Is Mumbai Truly Secular?
Bharati stood at the podium looking poised and serious. Her frame was petite but her presence commanding. “It would be a fair comment,” she stated, “that we all react differently to different cultures. Most of us accept that whilst we follow our own traditions, we need to let other communities follow theirs; that the common umbrella we all share is that of our humanity, guided by the laws of our city. This helps provide order, peace and justice through which we share our city’s resources. This umbrella covers all of us in our diversity; all of us have to obey its dictates to be able to live and prosper together, under its shade.”
“And then,” Bharati paused before declaring, “…there are the others.”
Dr. Nakwa couldn’t help noticing that the audience was riveted. Another, slightly longer pause ensued. Dr. Nakwa made a quick note to award Bharti a point. It amused him to note that it was a rather hurried scribble as he was anxious to hear what she had to say just like all the rest. Her soft voice permeated the silence as she continued, “They are but a handful but they exist in every community. They feel threatened by the very presence of other communities. They feel their own culture is being swamped and overshadowed. In their minds, secularism, or a tolerance for another religion, another culture, other ways of doing things, seems to pose a threat to their own. It might be a perceived threat, but to them, it seems very real. They long for the ‘good old days’ when they lived within their own community without having to contend with the strange ways of others. Their very identity, the identity of their community, is wrapped up in their own rituals, habits, traditions and language,” said Bharati, adding with slow emphasis, “If any one of these is under threat, then who they are is under threat.”
She instinctively knew how to make the right moves, using every trick the club had taught her to make her arguments effective. She knew it was time to let her line of reasoning lead to its obvious and logical conclusion. “That is why,” she said, “they resist even a slight divergence from their own culture.
Their argument is that ‘civilisation’ is represented only by their culture. They are keen to preserve everything about that great culture for it is their rightful heritage – their khandaan.”
“They perceive the desire for change as criticism … criticism,” Bharati emphasised, “for their ways. How can anyone call themselves a true Hindu (or a true Muslim, Sikh, Christian or Parsi),’ they ask, ‘and still desire a change from our norms and traditions?’
“And yet they see it happening all the time. They see others in their own community openly keen to join the modern world and all the changes it brings; to an extent they accept changes too – changes in communication and travel, science and technology, and in modern medicine. What they can’t bear is to witness their own kind enjoying differences in rituals, habits, in how they work and behave. They feel stung. Almost betrayed. Everything they stand for seems to be falling apart before their very eyes. They feel vulnerable.”
“Still, apart from these good folk, is Mumbai secular? Let’s see. The liberal minded go ahead and experiment. And we feel really sorry for our traditionalists. It must be difficult to live in this fast changing world. The traditionalists are a mere handful and yet, here’s an amazing fact, their opinion is slowly gaining the upper hand in Mumbai. Why?”
“Why, when they are the minority,” she rephrased her question slightly, “is their opinion gaining the upper hand?” The audience waited wondering what theory Bharati would put forward. “I’ll tell you why,” she finally said. “The reason is simple.”
Author’s note:
There’s a lot that Bharati says during the debate in the book. I hope it is food for thought. As for Bhagu, the proponent (Mumbai is secular) let it suffice that he is one of the protagonists in Never Mind Yaar. His rebuttal to the above impresses Louella, Binaifer and the other students, especially Shalini, the main protagonist. It is at this point that she realises she cannot deny her attraction to Bhagu any longer.
