Encourage Inter-Religious Marriages: An Open Letter To PM Modi
By Ankur Betageri
02 October, 2014
Countercurrents.org
Dear Mr Prime Minister,
I am sure you will agree that one of the biggest challenges for India in the 21st century is to maintain cordial and peaceful relations with Pakistan. Historically a state has always avoided conflict with another state by developing marriage alliances. I therefore request you Sir to please encourage marriages between Indians and Pakistanis, especially between Indian Hindus and Pakistani Muslims. I am confident that inter-national and inter-religious marriages would bring down the tension between the two countries drastically and create an atmosphere of peace and understanding necessary to solve the issue of Kashmir.
In India some people who call themselves nationalists are involved in the anti-national activity of breaking India into two religious factions. The Muslim population of this country, which, according to the National Sample Survey Report (2009-2010), is the poorest and the one with the lowest standard of living is being accused of the imaginary crime of Love Jihad. Those who accuse the Muslims of waging Love Jihad – many of whom are your allies – also talk about creating a Hindu Rashtra. This, Sir, is against the Constitution of India which clearly states that India is a secular country and religion can play no role in its functioning. While there is no Love Jihad, Sir, there is indeed a real jihad, but until the NDA leaders stop talking about creating the Hindu Rashtra, which the Constitution of the country will never allow, we cannot address the real problems in Islam.
I agree with the secular Muslims – and on certain points with the Hindutva nationalists – that there are problems in Islam, and that following the Qur’an and the Hadiths literally would lead to war, occupation and the establishment of a totalitarian Islamic state (Dar al-Islam), and not peace. This is a genuine problem that has led to global conflict and we cannot be in denial about it anymore; and we know enough, and better, not to blame it all on American conspiracy. The tribal ambition of establishing an Islamic caliphate, the adoption of militant Islamism and the justification of the primitive Shariat law is something that bothers rational and peace-loving people everywhere, be they Hindus, Muslims or Christians. But this is a problem that needs to be dealt with rationally and intellectually, and not with religious hysteria, jingoism and hatred as is being done now by many senior leaders of the NDA. “Hinduism”, Sir, is not all milk and honey: we know its rigid system of social hierarchy, its obnoxious racism and its medieval superstitions; Islam is no different, it too has its problems. In such a situation, in a predominantly religious country like India, what we most need is religious criticism, and for that we need an atmosphere of trust and good-will which will make religious introspection, self-reflection and self-criticism possible. How can we establish this atmosphere of trust? I have thought about it a lot, Sir, and have come to the following conclusion: it is only by encouraging inter-religious marriages, that is, marriages between Hindus and Muslims, that we can create an atmosphere in which rational scrutiny of religions can take place. Inter-religious marriages will destroy the religious insularity of Muslims and Hindus and help them face the realities of a changing world with a rational and open mind. It will also create a new generation of youngsters who will be capable of inheriting the true syncretic culture of India to which Hindu, Islamic and Western civilizations have contributed equally. It is only by relinquishing religion and adopting modernity that we can emerge as a strong nation in the 21st century and it is very important for religions and cultures to intermingle for modernity to take root in any meaningful sense.
I sincerely hope, Sir, that you will see the importance of bringing religions together and the fundamental level at which we can help religions connect by encouraging marriages between Hindus and Muslims.
Yours sincerely,
Ankur Betageri
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Ankur Betageri is poet, fiction writer and cultural critic. His books include The Bliss and Madness of Being Human (Poetrywala, 2013) and Bhog and Other Stories (Pilli, 2010). He is a currently a PhD scholar at IIT, Delhi working on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze.
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