In recent years, I’ve shifted towards reading more non-fiction books. I’m not entirely sure why. There was a time when I exclusively indulged in fiction, but maybe as one grows older, there’s a desire for substance over escapism.
Currently, my topic of interest is my own country, India. For 40 years, I was mostly indifferent and satisfied with my understanding of India’s history. However, over the past few years, I’ve developed a strong desire to learn more. I’ve become curious about the psyche of our people, especially those who had to endure several seasons of conflict and unrest. I wish to understand our country’s past. What did our people go through during centuries of colonial rule? How did it mold our perspectives? What were the hurdles we faced before and after independence? As a nation, we have experienced true freedom only since 1947, which is less than a century. Considering this relatively short period, what valuable lessons should we absorb from our recent history as we navigate the present? At any point in history, did we feel a sense of unity? I am seeking hints because the present does not seem to offer any positive answers.
I never felt compelled to delve into books by influential leaders. It was during this quest to know more about India that I started reading Dr Ambedkar’s works. It feels surreal how a simple book could offer a glimpse into how Indians thought in the past, their sentiments, fears, anger, sorrow, etc. Everything feels like déjà vu.
History often repeats itself. By navigating the pages of Ambedkar’s book, you see glimpses of the present reflected in the past.
Some of his thought-provoking quotes include:
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.
Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.
History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.
Religion must mainly be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules. The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills responsibility which is an essence of the true religious act.
I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality, and fraternity.
Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.
Life should be great rather than long.
Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.
Dr. Ambedkar’s books offer numerous insights. I highly recommend Volume 8 to all Indians for a comprehensive analysis of the thoughts of Hindus and Muslims regarding the Partition of India. It deep-dives into arguments of each. Dr. Ambedkar fearlessly acknowledges and criticizes the cases from both communities while offering candid and constructive feedback. Ultimately, he leaves it up to you, the reader, to derive a conclusion.
For those interested in Dr. Ambedkar’s books, did you know that the MEA website allows you to download all volumes of his “Thoughts & Speeches” for free?
The Lok Sabha Election is around the corner. As with any other election, it is of prime importance that an Indian citizen makes informed decisions before casting their vote. By “informed decision,” I do not mean it should be based on what the media shows you. Or what your relative or friend tells you. It should be based on your own independent research. It is a prerequisite because almost every individual and media house is biased nowadays. They are responsible for spreading a particular narrative without looking at both sides.
We often look at a political party and vote. I believe voting for a party without considering their achievements and contributions could lead them to take us for a ride and get away with misusing our tax money. Instead, we should scrutinize performances. Real data. If we wish our country to prosper, we must be more vigilant and not blindly trust any political party, journalist, or media.
The most foolproof way to assess a party’s performance is by observing the changes in your immediate surroundings. Take a moment to observe—your neighborhood, people in your locality, infrastructure, law and order, and security. What aspects do you appreciate? What do you dislike? Who is responsible for this change that you like or dislike? The state or center? Consider creating a checklist. Form your opinion based on this checklist, not what a person from another district, state, or country tells you. If someone says the country isn’t peaceful because of selective news, but your own experience is positive, it’s best to rely on what you know firsthand to form a judgment. Because this is the most credible piece of news there is – it’s coming straight from your eyes.
Online research
During these times filled with agendas, it’s crucial to conduct independent online research. Google should be your best friend!
Keep in mind that most sources push specific narratives that suit their agenda, with left-leaning channels often criticizing the government and right-leaning ones rarely finding fault. If a source only focuses on one narrative, it’s likely biased. Avoid blindly trusting your favorite party, politician, or journalist. Instead, gather data from both left and right-leaning portals to get a more balanced picture. For this to effectively happen, you must keep your biases at bay.
I use Media Fact Check Bias to determine whether an online news portal is left or right-leaning. This information is helpful as it will give us a hint into what kind of bias to expect. The website also shows whether the portal is credible based on whether they have given proper credit, passed fact checks, etc.
An essential research doc to refer to is the RBI docs, such as the State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2023-24. They provide insights into how your state government is managing your money. Look into their spending on infrastructure, education, research, wages, and salaries, how debt-ridden they are, etc. RBI is a neutral entity, so it’s the best place to get the most authentic information for your research. The doc also provides insightful information on how the states manage their funds.
To understand complex terms and sentences, AI chatbots like those found in Bing, ChatGPT, and Bard are a godsend. They simplify information, making it extremely helpful for research and learning. We’re fortunate to have these tools available to help us, making this an excellent time for conducting research and expanding our knowledge. Don’t know what “Revenue Deficit” is? Go on and ask a chatbot, “What is Revenue Deficit? Explain in simple language,” and watch the magic unfold.
What should I add to my checklist?
