic between Delhi and Gurgaon but yesterday, traffic was dead slow. There were three police barricades along the road over the stretch of a single kilometre, the last had either CRPF or Commandos, armed with automatics. They stopped every single car that was headed out of Delhi, it was like airport security and this road is not even particularly significant. I can’t blame the Delhi police though, they seldom get appreciation for this aspect of their work, protecting the city against the invisible threat of terror is far from easy, every day that passes without incident is another victory for them. In Delhi, achieving this is far from easy, the city is huge, with a population of over a crore, out of which not everyone’s loyalties lie with India.
The other day a British MP, commenting about Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood playing cricket for the English team made an interesting point, that the extent of integration of immigrant communities in the UK could be determined by which team they supported in cricket. Take a walk through the area surrounding Hazrat Nizamuddin’s tomb in Delhi and you will immediately see the implications of this for Indian society. Many of the shops in the narrow gallis are adorned with posters of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and others. I’m neither a Hindu fundamentalist nor a nationalistic fanatic; I firmly believe that the minority communities need to be integrated into Indian society. I don’t assume that every Muslim is a terrorist, but it hurts my national pride to see Indians whose loyalties lie elsewhere.
Hindus are to a great extent also to blame for the situation. Most view any Muslim with suspicion and what we get as a result is large Muslim ghettos in areas like Nizamuddin, and around Jama Masjid, here, disgruntled by poverty, unemployment and rising anti-Islamic sentiment a few eventually turn against India. Fuelled by atrocities as in Gujrat, they turn to terror.
On the other hand, just as Hindu fundamentalism breeds terror, terror further feeds the furnaces of religious intolerance. I am ashamed to admit it but I have on numerous occasions contemplated kicking the fuckers out of our country. I’m an atheist so I try and detach myself from all religious prejudices but I still get nervous walking through Muslim dominated areas, I don’t really know what to expect.
Terrorist attacks will only achieve further mistrust of Muslims, they can’t possibly hope to break India. We are too proud and strong to weaken against the fear they attempt to propagate. Try this; walk into Red Fort through Lahore gate, you will be greeted by a sand-bagged machine gun. First you will feel fear as you realise that this is a prime terrorist target, then comfort in the realisation that we are prepared and then you realise that terrorists would never attack this place. Where they will strike is a crowded bazaar, in a bus or on a train and you will then feel pride, knowing that no matter what they do, they can only strengthen our resolve.
Initially I had intended to preach tolerance and brotherhood, but as I wrote this piece, I could feel my nationalist pride rising. Though I try to remain objective at most times, recollecting everything we have had to face over the recent years makes me forget all my tolerance. For residents of Delhi and Mumbai in particular, the threat of terror is very real, we have to face our fear at every street corner in the cold steel gun barrel that is pointed at us by the cops, at every road barricade, behind every of sand-bag pile. Like I mentioned earlier the act of facing my fears doesn’t make me more fearful, it heightens my sense of national pride and strengthens my resolve against terror. That’s why I may sound confused in the last few paragraphs, for though I want unified and fully integrated India where no one has to live in fear because of their religious beliefs, the fact that many who live off our country, have other ideas, makes it difficult for me at times to muster too much conviction behind my beliefs.
The other day a British MP, commenting about Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood playing cricket for the English team made an interesting point, that the extent of integration of immigrant communities in the UK could be determined by which team they supported in cricket. Take a walk through the area surrounding Hazrat Nizamuddin’s tomb in Delhi and you will immediately see the implications of this for Indian society. Many of the shops in the narrow gallis are adorned with posters of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and others. I’m neither a Hindu fundamentalist nor a nationalistic fanatic; I firmly believe that the minority communities need to be integrated into Indian society. I don’t assume that every Muslim is a terrorist, but it hurts my national pride to see Indians whose loyalties lie elsewhere.
Hindus are to a great extent also to blame for the situation. Most view any Muslim with suspicion and what we get as a result is large Muslim ghettos in areas like Nizamuddin, and around Jama Masjid, here, disgruntled by poverty, unemployment and rising anti-Islamic sentiment a few eventually turn against India. Fuelled by atrocities as in Gujrat, they turn to terror.
On the other hand, just as Hindu fundamentalism breeds terror, terror further feeds the furnaces of religious intolerance. I am ashamed to admit it but I have on numerous occasions contemplated kicking the fuckers out of our country. I’m an atheist so I try and detach myself from all religious prejudices but I still get nervous walking through Muslim dominated areas, I don’t really know what to expect.
Terrorist attacks will only achieve further mistrust of Muslims, they can’t possibly hope to break India. We are too proud and strong to weaken against the fear they attempt to propagate. Try this; walk into Red Fort through Lahore gate, you will be greeted by a sand-bagged machine gun. First you will feel fear as you realise that this is a prime terrorist target, then comfort in the realisation that we are prepared and then you realise that terrorists would never attack this place. Where they will strike is a crowded bazaar, in a bus or on a train and you will then feel pride, knowing that no matter what they do, they can only strengthen our resolve.
Initially I had intended to preach tolerance and brotherhood, but as I wrote this piece, I could feel my nationalist pride rising. Though I try to remain objective at most times, recollecting everything we have had to face over the recent years makes me forget all my tolerance. For residents of Delhi and Mumbai in particular, the threat of terror is very real, we have to face our fear at every street corner in the cold steel gun barrel that is pointed at us by the cops, at every road barricade, behind every of sand-bag pile. Like I mentioned earlier the act of facing my fears doesn’t make me more fearful, it heightens my sense of national pride and strengthens my resolve against terror. That’s why I may sound confused in the last few paragraphs, for though I want unified and fully integrated India where no one has to live in fear because of their religious beliefs, the fact that many who live off our country, have other ideas, makes it difficult for me at times to muster too much conviction behind my beliefs.
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