I had an interesting conversation recently, and while I don't think I was able to convince the person I was talking to about the validity of my point-of-view, I felt it was important to put both the point of views down here for all and sundry to ponder/comment upon.
The conversation started with me making a random remark about how India (like China) needed to implement or enforce some population control measures. To this the person replied, that it wasn't possible, because the Muslim population in the country wouldn't agree. (yes.."huh?" was my reaction too)
That remark, set us off on a completely different thread of conversation. The person in question opined that the Muslim minority in India was actually "paid" (though not sure by whom) to have a larger family. He believed the intent was to eventually outnumber the "Hindu" majority in India. He further claimed, that he foresaw a future where these "Muslims" would eventually take over by force that which was not rightfully theirs (land, businesses etc) , simply because they could (they being a majority in that future). Finally, he claimed, he already saw that happening to a smaller extent, when the police themselves felt they could not react to a crime committing Muslim in the same manner as they would to any other person, for fear of a communal backlash. Further, he says, the Muslim kids are also budding truants who regularly deal in petty crimes like not paying bus fares etc. and would eventually grow up into organized crime.
Sadly,this religion biased opinion is the flavor of the day, even in 21st Century India, even among the "learned" few, thanks to our religion tinged politics. The self proclaimed "defenders" of Hinduism and Islam, the saffron brigade and the mullahs, poisoning the minds of the people and widening the chasm into which I'm afraid we all will fall one day.
My opinion regarding the above statements is a) they are not based on any facts and therefore are moot b) they are, if propagated to the younger generations, the seeds of discontent that will result in fruits of contrition
Let us take on this argument one point at a time, firstly I agree its difficult to enforce a population control law in India, however, it is not because a particular sect does not want to or is paid to reproduce or whatever, it is because, simply put, India is a democracy (unlike China), and hence any enforcement of law is violating the most basic right of the people of the country. Also, the various religions (not just the one), are traditionally opposed to birth control, they believe kids are a gift from god, and hence any form of enforcement would lead to hurting the religious sentiments of too many.
What the government can do however, imho, is to provide incentives to people with lesser kids (free higher education for the kids etc), this will (hopefully) goad the people into thinking positively with regards to population control.
Islam is the second largest (if not already the largest) religious sect in the world. That Muslims will one day outnumber the Hindus or any other religious sect in India is a given. It is therefore all the more important to quash any communal feelings right now, at its root, before it grows into something which no one can manage.The answer is not to quash the current minority or alienate them but to learn to live together harmoniously
Kids playing truant is not necessarily an indication of future criminal activities, it usually is just kids being kids. At some point of time or another, we have all tried to "get away" by not paying the bus or train fare, just to experience the adrenaline rush we felt when doing something naughty. While we always knew it was wrong, as kids we needed to explore possibilities to grow and that's all it usually was. And its not a particular caste or kind of kid doing this, its kids in general.
I have been fortunate to have friends belonging to different castes (people I studied with in school, hung-out with in college or worked with in a professional environment), and speaking for them, I would say they are not the least bit criminal, they act or behave in pretty much the same way as I do and their goals in life are pretty similar to mine.
I believe, education not religion is the basis of future life, I'm not an Atheist, but I believe all religions in the world have the same basic message, that of peace not war. I believe people around the world need a lesson in co-existence. I believe the real war is with the Enemy Within, the foe that goads man against man, the small/big part within us that believes that our religion (whatever it may be), is "the best", or the "one true religion", that is the part of our soul that we must overcome. Once we win over the Enemy within, maybe we will find no enemies without?
P.S. - I came across a great blog, that basically mirrors my thoughts on religion. Here is the link to that. http://righttowrite.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-believe-in-keeping-it-personal.html
The conversation started with me making a random remark about how India (like China) needed to implement or enforce some population control measures. To this the person replied, that it wasn't possible, because the Muslim population in the country wouldn't agree. (yes.."huh?" was my reaction too)
That remark, set us off on a completely different thread of conversation. The person in question opined that the Muslim minority in India was actually "paid" (though not sure by whom) to have a larger family. He believed the intent was to eventually outnumber the "Hindu" majority in India. He further claimed, that he foresaw a future where these "Muslims" would eventually take over by force that which was not rightfully theirs (land, businesses etc) , simply because they could (they being a majority in that future). Finally, he claimed, he already saw that happening to a smaller extent, when the police themselves felt they could not react to a crime committing Muslim in the same manner as they would to any other person, for fear of a communal backlash. Further, he says, the Muslim kids are also budding truants who regularly deal in petty crimes like not paying bus fares etc. and would eventually grow up into organized crime.
