No Muslim Delivery Person!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 September 2022 The Miasma Of A Widespread Discrimination, Affecting Almost Every Individual, Has Vitiated The Social Fabric And The Character Of A Nation; Today, Every Other Person Is Either A Hindu Or A Muslim Or A Sikh ------ A Swiggy customer in Hyderabad refused to accept food delivered by a Muslim delivery boy. I'm not surprised by this news as the normalisation of religion-based hatred and ill-feelings is an in-thing in 'modern' Indian society. What surprises me is the widespread acceptance of such biases which ought not to have any place in a 'civilised' world. I remember, while conversing with Dr Edward Said in New York, he used a somewhat difficult phrase, modern religio-mental ghettoisation. He explained it as I couldn't fathom its full import and impact. Said told me prophetically that in the days to come, religions would influence their respective followers so powerfully that they would be mentally and culturally ghettoised to distinguish and discriminate among themselves. Feelings of ours and theirs would be so common that we'd stop wondering at the instances of such occurrences. So very true! The miasma of a widespread discrimination, affecting almost every individual, has vitiated the social fabric and the character of a nation. Today, every other person is either a Hindu or a Muslim or a Sikh. Religion is working as an adhesive, albeit in a negative manner. Followers have relegated themselves to being tufts of soiled hair. No one is a human. All are ghettoised and labelled creatures calling themselves Hindus, Muslims, Christians and all that jazz. The quintessential example of the nature and spirit of the readers and contributors of this very intrepid site can be adduced to ram home the point and highlight the prevalent moods of exclusivity. I've been writing for NAI site for last 5 months. I'm having to tell, that except for negative comments by a couple of MUSLIM gentlemen, no MUSLIM ever commented positively on any piece of mine. All the (positive) comments have come from Non-Muslims like Mr Prakhar Garg, Mr Murli Chari, Dr Anburaj and Brigadier (retd.) Onkar Goraya, one of the most decorated, respected and ATHEIST Army officers of Indian Army whose role in Indo-Pak War, 1971 and Operation Bluestar can never be forgotten. No Muslim commented positively because to them, I'm a non-Muslim. Not that I long for positive opinions coming from my esteemed readers, whichever religion they may belong to, the point is, a structured ghettoisation or mental block precludes them (read Muslims) from commenting positively on my writings. They'll comment only on Muslims' writings. Hindus are doing the same. All are tarred with the same brush. If my dear friend Shoaib Huda was refused point-blank while booking a flat in the Hindu majority housing society, my liberal Hindu friend Dr Kapil Narang too was politely told by a Muslim gentleman that the housing society was mainly for Muslims. Find some other place. This reminds me of Nida Fazli's couplet, Koi Hindu, Koi Musalman, Koi Eisaaii Hai; Sab Ne Insaan Na Ban-Ne Ki Qasam Khayee Hai Indeed, no one calls himself or herself a HUMAN. We all need a tag just like an item shows its price tag in a shop or mall. We're all cheap objects in the world market. When I call myself an ideologically emancipated person, having no creed, caste, god or any such pieces of turd, none seems to empathise with me. Because, they're not evolved enough to dig the very idea, an exalted one to be precise, that a man can survive without any cheap identity. I ask myself, why're humans so unevolved that they cannot live sans a label, tag or flag? At the moment, India's national Zeitgeist is sickly religious and pathologically nationalistic. No wonder, if the likes of Hyderabad occurrence keep happening in the days to come. We're religiously yoked forever. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/muslim-delivery-person/d/127867 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism