The Ayodhya Verdict : a test for Hindu-Muslim brotherhood

People are dying of hunger here, and all we want to do is to build mosques and temples, and for what reason? Not to offer prayer, not to read namaaz, but to prove some stupid claim over some stupid land(ironically, its not a mere property case), for which thousands of people have lost their lives and probably millions are on the verge of losing it, again.

At the time, when we are (supposedly) supposed to have been completely evolved as human beings, and accept each other as we are, spread not only the message but also peace to people of other religions and nationalities and build a system where no one dies of hunger, and for that matter sleep on streets, what we are doing is fighting over religions and an individual’s personally derived (twisted) meaning of PEACE. We, instead of building stone structures which we can call as “homes” and put the ones who are in desperate need of it, are fighting to build those stone structures which we fondly address as mosques and temples and place stone-carved statues and tombs in it.

Well,India rests uneasy ahead of the final crucial verdict on the decades-old title suits seeking ownership of the disputed Ayodhya site.The title suit pertaining to the 2.77 acres of land in Uttar Pradesh takes root in the Hindus' beliefs that Ayodhya is 'Ram Janmabhoomi', or the birthplace of Lord Ram, while Muslims seek to defend Babri Masjid, built by Moghul emperor Babur in 1528.The dispute that grew year after year on several campaigns from both the sides, took an ugly turn on Dec 6, 1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished during a political rally, followed by riots in which over 2000 were killed.

Where a section of this society of ours is desperately waiting to bring out their knives and swords and start wielding it on fellow human beings, another section of this same society of ours is trying to keep the ‘bond’ between humans intact.Around 15 Muslim families(in the Asharfi Bhawan area of Ayodhya)have been involved in making floral garlands and decorative offerings for Hindu devotees for the last several decades.Asked what they think about the much-awaited verdict in the long-pending title suit, Muslim artisans said irrespective of the outcome of the judgement they would continue with their business to help Hindus.“We just pray for peace and believe the judgement will not affect Hindu-Muslim brotherhood and unity,” Sartaj added.

Like you (who is reading this) I too, don’t know what the judgement will be, but whatever it may be, one thing is for sure. There’s going to be lots of smoke in the air. Now it is not inevitable, it can be stopped, but the question is who? when?................. You? Me?

Of course, WE, no one else, but WE!

Now it is up to us whether we get influenced and spread venom or inspire and transform lives, whether we become followers and tarnish the bond or lead and make it stronger, whether we become the swords and kill our brothers and sisters or resurrect pillars of support for those who are in desperate need of us.So it’s very important that we choose, but what’s more important is that we choose wisely.

Final dream of a dreamer

I don’t know why I was dragged away from brightness

Until a ray of hope dawned to me after being in darkness;

Safely kept the precious bits from the wreck

I’m tired and really need a break;

Till the river runs dry,I’ll sail my vessel

Facing each day as a constant battle;

Tranforming all my dreams & hopes is impossible

But I’d try to reach my destination and that’s possible…

--------(Composed by me a month back)

All my life, I was a dreamer (but people still thought I was pragmatic).But when I woke from a dream and looked around, I saw that the world had changed a lot since I last knew it. People had learnt how to hate, how to hurt, how to kill. I shrank from this sight with a palpitating heart…feeling like a newborn…confused on entering completely new surroundings, after the safety of mother’s womb (reality is always bitter than a dream).I saw, I heard, I felt. But I couldn’t comprehend what I saw, heard or felt. It was all so new, so unknown. I was missing the serenity and was perplexed, totally unprepared to face the pains & pangs of life. I retreated into myself, searching for the peaceful, loving world I’d always known, within the recesses of my own mind.

I got so caught up in this quest, that I hardly realized that the world was passing by me, time was flying, without so much as a second backward glance at me, standing as I was, motionless, waiting for things to make sense. The old, familiar faces had given way to cold, unfeeling strangers. Simplicity had given way to a complicated web of forced words, forced gestures, forced emotions. Then a face emerged – angelic in its very familiarity, warm in the very memories it invoked. My heart was gladdened to see something from the darkness, to have an assurance that the world I knew had not been a mere dream.

But before I could touch that well-loved face, it lost all its warmth and familiarity, and became the face of one of those cold, masked strangers, which was all I had seen around me. That’s when I fell into a perpetual darkness, knowing that all that had been mine, was gone, and all that was new and intimidating, would have to be accepted as my own. Soon…the dreamer had dreamt her final dream and now there would be no more retreats, no more dreams. Now, I had to forget and move on, catch the fleeting time and ride it into the last sunset…

(P.S. I was actually about to write a post on CWG or Kashmir Issue or Ayodhya verdict, but some random thoughts creeped into my mind while sitting alone at this time of a full moon night)

Think outside the shell...!!!

