INDIA INTOLERANT OF MUSLIMS? RUBBISH

    EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST ARE MOST   

INTOLERANT OF INDIAN MUSLIMS

Amidst a fake atmosphere of Intolerance of Muslims being created in India in the last one month, I must pen my own version of what I, a Muslim lady, living and working in India feel like. This has been due from me since sometime. Now, I feel the water has gone above the head and I too need to share my views. So, here it is.

I am a Muslim lady, a practicing dermatologist by profession and I run my

own high- end laser skin clinic, in Bangalore. I was brought up in Kuwait

and at the age of 18, came to India to pursue medical education. I decided

to stay back in India while almost all my friends left India for greener

pastures. Not even once did I consider that being a Muslim could create a

problem for me, as my sense of nationalism held me back to my roots and so

here I am, serving my country since the last 20 years.

I studied in Manipal, Karnataka. I lived alone like all students do. While I

was in college, all my professors were Hindus and almost all the people who

I would interact with were Hindus as well. There is not a single incident

when anyone showed partiality towards me based on my gender or religion.

Every single one of them was kind and in fact sometimes, I felt as though

they made an extra effort to make feel like I was one of them. I am ever so

grateful to all of them for making my life in Manipal as comfortable as it

could get.

After leaving Manipal, I relocated to Bangalore with my husband. By then I

had been married and so we decided to make our life in Bangalore. There is a

reason, why we chose Bangalore and here is where I will talk about my

husband. He is a Muslim too, with a very typical first name, Iqbal. He is an

aerospace engineer with MTech from IIT-Chennai and PhD from Germany. His

profession takes him to the most highly secured organizations of India, like

DRDO, NAL, HAL, GTRE, ISRO, IISc, BHEL; you name it and be assured that he

has visited all of them without any hassles. Not even once he has been

stripped off or asked for special security clearance or any such bias has

been shown towards him. And NO, things have not changed even after Modi govt came into power. 

Things are in fact more disciplined and streamlined even at government organizations, from what I hear from my husband. As a matter of fact, Iqbal has been completely stripped each time he traveled to US and was

under secret surveillance while he was doing his PhD in Germany, after the

9/11 attacks on US. We literally received a letter from the German

government that he has been cleared and is not anymore under suspicion. Talk

about Muslim paranoia! Its very understandable too due to the current

situations in the world. My husband is highly respected and loved by the

people he works with, and all of them happen to be Hindus. None of this has

changed even in recent times, so Intolerance is just a word for us on a

practical basis.

I opened my clinic last year, just before Modi govt came into power. I am a

law-abiding citizen and I file my taxes like service tax on a monthly basis.

I have never indulged in any activities, which could put me into any kind of

trouble. I am comfortably running my clinic, which is doing very well,

thanks to all my patients and clients, who all happen to be Hindus. A

handful of my patients are from other communities. My entire staff is Hindu,

and believe me when I say that they take better care of my clinic than I

could any day! I interact with bankers, government officers and with so many

people on a daily basis. Not even once in the last 20 years, did I have the

need to even think of leaving India! My entire family lives abroad and all

that I need to do is just decide that I don’t want to stay here. I have open

offers of opening clinic in Kuwait, which would fetch me huge amount of

revenue and yet why should I stay in India, if I am not happy and if I am

facing any kind of bias?

In Kuwait, we are considered as NOBODY. Yes, despite being in Kuwait for the

last 40 years or so, my family is still considered as expatriates, with no

rights. We need to renew our resident permit periodically and the laws there

constantly keep changing, making the life of expatriates only harder. We

have to strictly comply with their rules and laws, which is fine but we are

openly discriminated. They consider Asians as third grade people, while

giving preference to their citizens, Arabs and Whites. We are not unhappy

there but we have no sense of belonging either. At least, I never had and

never have even when I visit Kuwait now. We are Muslims in a Muslim country,

and yet we are considered as Indians with no special regards. 

I figured long ago, that India is the only country, where I will have a sense of

belonging. You are an Indian-American in US, Indian-Canadian in Canada,

Indian-British in UK and so on but only in India you are an Indian. Period.

Rest can say whatever they want and defend their choices but this is a fact.

You can only feel at home, in your own home. I have lived in different

places and everywhere I stand out but in India. Nobody in India asks me,

 ‘Are you an Indian?’, and this is what makes all the difference.

So, what are these celebrities ranting about? An ordinary citizen like my

husband and I are not facing any such issues, then what have they faced? Why is Amir Khan’s wife, Kiran Rao feeling so afraid? They are prominent people,living in posh localities, their children study in the best of schools and

they have personal security escorting them at all times. 

I travel alone everyday and yet don’t feel afraid. I want to know as a responsible citizen, from Amir Khan and Shahrukh Khan as well, why did they make such irresponsible statements and spoil the image of the 13 crores of Muslims in India? Who the hell are they to make public statements based on their personal perception? Who gave them the liberty to tarnish the image of my country on an International level, that Muslims are not safe in India? How

dare Pakistan invites them to stay in Pakistan? I feel hurt when I read the

statements of my Hindu friends on Muslims. I feel afraid that they are being

pushed to the limit and the tolerance and acceptance that I have enjoyed all

these years, might just vanish! I feel afraid that my own people might shun

me and I may get alienated in my own country, because of a handful of

ungrateful bunch of fools! How long can I expect majority of Hindus to

tolerate this nuisance? It’s high time that Muslims understand the value of

the freedom and acceptance that we enjoy in India and if not, I pray that my

Hindu fellow citizens continue to keep their patience.

Abida Hasan
Bengaluru