But then... We are secular!!
News about intolerances about every religious group against every other religious groups is thrown at us every moment of every day. Shrill hysterical screeching sound about what the government..any and whichever government is in power.. has not done right and the equally loud cacophony in the counters about what has been done to keep our country ' secular' are shoved into our faces and almost shatter our eardrums. There is no agreement among the various factions about any issue and we are striated and fragmented on religious, caste, language, class grounds on every event and nonevent!
But.. I disagree! WE ARE VERY VERY SECULAR !! Wait.. Before you disagree with me and think I am delusional , hear me out..please??
We are very secular when it comes to our opinions about women. Every group, religious or social, has decided that women do not deserve even the basic courtesy and privacy and are fair game to every marauding scum. They are all unanimous in hollering that any woman who is molested or raped deserved it because of what she wore or who she was with or where she was. They are unanimous in decrying that it was always the woman's fault and if she did not behave like a combination of Sita, Mother Mary and all the various pious women glorified by all religions she asked to be violated. See.. We are secular.
We are very secular in the way we discriminate against the have nots. They deserve what they get , the secular say. They are lazy and do not have to be treated well we reason. The rich get richer, the poor are poorer, and no matter which religion we belong to we are united in shoving our heads into the sand like an ostrich. Yes, we most certainly are secular.
Religion is never a barrier in denying education , food and basic health care to our girls. We all agree that they are second class citizens and thumb our noses at any law or tenet which says otherwise. Whichever faith we belong to , we look at our daughters as burdens and celebrate when boys are born. Who says we are not secular?? Do we not all agree on this??
We all, unanimously and collectively try to suppress the voices of reason in our midst. A young girl is killed because she tries to break the stranglehold of a maulvi. A writer is harassed because he writes about the ills of certain temple customs. A movie is banned because it dares to question or interpret differently the version put forth in the Bible..Ahh .. Why not? Are we not secular?. We can question anything that deviates even a teeny weeny bit from what is familiarly comfortable! After all that is the reward of being secular.
We never look at our religions when we ask for dowry, ill treat our old and infirm, litter on the roads, destroy our environment, cheat, bribe, piddle on the road, not wear helmets, pass by a destitute Uncaringly. We very easily point a finger at another faith when all of us, regardless of which faith we subscribe to, do the same..
We are two faced. We are hypocrites. We are diabolically delusional... But then we very proudly say that WE ARE SECULAR!!
News about intolerances about every religious group against every other religious groups is thrown at us every moment of every day. Shrill hysterical screeching sound about what the government..any and whichever government is in power.. has not done right and the equally loud cacophony in the counters about what has been done to keep our country ' secular' are shoved into our faces and almost shatter our eardrums. There is no agreement among the various factions about any issue and we are striated and fragmented on religious, caste, language, class grounds on every event and nonevent!
But.. I disagree! WE ARE VERY VERY SECULAR !! Wait.. Before you disagree with me and think I am delusional , hear me out..please??
We are very secular when it comes to our opinions about women. Every group, religious or social, has decided that women do not deserve even the basic courtesy and privacy and are fair game to every marauding scum. They are all unanimous in hollering that any woman who is molested or raped deserved it because of what she wore or who she was with or where she was. They are unanimous in decrying that it was always the woman's fault and if she did not behave like a combination of Sita, Mother Mary and all the various pious women glorified by all religions she asked to be violated. See.. We are secular.
We are very secular in the way we discriminate against the have nots. They deserve what they get , the secular say. They are lazy and do not have to be treated well we reason. The rich get richer, the poor are poorer, and no matter which religion we belong to we are united in shoving our heads into the sand like an ostrich. Yes, we most certainly are secular.
Religion is never a barrier in denying education , food and basic health care to our girls. We all agree that they are second class citizens and thumb our noses at any law or tenet which says otherwise. Whichever faith we belong to , we look at our daughters as burdens and celebrate when boys are born. Who says we are not secular?? Do we not all agree on this??
We all, unanimously and collectively try to suppress the voices of reason in our midst. A young girl is killed because she tries to break the stranglehold of a maulvi. A writer is harassed because he writes about the ills of certain temple customs. A movie is banned because it dares to question or interpret differently the version put forth in the Bible..Ahh .. Why not? Are we not secular?. We can question anything that deviates even a teeny weeny bit from what is familiarly comfortable! After all that is the reward of being secular.
We never look at our religions when we ask for dowry, ill treat our old and infirm, litter on the roads, destroy our environment, cheat, bribe, piddle on the road, not wear helmets, pass by a destitute Uncaringly. We very easily point a finger at another faith when all of us, regardless of which faith we subscribe to, do the same..
We are two faced. We are hypocrites. We are diabolically delusional... But then we very proudly say that WE ARE SECULAR!!
