freebird

Raj and Abu were arrested and then released. Panic set in Mumbai. People decamped from offices. They fear that they will be attacked by supporters of these gentlemen of violence. It doesn’t matter that I am a South Indian from Jharkhand. I can speak decent Hindi and therefore can be attacked. Forget about my roots. The mob is in a mood and wants to attack. End of story.

 Post the Big B utterances, the attacks on taximen and vendors etc, the locals vs outside discourse has traveled quite a distance. Many a political pundit has discussed it threadbare, interpreted the nuances of chaos. Delhi’s Lt Governor has also contributed his bit in the round table.

 Some of the articles are almost apologies for the MNS. They say that Raj action’s are nothing but an articulation of a long-festering desire to teach the North Indian a lesson. A north Indian who, as the Lt Governor has said, likes to break the law and take pride in it. A north Indian is not as law abiding as a south Indian.

 I am from Jamshedpur. The quaint, small town was originally in Bihar. When I went to study at Hindu college in Delhi, I was not a resident. I didn’t stay in the hostel. I had to look for houses as paying guests etc. The minute Bihar escaped my lips, the demeanor of the landlord changed. It was a NO. Some were either careless or daring or unbiased or badly needed the money. Or they had the wisdom to realize that students will always be students, a bit confused, disorderly but eventually manageable. Thanks to them, I am earning today.

 The north is upset at the assault. So is the entire country. The anger on the street has found a fount. Behave or else…go back.

 Some things have to be kept in mind before Raj T becomes the mascot for increasing civic consciousness. North Indians spit after eating paan and guthka. So do most of the Gujrati traders. North Indians molest girls. So do Maharashtrians. We all know what happened on the New Year night. North Indians revel in breaking the law. All of India does that. Most of our governments do. West Bengal under the Marxists of Budhadeb is the current poster boy. Te culprit’s riots in Mumbai, Godhra and other parts of India are known, but they roam free. Law is broken every day.

 Constitutional rights are broken every day. In the year 2000 when I went to open my bank account in SBI, the person there asked me why people come to Mumbai at all? I threatened him with a police complaint. Marathis in Mumbai can break a law, flaunt their language and get away. For the same crime, a non-resident has to face more and dish out more.

 Indians have to face up to some facts. We might be a young, vibrant, growing nation and economy. But we are also blind nation. We do not accept the ills that plague the nation. Everything is old, ancient, blessed by the Gods. We who advertise for a fair, white, tall, well-proportioned, Convent educated boy or girl feign hurt when people accuse us of having double standards. Let’s accept that we are bigoted. That we have a long and tiresome journey ahead. That we are partisan and biased.

 In one way what Raj’s actions have revealed is the fact that an illusion is broken. Muslims should be happy in India. Hindus are not preferred or favoured in India. It doesn’t matter if you are a Hindu or rich. Bachchan is both and yet became the target. So there is some hope left. We hate everybody equally.