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Dear Junaid,Your Death Will Not Go In Vain

Dear Junaid,

I wish I could start writing this letter asking you how you are. But I’m not going to do that because I’m aware that you may be in pain, even up in heaven.

What happened to you was beyond any actions of barbarity. They say that your death was a result of mindless communalism and sectarianism. You must be crying over the lies your mother told you – that in this country, Muslims and Hindus are brothers. It is a lie Junaid. Muslims and Hindus are not brothers. No Muslim is a brother to a Hindu, who is blinded by faith. The only faith our mothers taught us was faith in humanity and faith in love. Only those who share these values are your brothers and sisters.

Anyway, aren’t you saddened by the fact that a once secular and free country isn’t free anymore? Does India look beautiful and vibrant to you from above? I guess not. It’s all saffron, isn’t it? Or why else on earth would you be killed in an argument over a seat?

They say you are happy that there isn’t any discrimination in heaven and that everything is peaceful up there. But Junaid, my brother, no amount of sympathy is going to calm my heart down when I think of the saffron plague that is leading our country to devastation. I believe it’s not less than terrorism. They say that only Muslims can be terrorists and Hindus could never be. But I guess we finally have our ‘terrorists’.

These people are very protective of their values. The only difference is that these ‘terrorists’ are not globally recognised. Why? It’s because their only job is to protect cows and anyone coming in their way gets lynched. They think that they can decide what we eat. Is this why Muslims and Hindus fought for the independence, together?

So wherever you are Junaid, be happy because this isn’t our India at all. It never really was. You see, the problem is that India has always been a slave. First to Mughal rulers, and then to the British. So any person claiming authority over the country becomes their master and people just blindly live with the fact that they were born to be a slave. For example, the Hindu saffron ideologies themselves You see, India never really was independent. It can never be, as long as religious faiths blind the soul of every citizen.

I am sorry for what happened to you during the holy month of Ramadan. Nothing can be undone. I am sorry for those who watched you get lynched, and did nothing to save you. Those people were no less than terrorists, Junaid. That’s what they do. They watch people die, for fun.

Junaid, you should know that I am a Hindu and I have a voice. However, I don’t fear my death because my religion is my shield. But unfortunately, I am a Dalit. Now, I have reasons to fear my death. Dalits are not even supposed to be humans to have a religion. And speaking against the saffron is just a mere invitation, I guess.

But guess what? I am not going to be quiet. I am not going to stay calm because you, my brother, were killed and people from across the country mourned.

I can never give you justice, but I assure you Junaid, the time has come to end this. Your death agitated the silence of this country.

Rest in peace, my little brother.

Yours dearly,
Priyanka

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