Thank you my fellow Indians

I’m an atheist by choice but a Muslim by birth and have hence borne discrimination multiple times throughout my life. Over the years, it has become a part of life and I have learnt to live with it, I learnt to buy my peace with money and acquired indifference.

But after the last few days, I feel hopeful again. Even though this may not mean much politically, largely thanks to an inept and much-maligned opposition, it feels so heartening to see tens of thousands of citizens, especially young people, coming out on the streets. I want to say ‘Thank You’. Thank you to all the people who sacrificed their emotions, time and energy to protest the CAB and NRC because you thought they are unfair, inhuman, that they are against the concept of ‘India’.

But let me also use this opportunity to draw your attention to something else, something about how such discrimination has always existed. Even today, my home isn’t in my name as the building had a meeting early on where they had announced that they wouldn’t ‘allow’ Muslims. I had to wait years to marry the girl I love for she happened to be Hindu. The office of the Startup of which I was the CEO, wasn’t in my name. My mother, who played a vital role in bringing the ban on Triple Talaq via the Supreme Court, still stays in a home in her Hindu husband’s name. My cousin has been rejected from 8 homes in Bombay in the past month alone, agents have suggested she calls herself by a Hindu name while talking to landlords. Somewhere, deep within, while admiring all those who went to the CAB protests from a distance, I became more aware of the fear within me in going there myself. I have detailed more discriminatory experiences from my life in an earlier (very long) post here: https://www.facebook.com/Arastuz/posts/1612444955441328.

Having said all of this, do note that I am an educated, upper-middle class, privileged Muslim who has never suffered direct damage to life or property because of religious violence. I’m a Muslim who didn’t migrate from another country, who shall have no problem proving Indian ancestry and who shall most likely never be put in a detention camp or evicted from the nation.

But the point I’m trying to make is, until now, right-wing fascists have been content with keeping laws clean while ensuring discrimination through deeply entrenched societal practices. The current two fascists are just bold enough to even put it on paper. Now that you have taken a stand against it, my plea to you is to notice and protest wherever you see it. Have your ordinary neighbour know that you are fine having a Muslim tenant, have your friends know that you dislike our fascist rulers for their divisive policies, have your families know that you are not okay when they make jokes stereotyping ‘Mohmeddans’, tell your cab driver that it is fine to take the shorter route home even though it passes through a Muslim area, question your parents when they ask you to get any prospective spouse except a Muslim or a Dalit, fight the next time your Facebook friend equates Muslims with Pakistan, educate your acquaintances the next time they vote for these guys with such numbers that they pass such bills unchecked.

And this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t criticize Muslims when you feel they’re doing something wrong. Criticize the Muslims who become terrorists, criticize the Muslims who are regressive and patriarchal. Put them on trial and punish them, but do so because they committed a crime and not because they are Muslim, that is not so far and must never be - a crime.

I have a limited Facebook reach and this post is a drop in the ocean. Moreover, my friends warn me about writing such posts and I feel concerned as well. But the past few days have given me hope. And so I am writing this with the audacious intent of trying to reach, trying to influence as many of you as possible.

Once again, thank you for your empathy and humanity, thank you for making me feel less alone, thank you for reminding me that this is my country too, and that I’m living in it with people like you!