In the wake of the Kashmiri lock down post abrogation of Article 370 and 35 a, my pakistani cousin soobiya posted a heinous picture with the caption 'Eid Mubarak. The baqreid festival being on 12th August she had chosen this picture where several Pakistanis are slaughtering a goat on the indian tricolor spread on the ground.
I wrote to her:
I find this post in bad taste soobiya. Not that I am a jingoistic nationalist but I would never disrespect any other country's national flag like this. Looks like you have to prove something to this gang in your country for whom loving pakistan and hating india is equivalent. In that case you need a few more lessons in liberalism my sister.
Believe me if a right wing fb friend in India would do this to the parcham e sitara o helaal of pakistan I would chide him the same. What does the greeting of Eid Mubarak have to do with hurling insults? Aren't you diluting your pure spirituality of qurbaani with war, politics and territorial disputes? Between this morass of India and Pakistan divide aggravated by religious bigotry what do innocent girls like you and I do who are the same blood but could not grow up together despite being first cousins?
Let us live in Manto's toba tak singh. We can't. At least we die there. Where Rumi asked the soul to meet. Beyond right and wrong.
Soobiya replies
Agreed with all ur feeling sister ..but belive me its really pain full to us as well that all muslim are suffering in such islamic festival and what did hindu do with sucrifice animals ... only muslim and Pakistani artist going to suffer ...and we r not in the favour or war but the Modi ...
Any how it hurts....just for u ....i will delete this post
I write back to her in turn:
Sobia Ayaz
Thanks for understanding. I reciprocate in turn. We in india are also pained by the plight of the Kashmiri people under coercive militarization. I am equally pained at the displacement and derangement of the tribals in many states. In the end it's not about Hindoo or Muslim as projected by the British. Its about land, rivers, forests and mountains and their ownership for crony capitalism.
Don't confuse your aversion to Modi's political ideology with hating India. Modi is not India. Neither it was ever Nehru or Indira. No body wins by a hundred percent vote. That is the beauty of democracy. While not every Indian voted for Modi, our tricolor illuminates the heart and soul of every indian.
In fact I doubt if Modi and associates would feel as hurt as I do by this picture. More than the tricolor they revere the saffron flag they hoist on Independence day at their Nagpur RSS office.
