Maggot Of Sanatan Dharm Is Nibbling Away At India's Pluralistic Spirit

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 5 September 2023 Sabhi Ka Khoon Hai Shaamil Yahan Ki Mitti Mein/ Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustan Thodi Hai ----- A dangerous communal trend is on the rise in already vitiated India. Teachers are berating young Muslim students in the class and telling them to go back to Pakistan; the country they belong to. This has happened in Delhi and Karnataka. Why on earth should they leave India and go back to Pakistan? Aren't they legal citizens of this country? Remember the ever-relevant lines from the ghazal of Rahat Indori: Lagegi Aag Toh Aayenge Ghar Kai Zad Mein/ Yahan Pe Sirf Humara Makaan Thodi Hai/ Jo Aaj Sahib-E-Masnad Hain Kal Nahin Honge/ Kiraydaar Hain, Zaati Makaan Thodi Hai/ Sabhi Ka Khoon Hai Shaamil Yahan Ki Mitti Mein/ Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustaan Thodi Hai (If fire breaks out, many homes will be gutted/ There're other homes as well/ Those who're ruling today, will fade away tomorrow/ We're all tenants, no one has a fiefdom/ All have contributed equally/ India is not someone's private property). That teachers are stooping to this level and openly discriminating against young and impressionable students is a worrisome development. Hindus are becoming religiously too assertive and pugnacious. A decade of rigorous religious indoctrination by the current political dispensation has made Indians too belligerent. The maggot of Sanatan Dharm is nibbling away at India's pluralistic spirit. Sense of sanity and equality has disappeared. Even the so-called 'educated' Indians, esp. Hindus, are calling themselves Sanatanis and abusing Muslims with nonchalance. In today's time, literates are now new illiterates, to quote a witty and latitudinarian friend of mine. Religion, in the hands of uncultured goons, becomes a cheap jamboree. This is happening in Hindu India. Uncouth display of sickening religiosity is rampant. Situation will soon spiral out of hand. Just like an average fanatic Muslim is in thrall to Islam, Hindus of today are abject slaves to Sanatan Dharm. But ask them to define it, they'll be all at sea because the very concept of Sanatan Dharm is flawed and it's a recent political construct. In short, it's just a catchphrase with a limited time span. An analogy will simplify it. Does any English-knowing person ever say, 'anyways'? It's out-and-out incorrect. The correct word is 'anyway.' Despite being incorrect, 'anyways' ruled for a decade and is now dying out. The same inevitable fate will befall this ridiculous Sanatan Dharm. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/sanatan-dharm-india-pluralistic-spirit/d/130601 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism