Our motherland has always been the embodiment of the word, tolerance.True to her nature, she has been a loving mother for all her people.Irrespective of the land they came from, the beliefs and cultures they followed, the color of their skin, she has always held them close to her bosom and made them feel home.This is why conquerors from Qutb-ud-din to the East India company never wanted to leave this country, becoming an inseparable part of its own heritage and history.And yet a lot has changed in this land of Buddha and Gandhi, in the 21st century.
The attacks on Nigerian students at greater Noida are indeed a grave threat to all those values that we hold so dear.The students were attacked after being alleged for cannibalism and forcefully drugging a minor boy who passed away on Saturday. The incident of mob justice and racial attack on African students is not a one-off and has become frequent in the last two years.At a time when we ourselves remain victims of such crimes at countries like the USA, shouldn’t we think of these students who have come to our nation believing in its humanity? No matter what the allegations against these students are, we remain responsible for enquiring about the truth before we jump the gun.
Most of the African nationals who come to India for education do not do so because of the lack of available opportunities in other countries, but to experience this fabled land, its culture, and customs.In an era when more of the world is opening up, India can’t afford to shrink into its own shell.The issue of racism, however doesn’t limit to foreign nationals in our country.From being madrasis and chinkis, the Bengali from the east or Gujarati from the west we have the disease of racism going deep into ourselves than we ever thought. Before we take on the hate crimes happening against us head first, we need to change these boundaries we have built for ourselves, understand tolerance which is the foundation of the idea that is India.India needs her Martin Luther King, inside all of us who remain fragmented within.