while with a few friends and colleagues at lunch today, somebody asked, "what about the hindu terrorists? do you believe in them?" my immediate reaction was to shy away from the topic. as a rule, i never discuss religion with anyone. friends & family included. do i believe? sure, i do. in an almighty god who made us all humans equal. but ask me about my faith, then i'll tell you that am a christian by birth alone. for all other reasons, am a believer, a child of this earth.

still, what got me thinking was the emotion behind that question. despite my best intentions, i have been suspect to that emotion as well. the same emotion, which history and recent events have proved time and again, as the worst possible ignitor of many crimes against humanity.

are we, then, by harbouring such emotions, endangering humanity? by logic, yes. but, perhaps, that's taking it too far. so, let's look at these emotions, these fears and doubts. we can probably justify them by pointing to certain 'facts' and, therefore, our prejudices against people of certain faiths. but let me ask you, are you ABSOLUTELY sure of the fact? is it the COMPLETE truth? do you have data to prove it? have you personally spoken to the perpetrators of the crimes (you fear)? have you spoken to the community that was targeted? or the ones you support? if not, then let me tell you, that you believe only in half truths. and even if you had done all of the above, i would still tell you, it's half a truth. it can't be the whole truth without a deeper understanding of the community's or the region's history, economics, culture or food. including it's favourite dance type or most popular lake... what am trying to point to here is, that unless you are able to conduct a research dispassionately, you may never know the complete truth of certain things.

however, neither are most of us scholars nor do we have the luxury of spending our time studying/researching only. should we then, remain opinionless, and ignore what's being said, repeated & feared around us? not really. what we need to do is to shed our prejudices. to start looking into ourselves, and see if we really are the person we think ourselves to be. also, it is THE TIME, to believe in humanity. please, let's not discuss who a terrorist is. for that, you don't need to look too far. look into your own self and you'll find a terrorist there. there are terrorists everywhere. all sorts of people are terrorists. there are christian terrorists, hindu, muslim, sikh, parsi... you don't need religion to define a terrorist.

india today bleeds from communal violence, divided factions and a majority (of us) who sit the fence. what we need are not debates based on half-truths that will tear us apart further. we also don't need to take out morchas or start a ngo or sloganeer (you can if you want to though). what we need is to get rid of our prejudices and treat everyone around us as an equal. especially in our hearts and minds. only then can we reach out to people around us with the message of love and unity.

now is really the time, to decide where we stand. with humanity. or with fear.

(comments are welcome)

north pole with no ice