The Indian media seems to be euphoric these days with the stunning performance in the Common Wealth Games. This sense of national pride is also pretty infectious as most Indians have finally found something to be proud about. Justifiably so, the brilliant sporting achievements at the games and the stellar performances at the Cricketing arena have stirred the nationalist sentiments that we have all long had but suppressed. I too would have been caught up in the frenzy, had I not been witness to an incident which really made me question the society I am living in and the nation I am a part of. Having recently been for a driving test to get my Driving License from the Indian Government, I got a first hand experience of the Indian bureaucracy and the plight of the minorities.
Now I happened to go for the test with a colleague of mine who hails from Kashmir. This young man is a sensible, balanced and religious individual. I have not seen him miss a single Friday Namaaz in the last three years. He is well mannered and well spoken and has a rather open outlook to the political affairs of the valley. Ever so often, we have discussed the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir and I have sensed deep despondency in his voice. He is in love with his home and wants to go back there to his family after completing his education. He tells me that the situation is really bad in Kashmir because any young man can be branded as a terrorist by the Army/ police or the government and killed in an encounter without any answerability. Despite growing up in such environs, I am awed by the fact that he is not fundamentalist and Anti-India. In fact he maintains an open view of various news clippings and gives me a patient hearing as I poorly attempt to justify some of the actions of the government. Since his arrival as a PhD student in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, he has also made attempts to learn Kannada, the local language which many people don’t even bother with. He has made more attempts than even I (as a south indian brahmin girl) have made to integrate into the society.
With this background now, I should present the actual story to you. Now, we go for a driving test and find that despite similar credentials and documents (Institute ID proof, Age proof, Name proof etc etc), I was cleared for the Driving test and he was asked to bring an affidavit… Why ? Well, because, he is a muslim and has a Kashmir address and the Inspector in charge didn’t want to clear him till he was certified by the principal of the driving school. This of course was not explicitly told to him or to me but the agent suggested such reasons to me as the reason for the delay. Now this was shocking to me… !!! I am sure this is pretty routine in a lot of places, but this is the first time I have been a witness to such direct discrimination !!!! I mean, a young man who is doing a PhD in the Indian Institute of Science… Who has given all the relevant documents, is being tormented needlessly. If this is the kind of treatment that is meted out to Kashmiris, then why on earth would they want to be a part of this country ? I mean why should there by so much discrimination against them ? I understand that there are security concerns and that the police and the security machinery needs to be vigilant but then It is not that all terrorists come from Kashmir… There are plenty of Hindutva terror groups in the country…. Even a number of muslim terror groups arise from regions other than Kashmir. LTTE also has had presence in the country through infiltration into Tamil Nadu!! Why should "he" alone be bothered ?
This is an issue which has been rattling me for a while now… It has been four days since the test but I am still not able to weed this out of my mind… How can a civilized society be so biased and prejudiced ? What is the solution to this problem ? I was horrified at the treatment meted out to my friend while I know that this is perhaps the mildest form of discrimination… I mean the inspector only wanted an affidavit, right ? But then, I shudder at the thought of what must be happening to people in other remote areas ? People who are not literate, well spoken and sophisticated ? People who cannot afford the expenses of getting the affidavit made or the agent's involvement ? How can we alienate our own people and still expect them to respect our country and our nationalistic sentiments ? The number of Kashmiris in universities and institutes across the country is increasing every year… not because they are very rich or love traveling but because that's the only hope they have… to educate and to rebuild. The rest of the country should be more proactive in over coming their stupid and baseless prejudices so that all our countrymen, be it from Sikkim or Kashmir or Rajasthan or Nagaland can actually feel a part of our country. We need to inspire confidence in all our people so that this great nation with a rich history and culture can rise above its factionalist tendencies and find its true soul….
I know that I sound preachy and political but this one incident really rattled me to the core quite simply because It happened so close to me…Had I read the same report in a newspaper or heard about it in a news channel, I would have perhaps not registered the impact and forgotten about it pretty soon. I really wish I could do more than just this protest to change things around but how do you change the mindsets of people… ?
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