Wednesday, December 03, 2008

"Unity in Diversity" : an endangered phrase

This very phrase has brought pride in every Indian child’s face as he/she read it in their social science text books in their primary class. How every parent and teacher proudly teaches the children about the Indianness despite varying cultures, languages.

But this phrase seems to be in danger as has been brought out blatantly after these Mumbai blasts. I did not know ATS Chief Hemant Karkare was a Gujarati, till Narendra Modi told us or the presence of Thackeray in Vijay Salaskar’s funeral and the fiasco of Karnataka/Kerala government over Manjor Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Did these guys who belong to police/army/navy/NSG did ever think ever think on these lines before they went to Maharashtra which belongs to Mumbaikars when they were called on duty ?

I am ashamed of myself when I watch this drama and with the world media around the image that is being reflected about our country. Initially, they tried to divide us as upper caste, OBC etc and gained the vote banks. Next religion wise we were divided. Now they are dividing us regionally. Are these politicians any less cunning than the East India Company that came centuries back and divided us on these very same lines.