‘Tumne dekhi hai dhanak toh, bolo rang kitne hai
Saat rang kehne ko, phir bhi sang kitne hai
Samjho sabse pehale toh, rang hote akele toh
Indradhanush banta hi nahi
Ek na ham ho paaye toh, anyay se ladne ko
Hogi koyi janta hi nahi
Phir na kehna nirbal hai kyun haara’
The lines above have been quoted from the movie Swades, and the song is ‘Yeh tara woh tara‘, which was often sung by my uncle. Being a great fan of Mr. Shahrukh Khan, this song formed an integral part of my childhood. As a child, I only enjoyed the music and dance of Mr. Khan, but when in the later years, I got to understand the lyrics as well, and the thing I hope for the most is for everyone to understand that our India can be a much more better place to live in.
The year 2019 was very sensitive for our country, when changes one after the other were taking place, such as the abrogation of Article 370, the Uniform Civil Code (triple talaq) being unconstitutional, and the Ayodhya verdict. Our India is a secular country. The word ‘secular‘ was added after the 42nd amendment Act and it means that all religions, creed and cultures needs to be respected, discrimination on these bases should be prohibited. However, whenever there is a conflict between the Hindus and Muslims, it gets dragged every time because of the political propaganda of some leaders and parties.
At the time of Independence, when Azad Hind Fauj was formed by one of our most credible freedom fighters Subhash Chandra Bose, it had nothing to do with religion. People of every class, creed and religion had come forward to fight for the country’s independence from the British. Why and how did this happen? It was because all had one aim and that was to make our country independent and stand united to do so.
The time when the CAA-NRC Act (Citizen Amendment Act) being passed, protests at Shaheen Bagh and in other places in Delhi took a violent turn; internet services were switched off so that no hatred could be spread. Many people got injured or died. Bodies were being recovered from the drains. Displacement of Muslims started taking place. People were thirsty of each other’s blood. Those who were best friends had turned into enemies.
But who lost here? Did the political parties or political leaders lose? No. We lost, our humanity lost, our resources lost, our relations drowned and the spirit of brotherhood lost. And if the situation remains like this, we won’t need other factors to elicit war, but our own internal conflicts are enough to disturb our country.
As we know about the coronavirus pandemic and its outbreak, the virus was neither Hindu favourable nor Muslim favourable. Whenever something like this happens, it’s for everyone. Together, we all can cut rocks and be on top. Our body is healthy only when our heart, brain, bloodstream and everything else works in coordination. If one of them gets damaged, the whole metabolism is disturbed.
Even our fundamental duties that are enshrined in our Constitution teach us about promoting peace. We all need to understand that we need to be the part that pushes the country for development, instead of holding it back. We can’t change history, but we have the power to change the present and write a beautiful future with our own hands and we surely will do.