“Bhagwan ko maante ho? Bhagwaan ko gaand farak padhne wali hai!”
The very thought of writing this bit struck my mind when I watched the Netflix series “Sacred Games” by Anurag Kashyap, one of the best storytellers of our time! “A chicken bone in a Hindu hotel can cause more damage than any Gangster!” It is such a mishap that we believe in the idea of Religions to an extent that can cause such huge turmoil, disrespect, violence, hate, and everything against the concept of ‘Freedom’. This series of my writings do not question why you should worship. Whether you pour the milk on an idol or you drink it whether you light a candle in the church or in your home is none of my business. But when it is out of your four walls into open public delivering hate speeches, sparking fights, demeaning an individual’s existence, I think I have a say there. Here’s a list of things that will diminish once we accept any religion and feel the need to protect it-
- Respect towards Women.
- Human Values.
- Logic.
- The sense of Justice.
- Love.
Let me put forth a detailed version of these numberings.
PART ONE
Respect Towards Women
To be clear about one thing I am not a feminist but I do believe in the idea of respecting women. Point is one can respect someone without being called as something. More about that later. I don’t know why women are the go-to characters for a religious fringe. It is okay if social activist groups of men march on roads wearing Khakhi shorts but if she wore anything above her knees, it is against our culture and she is characterless! If she doesn’t learn the household chores who will? If her parents are unable to pay a hefty dowry we should reconsider the relationship. Cigarettes are harmful to both men and woman. She is not spoilt if she smokes! If she doesn’t give birth to a baby boy she is not the perfect daughter-in-law. To point out this particular issue of female foeticide, with whom will the upcoming generation of men have sex with? Men? Oh, wait it is against the religion to be Gay as well! One of my teacher who happens to be a Christian posted this on his facebook timeline “I may lose some friends over this, but HOMOSEXUALITY is a sin” and he quoted some verses which were Leviticus 18:20, Romans 1:27, Revelation 22:15. I am not against you who believe in this but I am against you who impose this not on yourself. It is shocking to know how some religious customs allow ‘to check the virginity’ of a girl on her first night of the marriage. Let me give you a visualization on this. On the night of the wedding, the bride and the groom are in a room and they need to have sex on a bed with a white sheet and at the end of the intercourse, if there is a blood stain on the bed sheet she is a virgin if not she is a disgrace!
I have seen so many debates on the TV in which priests uphold religious values and demean women’s liberty. If a Muslim lady doesn’t want to wear a burqa it is her personal will! I have had numerous discussions about women wearing the dress of their will and it all came down to this. ‘She is not safe in that attire’ I don’t know have you considered punishing rapists? Oh yeah, we have a death penalty for “Child Rapists!” If somebody told a girl that men look at her viciously with an agenda, maybe that man they are referring to should man up! I agree with the point that bad things happen, but it is clearly not fair to blame the victim. Justice should be upheld but instead, we as a society take charge of the victim. Throughout the history, we were taught about the ill practices that condemned the existence of women. Sati,Unacceptance of Widow remarriage, Polygamy were the most highlighted ones. This is a sheer surprise that polygamy was legal in India until 1956! That is 9 long years after The Indian Independence. As a matter of fact, this law was restricted only for the Hindus and not for Muslims. They were allowed a maximum of 4 marriages. Recently in October 2015 The Supreme Court was CONSIDERING criminalizing Polygamy fully. In some cults, widows are considered as a bane to the family and are condemned in every way possible. It is such an irony that we want independence but in restricted formats.
The very thought that every life matters has to lay the foundation for a Godly purpose. May it be a man, woman or homosexuals. If they cannot respect another human what good is their religion or God doing to them?
Here are some verses that I wrote some time ago-
Walking past a group of men, that lady there, heard the unheard Whispers.
They gazed and groped until she passed that lane, those whistles they blew and the laugh they shared, in them, that lady, she heard the unheard whispers.Faking brisk strength on her face, she moved on, pretending to be have forgotten that chivalrous mischief. Is that what you call it?
Deep down her heart sank in the shallow ocean of dark and disgust! I feel her. Given no respect, we’re covered with an angry fur!
That lady battled all in her head, silenced by that one silly thought ‘Yes I’m a girl!’
This thought had her sidelined, in that ignorance, that lady, she heard the unheard whispers!Dressed like a queen, brought in a palanquin,
She knew the sweat and blood her dad put in!
With the teary eyes damn fake smile, in the musical night of her wedding, that lady, she heard the unheard whispers!I ain’t no Feminist.
But human respect is the basic Gist!
- Will be back with PART TWO about Human Values…Stay Tuned!
