MY LOST BROTHER.

On a lazy Sunday morning, my dad and I sat sipping a cup of cocoa in the silence of our veranda as we discussed the latest news and debates that were born through the course of the week that had passed. Somehow, the discussion arrived on religion. My family believes in god, but not in the practices we engage in under his name. `Son, God has no religion but humans do’, said Dad. That brought to my mind an interesting question: what would life be life if I were a Hindu (as I am) in Pakistan or a Muslim in India?

In India, 14% of the population is Muslim as compared to the 80% who are Hindus. Ironically, the first rulers to coin the term `Hindustan’ were followers of Islam. Before the Mughals established a centralized empire here, India, had no history. Our constitution uphold the fundamental rights of an individual without discrimination. Alas, the evidence on ground suggests otherwise. 2002, 2000 Muslims massacred in Godhra. 1994, names of 138,000  Muslim voters wiped off electoral sheets in Hyderabad. Today, less than 3% of India’s civil servants are Muslim. Every small hamlet of India has Hindu-Muslim conflicts. Communal violence by bodies such as the `Shiv Sena’ and political propaganda of the RSS stand as a threat to the representation and mere existence of Muslims. We have had key figures in Politics who have been Muslim. Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam for example, was one of India’s most widely followed and respected individuals. Yet, as a Muslim in this Hindu heartland, history scares me and the future is as hazy as the winter fog in my nation’s capital.

On the other side of the border, Hindus in Pakistan face worse, if not similar conditions. Hindus face violence and atrocities in Pakistan as revenge for what Muslims face in India. Hindus are mocked for worshiping cows. Up until 2000, Hindus were not allowed to enroll in the army. More than 4 million Hindus live in Pakistan and each one of them is questioned over their loyalty to the state. Going through articles written by some of these Pakistani Hindus exposes one to such harsh realities. Something as small as a cricket match between India and Pakistan can spark a conflict. Pakistani Christians are never asked to prove their loyalty during a Pakistan- Australia game, but Hindus during an Indo-Pak game are held by the sword.

1947, we parted ways. 1947, we closed the doors for unification. 1947, we divided ourselves geographically and spiritually. Here I am, sipping cocoa and debating the events of the world with my `baba’ while a young Pakistani does the same with his `abba’ under the scorching heat of Lahore, but, I wonder, will the 4 of us ever drink cocoa together? He is after all, my lost brother.

-          Atharva Deshmukh

21/2/16