Why don't we want Sania Mirza to be happy!?

I got a SMS this morning from a friend (?), a hate message about Sania Mirza getting married to Shoaib Malik. That friend is a decent guy on the onset, he talks formally and lovingly to every one, he really cares for his friend, and a good friend overall. But the message got me disturbed, it has attacked Sania and Shoaib in very indecent language and it has asked me to forward the message to all the Indians! Why? If I hate the sentiments expressed in the message then as per the holy book of Indianness I am not a true Indian? I like Sania, her game, her beauty, and the way she makes our India proud. But why she is attacked by these moral police-boons? They critiqued her because she wears skirts while playing, in fact if skirts are indecent then dhotis are equally indecent! Why hate fellow Indians and then conceal the hatred under the tricolour of India? Why we hate Sania Mirza, one reason is definitely because she is a Muslim. And hating Muslim is one of the commandments of being an Indian, I guess. We swore by the sahishnuta of the greater religion of India- the Hindu. But I think the other religions, called as minority, have more sahishnuta than these Hindus; rather they have no other choice to live in India. I know that there is instability in every religion, and we can’t single out a religion for propagating hatred towards others. But let’s not mix religion with nationality; India is not a Hindu nation, as far as I know. Hindu fundamentalist can’t form definitions of ‘True Indians’. If they want to, then obviously I don’t fit the bill and I have no other choice than hating (again) these Indians.

We Indians carry this application form when we move on streets, when we have chance at making friends, when we are asked to support a cause, when we support our cricket team (or for that matter the IPL team). The application forms has columns for name, the full name, actually most importantly your last name, the place of your birth and upbringing, your religion, your cast, creed and so on. When I meet anyone for the first time I have to fill this form and have to ‘apply’ for their friendship or acquaintance.

And I answer those questions. “Name?” “Tejas” “NAME?” “Oh...Tejas Joshi” “ohh Brahmin, which subcaste?” “Does it matter? OK, koknastha” “hmm bloody koknastha, huh? Gotra?” “I don’t know” “What do you mean you don’t know” I shrug. “Ok Where is you from?” “Nashik” “OK so you are Marathi, a Raj Thackeray supporter, huh?” OR “Ok so do you know this guy, I’m sorry but all the Nashik-kar I came across are like this and that” “Well, I’m not” and so on, (though the order of question changes and few questions are added or omitted based on the kindness of the person) at the end of it they make a decision based on their presumptions, but me? I’m still confused; I don’t know whether he is a friend! I’m such a non-Indian, I guess, what a pity?

Why? Why I should carry my identity card with me always, why can’t I communicate in a natural way, like the dogs do, (well they also do piss and sniff!)

Well, I think there is something wrong with the Indian-ness. It’s still a vague concept for us. May be because we didn’t earn the Independence of India, and by ‘we’ I don’t mean our generation, I really mean WE, THE INDIANS. Before the British captured India slowly using their skills and technique, we didn’t have the sense of nationality, we were either living under Maratha regime, nizaamshahi, aadilshahi and others, right from the Mauryas and other dynasties. We had an idea of regionalism, and had ambitions of expanding our regime, we were extremely brave too, but we were not Indians. British captured and ruled this region called Indian subcontinent of Asia, and governed it for 150 years or so. Slowly we got restless living under the raj, we were against the slavery, and wanted our land back, and now as the land was expanded from now Pakistan to now Bangladesh, our krantikaris fought against the British Raj in capturing back this piece of land, now was being called India. British didn’t have captured India, but we got India from them. Wow! Our krantikaris were really genuine and brave guys I don’t doubt them but nationalism or Indian nationalism is a modern and alien concept for us. We are still regionalist people at heart; we still divide based on caste. Creed, religion and region, that’s the problem I guess, I think if British wouldn’t have came we would be a bunch of small countries like Europe or Africa or like the countries those were part of U.S.S.R. but now not the part of Russia.

And while getting the independence for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh we had to suffer from the bad partition, which might have fuelled the hatred against Indian Muslims, and Pakistani Hindus and Sikhs.

We did earn Independence by our sweat and blood. But the masses need someone to follow after. In the independence war not every slave of British Raj wanted independence at his heart, but they believed their leaders and a huge (I think the biggest) movement of Independence arose. We believed in Bhagatsingh, we believed in Chandrashekhar Azaad, we believed Savarkar, we believed in Mangal Pandey (no no we didn’t believe him!) well but we believed our modern leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, and Pt. Jawahrlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel. And now we are getting a new breed of leaders that are again posing to stand against the big bad governance of India, and these leaders are Shriram Sene, Bajrang Dal, Shivsena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and VHP etc. Not all but a major chunk of our society believes in them. I know because this morning I got a SMS. We still hate Indian Muslims more than Pakistanis. I know many literate and cultured people who just hate Muslims from the end of their neurons just because they are Muslims. One of my colleague actually said that he knows a guy who’s really warm hearted and very kind person but he hated him because he has married to his own sister, and believes that all the Muslims are like that. Strange. Scientist has found that all the mankind has evolved from seven mothers; our mankind can be traced back to seven women. And to reach to today’s population of over 600 crores we can’t state, that no cultured society hasn’t cross bred in their own family. In fact in the prehistorian era cross breeding in the family had to be a normal thing to expand and strengthen their group.

Well ironically I got another SMS from the same friend again praising Sai Baba, and again the message asked me to forward the message to all true Sai devotees, and the people who love Sai Baba!(fortunately I don’t love any baba other than my baba(father)!) As far as I know Sai Baba is praised and loved equally by Hindus and Muslims. (Well this message was also carried a hidden discrimination towards non-Sai devotees.)

Well as far as I am concerned, my definition of being Indian is getting happy with the genuine happiness of fellow humans/Indians. And I’m happy that Sania and shoaib are happy together, I guess. (Though I’m sad that heartthrob of our generation is getting married!)

Well if you come across any such message, think and answer them with your true sentiments, do not forward answers. We can do this much in respect of the free mobile technology we got!