Here are some items to add to your checklist. Your answers, I repeat, should be based on your own personal experiences and individual research, not someone else’s.
Improvements in your locality
Do you see improvements in your locality?
If yes, who is responsible? The center or state?
Note down each improvement on an Excel sheet. Google to find out who is responsible for the achievement.
I recently did this for my state (Kerala). I was surprised that many developments were not due to my state government.
I wish journalists or media provided this information, but unfortunately, you won’t find a single website with all the details. You’ll have to gather the information yourself.
2019 manifesto
Have you looked into the current government’s 2019 manifesto? Have they fulfilled all their promises? Research and find out. Even if you do not like the party, you should keep your biases aside and look into the data. If you are too tired to look into it, I recommend Think School’s YouTube video. It is a balanced “BJP Report Card” that looks into each item in the manifesto and provides results based on facts.
Safety and security
Is your locality mostly peaceful? Do you feel safe and secure?
How are extremist groups (across all religions/political affiliations) dealt with in your state?
Would you consider your leaders (state and center) as terror sympathizers? Are they strong enough to proactively take action against terrorists?
A diverse country like India cannot be harmonious 365 days a year. Conflicts may arise from time to time, which is normal. The media often exaggerates, making every issue seem urgent.
However, the external and internal security of the country should not be ignored or taken lightly by any government or citizen. In today’s world, safety and security are paramount for every country, given the increasing threat of extremism globally. A capable leader must possess the strength and determination to proactively address such challenges.
Communal politics?
Now, this is tricky. India has always been polarized. Religion is what tore India and Pakistan apart. Communal conflicts have been a part of our history, often at a higher intensity than what we observe today. It would be naive to consider polarization as a recent development. The rise of social media over the past decade has simply made us more aware of these issues.
Politicians have played us like puppets since time immemorial by using religion as a string for votes. It is a tool that politicians can easily use to manipulate us. Therefore, I think voters shouldn’t give them that power. We should look at the broader picture and put the political parties to the test based on their achievements, not the petty politics they play.
Personally, I prefer not to look into the communal angle because I have seen both the left and right trying to agitate people in the name of religion. In India, the right is considered pro-Hindu, whereas the left is considered pro-Muslim, and they select and spread news according to that bias. This, in my opinion, creates more polarization. As long as religion exists in India, communalism will exist. When we cease to give it importance, the politicians will stop playing this game.
Conclusion
The checkpoints listed above are my personal guidelines. When each of us works on a checklist that reflects our country’s priorities, we empower ourselves to make informed decisions, ultimately contributing to a brighter future for India. As individuals sharing the same homeland, it’s incumbent upon us to support our nation’s prosperity by voting for strong leaders who align with its progress.
Let’s work together for a better future. Jai Hind!
When will we start looking at each other, not as left or right wing, but as Indians again? We lost ourselves somewhere along the way and fell into the muck head-first that political parties and fanatics laid out for us. They wanted to divide us on the basis of religion and politics. We can safely say now that they have succeeded.
We are more divided than ever before. We look at each other as villains, not citizens of the same soil.
Can we go back to the stage where we all felt like one? Did that phase ever exist? We were probably always this polarized, but the lack of social media helped cover it up.
I have only one dream – that we put our country first, above everything, including religion, caste, ideologies, political leanings, etc. It’s a huge ask. It’s definitely more challenging than spreading hatred. However, it is the need of the hour so our country can progress further.
For India to develop, we should work together. Politicians will not do it, so it’s up to us, the civilians, to make the effort. I hope to see India as a developed and prosperous country before I bid goodbye to this world. One can dream for one’s country, no matter how improbable. However, such dreams can materialize only if we come together as one, forgetting our differences and working towards the common goal, with nothing else to distract us.
When someone tries to separate us, we should look at each other with empathy and understanding. Instead of harboring a victim mentality, we should grow together. We should think, will the country prosper from our hatred and animosity? Is enmity worth it in the long run?
Elections are coming soon. We can expect more divisive politics. Be mindful of the games people play.
Judge not on the basis of what social media algorithms propagate or even what the newspapers or journalists report. Everyone seems biased at the moment. Judge on the basis of your own quality of life, personal experiences, and surroundings. Judge on the basis of your own contributions to the country – did you help in any way? Even maintaining peace and decorum during heights of conflict is a worthy contribution.
Truth be told, there were times I wished there was a law that banned religion-based talks on social media and news channels. If we stopped talking about religion, if we considered each other as humans first, there would undoubtedly be more empathy. But political parties thrive on identity politics. They can win only if religion is mentioned. So, a ban is out of the question. This is true for all major parties in India: BJP (considered pro-Hindu) and Congress (considered pro-Muslim). Everyone has a game to play based on religion, and we foolishly fall for it, fostering hate for one another.