If you were to go to your window and throw a stone into the street, it would probably hit an engineer(no offence to engineers reading this,but this is the fact). The whole place is teeming with them...the engineering/medicine students in India outdo entire populations of certain European countries. The lure of sciences in our country is maddening to a certain extent. The various possible reasons for this mad rush can only be explained on the basis of a detailed social study.

The first and foremost incentive to medicine/engineering is the economic stability it provides. India is one of the fastest developing economies in the world and relies heavily on its IT sector. The western countries look upon India as the land which provides them with the largest pool of doctors and scientists. In the premier space research institution, NASA, 36% of the scientists are Indian. So even though the recession did make some hearts skip a beat, it’s needless to say that an engineer will never be out of a job(but job skips are rampant). In the same vein, it’s highly unlikely for a doctor to go jobless in India (a private clinic being a very viable venture). Another aspect to it is the obscene amounts of money that can be amassed in as little a time as say 10 years. The parental pressure angle can never be negated as many mediocre kids who don’t have the aptitude for science are pushed off the cliff into the scientific sea by their family.Its disheartening to see students who in their school days wanted to be nothing less than a movie star or the Prime Minister and ended up in lousy engineering or medical colleges and are now contemplating their futures through a dusty microscope.

This leads to a dearth of talented people in various other walks of life. How many great sportspersons or musicians can India boast of? The answer is just a fistful. There is a diversion from natural inclinations to forced identities which scars the human mind beyond repair. The suicide rates of potential engineers and doctors have sky-rocketed in the past few years in response to unreal expectations from family. Another flaw in the system is the mushrooming of coaching centers which promise entry into premier institutions provided you are ready to pay through your nose....the ironic part is that it’s failed professionals who teach in these centers.If they couldn’t get their lives straight, what makes you think they can set yours straight(a usual thought by students for inept Profs)? Year after year it is proven that it is the students who do not enroll in coaching centers that secure the top positions hence negating the role of coaching centers.

The best way to deal with this situation would be the introduction of multiple new subjects in the high school curriculum....subjects like mass communication would provide children with an opportunity to widen their interest zone and give them space to splash around while they’re still young. The popular perception of society needs a makeover and people need to accept the fact that there are extremely good prospects beyond the sphere of science.There is nothing wrong in choosing a career which is not usually heard from peers(rights and wrongs were not defined at the time of earth’s creation,right!).Let’s hope for not too distant a future in which people all around the globe look to India with respect for our legion of virtuosos and not merely (in their words) .............. “science nerds”.

Is religion a way to spirituality...?

''This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness”

– Dalai Lama

Call him Ram or call him Allah, it makes no difference. Erect a temple on every corner or hang a photo of him on every wall, it makes no difference. Until and unless we keep him in our heart and his teachings in our actions we won’t be able to discover the essence of our being. Being religious can be a way to being spiritual , if we are able to find what religion actually means. Religion is feeding the poor; it’s not fasting once in a week and doing evil the rest of the time. Religion is providing shelter to the homeless; it’s not making temples on every vacant space. We just have enough religion to make us hate but not enough to make us love.


Etymologically the word “Religion” is derived from the Latin word ligare meaning connect or bind. Logically then, Religion is means to connect to god. Sensible enough- except, I have to ask, how are we supposed to form a meaningful connection with the invisible, supernatural power? Rather than trying indistinctly trying to form connections with the uncaring blue sky, we have a better kind of religion down here on the earth. HUMANITY, which meaningfully unites us by teaching the astounding truth that we belong to the same mental tribe.


The religion of humanity does not makes us realize the ways ina which we are different but the similarities we share. It teaches us the truth that our similarities are so deep and so pervasive as to completely overwhelm the comparatively shallow things that divide us from each other. Since there is one world, there should be one true description of it. If the religious beliefs were based on this fact, then we might expect them to converge eventually; but this is not the case. Differences in caste and creed still rule us. We still feel apathy to be with a lower caste human being. Why this discrimination when we all belong to the same cosmos, we all experience the same emotions.


Who are they to differentiate between a Hindu and Muslim when there is Ram in “Ramzan” and Ali in “Diwali”. Humanity lies in the spiritual aspect of a person. The more we involve ourselves in reaching out to the needy, the more spiritual we become. Spirituality involves knowing the inner self. As Dalai Lama said, humanity should be our religion, and love, kindness, compassion our tools to achieve spiritualism… All we need is compassion. Empathy for each other. Peace within ourselves. Introspection is a great way to find the way to the inner self. Speak kindly. Care Deeply. Love generously. Humanity truly stands out to be the only religion of love, peace and kindness. So let’s embrace humanity and start a new way of life, a new vision, a new destiny for the generations to come.