New Year ruminations: Where Ishwar and Allah can’t be neighbours

I am struggling to respond to my editor’s demand to share my yearend thoughts. After two days, the sun has come out of the clouds and the desk I’m writing on has brightened and warmed too. But the gloom within is denser.

The day of Christmas has passed. Images and videos of Hindus disrupting Christmas celebrations are on my timeline. Young Hindus dancing and singing bhajans in a frenzy in front of a church; goons stripping a delivery boy of his Santa dress; Hindu volunteers tearing, taking off Christmas posters from the walls of a school and terrorising children...

There are many more such. From different parts of India. A church in Meerut closing its doors to visitors, unsure who among them might enter with an intent to vandalise.

Our prime minister expresses grief over violence against Christians outside India, but his people know that it is permitted in India. Indians, especially Hindus, know it well that their prime minister lies; he indulges in half-truths and dog whistles or open hate speech, and his people believe they have a right to violence against Christians and Muslims.

Thinking about all this, I read a circular of the Delhi government asking schools to be strict about not enrolling ‘illegal Bangladeshi’ children. Friend Shuddhabrata Sengupta speaks for me when he writes: ‘The Aam Aadmi Party government’s targeting of children as “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingya” — in order to deny them admission in Delhi schools — is the most disgusting display of prejudice and xenophobic hatred. Shame on each and every member of the Aam Aadmi Party, on their MLAs and ministers, and every one of their supporters. I cannot imagine the level of depravity that a political party must descend to in order to be able to formulate such anti-human policies."

Can there be anything more depraved and inhuman than not allowing a child to enter school since she does not have the required papers? But we can be sure that this circular has not stirred the conscience of our Hindu society. It’ll be justified in the name of national security.

We are being emptied of our humanity. Falsity and duplicity now define us as a society. I saw celebratory comments about The Satanic Verses finally being seen on the shelves in book shops.

Those hailing it have been rejecting manuscripts that can embarrass the regime, works critical of its ideology. Leading publishers advise writers to edit out parts that may ‘lead to trouble’ and a legal vetting of essays and books has become an essential part of the protocol of publishing.

The Indian edition of books on certain topics often leave out things their international editions have. So, who are we trying to fool by boasting about the appearance of The Satanic Verses in Indian book stores?

Speak to filmmakers and you’ll know that they have to be very careful while choosing names for their characters. Conferences of vice-chancellors are addressed by RSS ideologues. Colleges and universities have opened gaushalas to purify the learning environment. I’m told by friends that the ‘medicine for the street’ programme aimed at homeless people is closing soon as the leading philanthropic corporate entity for the programme has decided not to support entities politically blacklisted by this government.

Apoorvanand teaches Hindi at Delhi University