I just hate my forefathers !!!

It has been quite a while since I wrote something different and wow, it really feels great to come out of the never-ending series shell.

2008 according to me is one of the worst years for India in terms of deaths through terrorist attacks and communal riots. It has often made me thinking as to why people actually do this; what pleasure do they get by killing so many; what lesson are they trying to teach and most importantly whom are they trying to teach? To top it all, now, we had a stampede in Jodhpur that killed 147. If my facts are right, this is the second stampede this year at a Hindu shrine. Why is it that people are so disorganized when it comes to religion? We have processions on the road that blocks traffic, we have frequent communal riots, we still have sacrifices (humans or animals-both are uncalled for) and people queuing up until the roads to have a glimpse of their ‘God’, all in the name of religion. We donate crores on beautifying the place of worship, but the same hand shivers when asked to donate for a relief fund. Any idea on how much the annual income of the Tirupati temple is? More than 5 billion Indian Rupees. India is a developing country, huh?

Personally, I am not an idol worshipper and so I have tried my best to stay away from places that has its presence. But to wherever I have been, people, however literate they are, behave so ignorantly at these places. The public, at the religious sites, are so unruly that it is only justifiable to have a security to manage them (referring to the Guruvayoor temple in Kerala, Sabarimala in Kerala and the Tirupati-Thirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh). When Muslims and Christians can go quietly and come out the same way from their respective religious places, why on earth cant the Hindus exhibit a decent human behavior? Why is there even a specific dress code for devotees to enter the temple premises? For example, men are supposed to be topless and women are not supposed to wear anything that looks like pants (even the bottom of a salwar) when they go to Guruvayoor temple. Even more atrocious is the rule that girls aren’t supposed to enter temples when they are menstruating. If God makes women like that, why is there a resistant from his side to attend devotees that way?

All these years, I had been having high regard towards Muslims, probably because of the fact that 15 years of my life was spent in a Muslim country and also for the reason that they believe only in an ultimate power called Allah, which has no shape or form. But off late, it has been very upsetting that only Muslims were responsible for all the world’s recent terrorist’s attacks. They are degrading themselves by doing so and also by calling themselves a minority. They have that undying ‘spirit of Islam’, wherever they go and do just about anything to defend their community. Only wish they had used all these spirits for the betterment of their so- called community.

Everything seems so dignified and disciplined within Christianity, but again as I put it, the discipline is only within. There are communities among themselves who find it hard to exist with each other in harmony. It’s a fact that they have opened missionaries, charities and orphanages, but why does this section always remain adamant on converting its inmates to Christianity. Even in the schools they manage, their prayers are forced on all the students, which they easily put under the bracket ‘daily routines’. Why don’t they have a generalized pledge in their schools, which everyone could follow? And most importantly, why do they claim that theirs is the only religion and the rest are just derivatives from them?

This ranting of mine would never end here and its not that these are the only religions that has flaws, we all know what happened with the Sikh community recently. Except for the frequent festivals and riots, none of these religions even find their place in the newspapers these days for any of their activities. Do we really need these religions for our existence? Or have we created them to kill one another?

I am not against religion nor am I trying to bring out the agnostic in me. But I condemn all those who create India a difficult country to live in. These religions, which I believe, are a set of tenets aimed only at dividing the country and its people. The British back then, were smart enough in realizing this fact and they brought in the ‘Divide and Rule Policy’. Yeah, we did get divided and now it has become difficult to rule us. I hate my forefathers to have created these many religions. I seriously do !

Disclaimer : I know I must have hurt a couple of people on their religious sentiments. I am not apologetic since these are strictly my views and if anyone feels bad, it’s their own problem.

Btw, Happy birthday, oh Father of the Nation!!!