It was the year 2004. I had just enrolled in a post graduate programme in Journalism. At first when I came to know that a classmate of mine was from Kashmir, I was curious.
Because I, having lived in a big metropolis like New Delhi, had never 'encountered' someone from the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir till then. The only thing I knew was what I read in the newspapers or saw on news channels – that Kashmiri Muslims hated India, wanted to be part of the 'enemy' state and were behind most terror attacks.
So basically I was looking for a classmate who would be a devil incarnate. Instead I found a young man who had the same dreams as me, the same ambitions and a will to live a 'normal' life.
I was generally told that all Muslims hate Hindus and want to 'take over' my beloved country, are radical, multiply rapidly and forcibly convert everyone to Islam. Instead I found a person, who was apprehensive of me because I was the larger majority who thought like this! Me? I would never harm an insect let alone think of harming someone.
He seemed quite defensive in the beginning and I took an instant dislike to him. Our interactions were limited only to professional discussions. With time, I felt he started becoming less defensive and I failed to spot horns on his head.
The uneasiness gave way to exchange of ideas and passionate discussions and debates as the walls and the barriers started to melt away. I realized that this person was neither a fanatic nor believed in multiplying and taking over the country. He just wanted to be a treated as a citizen and a part of the country.
And I came to the conclusion that we build up prejudices largely because of two reasons. The first is the fear of the unknown. The second is the subtle and overt propaganda spread by people around us, the media and politics.
In this case, a healthy interaction ensued and our mindsets started to change. We were able to identify truth from make believe stories and were able to overcome the fear of the unknown. We necessarily do not agree on everything and our political and socio political ideas sometimes differ, after all we are distinct individuals, we have changed. The journey has been eventful and interesting. Oh, and the name of that person was Sameer.
For me, personally, anti-tags evolves from this.
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2 comments:
We all have tags, right from the moment of birth -- of name, caste, relationship, birth, domicile, wealth, race, nationality, gender, language, class and so many others. Simply cannot run away from them. And most times we get lost among these man-made tags and forget the ultimate and most natural one of all -- of being human beings and what it means to be human. I read a story about two boys, about 8-9 years old, both badly injured in violent attacks, who were being treated in adjacent beds in a Tel Aviv hospital. One an Arab, the other an Israeli. The families of both were angry at the fact that the kids were being treated side by side. Even in that state, the kids are seen as enemies of each other than as just two small children fighting for their lives. Why is that so difficult?
Hi Saira
Thanks for your comment. As you said - we forget the most important tag - of being human beings before naything else.
Lets hope through this movement we can help people remember that!
Neha
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