When a religion or caste is constantly criticized, people affiliated with that religion or caste become more polarized. It’s the sad truth of life. Things don’t dramatically reform. It takes understanding, empathy, and kindness to one another to bring about change. Hate, abuse, and shaming do nothing other than deteriorate matters further.
Since childhood, we have been made to recite, “All Indians are our brothers and sisters,” and we have never questioned those words. I hope we return to that state someday, where we can see each other as one, part of the same soil.
An acquaintance recommended “Son of Hamas” to me. As the title clearly gives away, it is a book by the son of a Hamas founding member named Mosab Hassan Yousef, nicknamed the “Green Prince.”
Son of Hamas is a controversial book in that it has Mosab openly criticizing Hamas. He started off as a radicalized youngster, ready to kill Israeli troops for revenge, but soon, his experience over the years with Hamas ended up being an eye-opener. Many Hamas sympathizers consider him a traitor to the Palestinian cause, but he has his reasons. I would suggest getting the book for further details.
Mosab does not in any way undermine the struggle of the Palestinian people. He, in fact, starts the book by narrating the oppression his people face on a day-to-day basis. Your heart aches for the Palestinians after reading his account. He wanted only the best for them, so over time, he started resenting the questionable morality of the extremist group he was affiliated with.
Mosab has been giving several interviews on news channels these days, vociferously lashing out at Hamas. You might find a couple of them on YouTube. His youngest brother, too, left the group recently.
Before I begin, I would like to make my stance clear. I am pro-civilian. I condemn the horrible October 7 attacks that took place in Israel, and I equally condemn the death of innocent civilians in Gaza. Several things can be true at once. I feel incredibly sorry for everyone involved in this mess. A lot of pain, fear, anger, and hatred spanning several years has led everyone to this moment. However, I will not use any excuses to justify the deaths from either side. No one deserves to die in such a cruel way. Personally, I feel any rationalizations and reasonings belittle the suffering of the people going through a loss.
I am also anti-Hamas. I am against their charter that calls for the complete annihilation of Israel. After watching several interviews featuring Hamas leaders, I have come to the conclusion that Gazans deserve better—a life that is peaceful, sustainable, and prosperous, things that Hamas cannot give them.
Disclaimer: If you are pro-Hamas, this page may not be for you. Instead of putting yourself in a sensitive spot, I request you stop reading right here. The quotes on this page are for those who are curious about why Mosab thinks Hamas is neither good for Palestinians nor Israelis. If you have already made up your mind that Hamas is a freedom fighter or resistance movement, I humbly request you to exit this page.
So, let’s get started.
Here are some of the controversial quotes from the book:
Truth and forgiveness are the only solution for the Middle East. The challenge, especially between Israelis and Palestinians, is not to findthe solution. The challenge is to be the first courageous enough to embraceit.
Peaceful coexistence would mean the end of Hamas. From their perspective, the organization could not thrive in a peaceful atmosphere. Other resistance groups also had a stake in the continuation of conflict. It’s hard to achieve peace in a place where so many have different goals and interests.
And it would be many painful years before they would begin to understand that Hamas was not an organization as most people understood organizations, with rules and a hierarchy. It was a ghost. An idea. You can’t destroy an idea; you can only stimulate it. Hamas was like a flatworm. Cut off its head, and it just grew another.
Even as a young boy, I saw the PLO as corrupt and self-serving. Its leaders sent people, many of whom were just teenagers, to carry out one or two high-profile terrorist attacks a year in order to justify fund-raising for the struggle against Israel. The young feda’iyeen were little more than fuel to stoke the fires of anger and hatred and to keep the donations flowing into the personal bank accounts of PLO leaders.
I understood that we all share the same common enemies: greed, pride, and all the bad ideas and the darkness of the devil that live inside us.
I asked myself what Palestinians would do if Israel disappeared—if everything not only went back to the way it was before 1948 but if all the Jewish people abandoned the Holy Land and were scattered again. And for the first time, I knew the answer. We would still fight. Over nothing. Over a girl without a head scarf. Over who was toughest and most important. Over who would make the rules and who would get the best seat.
Tit for tat, the reciprocal killing continued. An eye for an eye—and there was no shortage of eyes.
My father didn’t care if Hamas fielded candidates. He just didn’t want to fill the ticket with high-profile leaders like himself who were loved and admired by the people. If that happened, he feared, Hamas would win. And he knew a Hamas victory could prove to be a disaster for the people. Events proved him right.
As I sat on the plane, I thought about what I had just left behind, both good and bad—my family and friends as well as the endless bloodshed, waste, and futility. It took a while to get used to the idea of being really free—free to be myself, free of clandestine meetings and Israeli prisons, free from always looking over my shoulder. It was weird. And wonderful.
