by INDRADEEP BHATTACHARYYA
Sometime around June, my wife and I went to check out an upcoming housing project in suburban Kolkata being developed by a renowned builder as we were looking for a larger apartment. After explaining the USPs of the project and taking us around the site, the smartly dressed marketing manager offered us a cup of coffee in his swanky office and said reassuringly, “We are only entertaining cultured and educated clients. And strictly no Muslims.”
It took me less than half a second to decide that I had no further business there. As my wife and I exchanged glances and left his office without a single word, I noticed that the other family that was waiting for its turn to speak to the manager also got up from the sofa and left the office ahead of us, past a life-size idol of Lord Ganesha decorated with multicoloured Chinese lamps.
Outside the gate, as I was unlocking my car, I noticed the family again. They too were getting into their vehicle. An elderly lady, possibly the mother of either the man or the woman, sat inside the car in her hijab.
This was not the Uttar Pradesh of today. This was not post-Godhra Gujarat. This was not any BJP-ruled state. This was a state where the government is ‘guilty’ of ‘minority appeasement’. This was Kolkata, 2021, barely a month after the Trinamool Congress’ thumping victory in the state polls. I hung my head in shame; I felt like apologising to them, but as is our wont, I slipped into the insulated air-conditioned comfort of my car with its windows rolled up and ‘moved on’.
Later that evening, I asked myself, even if I did, on whose behalf should I have apologised to the young couple looking to set up a home? Yes, maybe on behalf of the marketing guy who was possibly obeying the instructions of his boss.
But, could I have apologised on behalf of the prime minister of our sovereign socialist secular democratic republic who had made a statement that those who were indulging in anti-CAA protests “can be identified by their clothes”? Could I have apologised on behalf of everyone in this country who held Muslims responsible for the spread of COVID-19 last year and looked the other way when the Kumbh Mela became a super-spreader in 2021? Could I have apologised on behalf of the Indian home minister who called Bangladeshi immigrants “termites”? Could I have apologised on behalf of my ‘friends’ who spew venom every day against Muslims on WhatsApp groups? Could I have apologised to them on behalf of the entire system which allows right-wing zealots openly vilifying Muslim and calling for genocides to go scot-free in this country?
Exactly how many apologies did I, as an upper-caste Hindu, owe that Muslim family in the India of 2021? I wondered.
The incident came back to my mind as I learnt about widespread outrage on social media and some public discourse over a section of Indian Muslims reportedly celebrating Pakistan’s thumping victory over Team India on Sunday night in the T20 Cricket World Cup. It is learnt that the Kashmir Police has charged some local students under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for raising anti-India slogans and celebrating Pakistan’s win. In Rajasthan, a school teacher was expelled from her job because she expressed joy at Pakistan’s win.
The Wire for more
(Thanks to Razi Azmi)