It was the Britishers who had started the ‘divide and rule’ policy in India and it wasn’t until we united as one that we were able to achieve freedom. Today, I see our country standing on the same front. This is the politics of division, politics of discrimination. All that these politicians care about is power and more power, and that has been evident during the election results in different states of the country, the very recent example being that of Maharashtra. They don’t care about you or your family, or your future, environment, education, health, or your dreams.
Today, the freedom fighters would be twisting and turning in their graves impatiently, feeling sorry for the Constitution that they gave, the equality they promised us, and the future they unchained from the cages of tyranny for us. They made us dare to dream by sacrificing their lives and families.
They enriched our culture with literature, art, philosophies, ideas, and heritage which they were able to save for us and our future generations. They’d be looking at us with shame. Perhaps, we don’t deserve democracy, perhaps we want only tyranny. Perhaps, we prefer being caged and killed and threatened or perhaps, we don’t like lifting our heads up with dignity. Perhaps, we don’t even deserve our own ancestors. Perhaps we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Today, instead of fighting over the real issues, we, after 72 years of Independence, are fighting over who ought to stay in this country and who ought not. Instead of focusing on the hazardous air quality, cutting of trees for political and industrial conveniences, depleting groundwater, financial tensions, corruption in banks and other corporate institutions and private businesses, inflation, poverty, limitation in education and health services, road accidents, rapes, murders, loots, railway conditions, adulterated food, ecological imbalances, natural calamities, floods, droughts, agriculture, and unemployment–look at how the political leaders are distracting our attention.
If you stand against Muslims, support this kind of politics, rip them off their rights which ought to belong to every human, even then the problems of your daily life won’t find any solution.
You’ll still be breathing in poison. You’ll still be stuck in traffic. You’ll fight in road rages. There will be rapes. People in your family will still feel unsafe in certain situations. You’ll still not find a good job for yourself. You’ll work in a much lower salary than you deserve and will struggle to meet your daily requirements and inflating prices.
You’ll still worry about your child’s education and future. You’ll still not get admission in the schools and colleges you desire. You’ll still suffer from dengue, from cancer, from chikungunya. You’ll still stand in lines outside banks. You’ll still worry about your money and savings. And you’ll still get cheated by corrupt people.
The staying or leaving or increasing or decreasing of Muslims is not going to solve your problems. It is not going to make you happy, and it might not make you sad. But, one day, your problems will increase manifold. You think it is their fight today, but tomorrow, it is going to end up on you. Boycott this politics of hate and division before it is too late, before you stop knowing who needs to stay.