As long as we continue to search for enemies anywhere but inside ourselves, there will always be a Middle East problem. Religion is not the solution. Freedom from oppression will not resolve things either. It is a cliché, but it’s still true: hurt people, unless they are healed, hurt people.
The events of this last year have shown me again that friendship and love are stronger than agency, policy, and tradition. No matter what happens, I will continue to speak out with firm conviction that unconditional love for the “other” side and forgiveness for those who have hurt us are the only principles that will lead to healing and a better way for us all.
It’s a trend seen worldwide – to blame the Indian Prime Minister and the country for its alleged mistreatment of Indian Muslims. I say “alleged” because certain journalists present the scenario as such – that all Muslims are being targeted and attacked. This is absurd for someone like me, who stays in the country. I have had NRIs ask me if there are attacks happening 24/7. I had to explain that, no, you won’t see bodies strewn around like in actual war-torn places.
The journalists should stop portraying the situation as such and misleading our diaspora worldwide into believing we are a nation that is constantly rioting.
Yes, some Hindu extremists are attacking Muslims, but then some Muslim extremists are attacking Hindus as well. There is bound to be some form of extremism and violence where there is religion. This is true for all countries. Not everything is Islamophobia. Not everything is Hinduphobia. We should stop flashing our victim cards and start focusing on finding practical solutions to the actual problem India is facing – our disunity.
In India, we have seen religious polarization increasing over the years. Blaming Modi has not made the situation better for Indian Muslims. In fact, the divide has increased. A major culprit is social media. It is now for everyone to see that pointing fingers is not improving the situation. In fact, it ends up agitating the ones who are big supporters of the Prime Minister and may even lead them to become more hostile toward Indian Muslims. These are the people you need to pacify and not agitate further. Similarly, viewing controversial content like the BBC documentary can upset the ones who are not Modi supporters. They will most likely feel more bitterness towards Modi, even if they have never faced discrimination. This, in turn, would make them feel more polarized, distancing themselves further away from fellow citizens who support him. Totally counterproductive. So why are channels like the BBC working so hard to increase this polarization?
Follow Peace, Not Hatred
Modi has been reaching out to Muslim communities to bridge the divide. This is what the country currently needs. All communities should work towards creating a better India. We should hold talks, discussions, and campaigns and use social media to propagate peace, not hatred. We are one, and we should start behaving as one.
Hatemongers on social media are not looking for resolutions, only drama. They use language that is provocative, unfriendly, angry, and violent. Such people are rarely peaceful or solution-oriented. The first thing citizens need to do is unfollow such accounts on social media. Do not share their accusatory content on your feed, either, even if they support your own community. The more hatred you see on your feed and the more you engage with such posts, the more polarized you will feel over time.
Using Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
In my previous post, I talked about Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Wouldn’t the world be better if countries and communities just sat together, lay down their resources, focused on needs, and came to an amicable resolution? But in real life, we resort to violent and judgmental communication like blaming and pointing fingers. No one has become better with violent, critical language. In fact, people become more defensive and non-receptive to what you are saying when you use an accusatory tone.
Focusing on Needs
So, what “needs” should people focus on during conflict resolution? The main thing to understand here is that people who conflict are operating from a place of fear and not anger. People attached to their religion are afraid their community will face discrimination or violence from “others.” When we think about it this way, things make more sense. Fear evokes empathy as opposed to anger. So why not concentrate on talking about that fear and request ways to make each other feel safe? What does the other party want to hear? Listen and give them that assurance. This assurance should be given by authoritative figures. Someone their community will listen to and follow.
How better would the situation be if each warring nation and community acknowledged each other’s fears, empathized, and comforted each other? “You have nothing to fear from us. We treat you as our own.” This phrase can calm the agitated and anxious, provided all communities sincerely work towards it, finding ways to gain each other’s trust.
Avoiding “Us” Vs. “Others” Mentality
It is always “us” vs. “others” instead of “Indians.” This is where the problem lies. To shift our focus outside of the community and to focus on nationality is proving difficult.
If we continue to have this “us” vs. “others” mentality, we will not be able to address our disparities efficiently. For any kind of conflict to be resolved, that feeling of “one” should be inculcated first. Maybe the communities in India should go through counseling sessions like how couples do when they face marital issues. Therapy is the need of the hour. But here, each individual will need to take on the therapist’s role and advise their near and dear ones.
Am I glad the BBC documentary is banned in India? Absolutely. We do not need more agitations or religion-based violence here. We need our people to unite and make India a peaceful place. This cannot be done with hurtful words and allegations from ourselves or the (actual) “others.” We require our communities to actively connect as one. Only then can we work towards building a better India.
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