Sadly,this religion biased opinion is the flavor of the day, even in 21st Century India, even among the "learned" few, thanks to our religion tinged politics. The self proclaimed "defenders" of Hinduism and Islam, the saffron brigade and the mullahs, poisoning the minds of the people and widening the chasm into which I'm afraid we all will fall one day.
My opinion regarding the above statements is a) they are not based on any facts and therefore are moot b) they are, if propagated to the younger generations, the seeds of discontent that will result in fruits of contrition
Let us take on this argument one point at a time, firstly I agree its difficult to enforce a population control law in India, however, it is not because a particular sect does not want to or is paid to reproduce or whatever, it is because, simply put, India is a democracy (unlike China), and hence any enforcement of law is violating the most basic right of the people of the country. Also, the various religions (not just the one), are traditionally opposed to birth control, they believe kids are a gift from god, and hence any form of enforcement would lead to hurting the religious sentiments of too many.
What the government can do however, imho, is to provide incentives to people with lesser kids (free higher education for the kids etc), this will (hopefully) goad the people into thinking positively with regards to population control.
Islam is the second largest (if not already the largest) religious sect in the world. That Muslims will one day outnumber the Hindus or any other religious sect in India is a given. It is therefore all the more important to quash any communal feelings right now, at its root, before it grows into something which no one can manage.The answer is not to quash the current minority or alienate them but to learn to live together harmoniously
Kids playing truant is not necessarily an indication of future criminal activities, it usually is just kids being kids. At some point of time or another, we have all tried to "get away" by not paying the bus or train fare, just to experience the adrenaline rush we felt when doing something naughty. While we always knew it was wrong, as kids we needed to explore possibilities to grow and that's all it usually was. And its not a particular caste or kind of kid doing this, its kids in general.
I have been fortunate to have friends belonging to different castes (people I studied with in school, hung-out with in college or worked with in a professional environment), and speaking for them, I would say they are not the least bit criminal, they act or behave in pretty much the same way as I do and their goals in life are pretty similar to mine.
I believe, education not religion is the basis of future life, I'm not an Atheist, but I believe all religions in the world have the same basic message, that of peace not war. I believe people around the world need a lesson in co-existence. I believe the real war is with the Enemy Within, the foe that goads man against man, the small/big part within us that believes that our religion (whatever it may be), is "the best", or the "one true religion", that is the part of our soul that we must overcome. Once we win over the Enemy within, maybe we will find no enemies without?
P.S. - I came across a great blog, that basically mirrors my thoughts on religion. Here is the link to that. http://righttowrite.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-believe-in-keeping-it-personal.html
3 comments:
After reading your article, it reminded me of all the times I used to end up having long discussions, just like I guess you had with this friend of yours.
Just my two cents on providing incentives to people with lesser kids - incentive approach might run into complications similar to the ones we have for quotas/reservations for SC/ST/OBC. Complications could be on various levels such as - what is the right max-number of kids; people trying to resort to "undesired" workarounds to stay under the max-number; how do we track the actual-number vs the reported-number; where does the money for these incentives come from (higher taxes?); the list could go on...
If we talk about free higher education for the kids, it should be for all. You are right, it is education and only education, which will fix most, if not all the problems you have enumerated. By education, I mean not only reading books or learning skills, but also knowing what/why something is being learned, how to apply it, how to make the right choices, knowing right from wrong, etc.
I totally agree with your point that population control is one thing and being tolerant towards other people's beliefs is another thing. As you pointed out, it is so very true that growing up with friends belonging to different beliefs, cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, etc really keeps one from having bigoted point of views. In the context of being tolerant and understanding towards others, I would like to point to "http://ingeb.org/spiritua/makemeac.html" for a version of "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace", which has been my favorite since I was a kid. The whole world is a neighborhood and as we Indians like to believe, every neighbor is an extension of our family
Well said. Am glad my post was linked to this write-up.
Incentives for smaller families is a good idea, but like "anonymous" pointed out, it needs serious consideration.
Good words.
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