RELIGION, POLITICS OF CONVERSIONS AND P K




            It is not news that a movie has been well made or scripted. News these days is whether it makes it to the 100 crores club or breaks box office records. Politicians are less concerned by the ‘state of welfare’, or any change thereof, of its ‘proletariat’, but more concerned with their religious commitments or any changes thereof. This is not unexpected in a nation obsessed with religion, and caste. Ever since I can remember, every blessed form that I filled in, even prescription I wrote, carried the blanks for religion and caste. This caste based distinction and segregation has pushed the nation into an abyss, from which it is difficult to conceive how we will extricate ourselves, if and when we are able to. Leaving the caste factor aside before a thousand daggers are drawn against me, the boohoo about religion is difficult to fathom.
            To many like me, religion is a very personal thing. Which God I believe in, or don’t believe in for that matter, is entirely my preference, and should have, and often does not have any bearing on what religion a person was born into or bred up with. Religion is not just an amalgamation of ways of praying to the Creator, of the forms in which he is visualized and worshiped, of what we expect from Him, and how we go about pleading with Him it. Even what religion means to each one may be vastly diverse and distinct. Does it then really matter whether a person is Hindu or Muslim or Christian? He may be a Hindu but atheist in practice, a Christian but celebrates like a Hindu. Does religion actually give a Muslim any better life than if he was of any other religion? I doubt if being a Sikh or Jain gives them anything more than a sense of fraternity. Probably a bigger sense of oneness and inner peace would come if everyone looked on the other as a fellow human being, and a creation of God. Forget about who was who by way of religion, and who they should be or you want them to be. Why are we so keen to welcome “Goa Christians to Hindu fold” and undo what the Portuguese did so much earlier, or convert Muslims to Hindu because the Mughals converted them centuries ago? Shakespeare’s words in the form of Shylock’s outburst ring so true, notwithstanding the context. Let’s just let them be mortal and human beings, God’s creation as they were meant to be.
            Love produces many virtuosities. Apparently now, jihad is another offshoot. Love jihad has now become a tactical issue, and Bajrang Dal plans a Hindutva version, goading Hindu youth to marry Muslim girls. The end is very laudable in that a universal brotherhood may emerge, but unfortunately the end is for all the wrong reasons. At least here, in the words of the Mahatma, the end does not justify the means.
            Aamir Khan’s “P K” has grossed 214 crores in first nine days. I have not seen the film, but I doubt if this earning is totally attributable to his ‘excellent’ acting. The storyline seems fascinating. Some of the insinuations have caught the attention of the audience because they do strike as being superfluous. That there are similar insinuations and beliefs in all religions is obvious, but conveniently forgotten by one faction and vehemently protested about by the other. The audience of the film “P K “doesn’t give a damn, and the producers are chuckling all the way to the bank. You wouldn’t mind about hurt sentiments either, but for the fact that if the shoe was on the other foot, things would be lot different, with burning cinema halls and may be a blood bath. It is wiser to steer clear of any religious sentiment, as there are far more socially relevant issues to debate and portray.
           It is not for everyone that religion is a nonentity.
             

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ON VALENTINES DAY___BRUSHES WITH ROMANTICISM

                                                       It all started in 1957 when I joined St Mary’s Convent, Allahabad in my kindergartens. Back then, the school was co-educational in the nursery classes. There was this girl in my class, Kusum Bhatnagar, whom I had the uncanny knack of calling Kusum Bhattacharya, I do not know for what reason. The relevant fact is that I was then infinitely fond of that girl, and she probably likewise, for we always sat next to each other in class. We always had our tiffin together in the lunch break, and loved to share the food. We always helped each other with the classwork. That time it was customary for the class teacher to reward good work with scrap pictures often with glazes, and we always compared and admired our ‘scraps’. We always chose to partner each other when we were required to team up for craft work. At the end of the school, we invariably went out of the class and school, holding hands together and chatting along. Then, one day
Read more

RUMINATIONS OF A COLUMBAN

RUMINATIONS OF A COLUMBAN DR RAKESH BHARGAVA CLASS OF 1966                 I joined St Columba’s in 1959 in class 4 on transfer from St Josephs, Allahabad My class teacher was Mrs. Clark if I remember correctly. We used to have a ‘tables’ test after the lunch break. Mrs. Clark would rattle of twenty dash times dash for tables up to 19. You would get as many canes as the mistakes made. I imagined I would be able to get by with some mental math, but after receiving four to five canes for the first few days I got wiser and mugged up my tables.                 The construction of the swimming pool was started when I was in the 5 th , and by the time we reached the 6 th grade it was ready for inauguration. Admiral B S Soman, the Naval chief was invited for the same. He began his speech and, in the process, took of his shirt and trousers, and dived into the pool So was the pool inaugurated. With the 7 th grade began our art classes. The art teacher was called Aunt P
Read more

YOU, ME AND US

The young boy confronted his mother.”Who is this man who comes to our house once in a while or at weekends and stays the night, even sleeps in your bedroom?” “You shouldn’t speak about him like this. He is your father.” “Then how come he doesn’t stay with us like everyone else’s.” “He does. Only he works very hard and comes home when you are asleep and leaves before you wake up” Does this story sound familiar? It wouldn’t be your own story with a few modifications, by any chance? Let me see. Most doctors begin their day by patient consultations at 6 am or 7 am. The few health conscious one may go for a walk or a round of golf. Most of the wives being doctors start their work while seeing the kids off for school, or may even be off to work themselves. Those who are house wives settle down to attend to the household chores after seeing the hubby and kids off. In the afternoon, the kids come home, have lunch and settle down for their home work. The doc eats late or alone or both, and then
Read more