Urmila a 32 year old lady, who was a maid at my home for a year, had been an innocent resident of Gurgaon for past 10 years now. Washing utensils and cleaning the elite bungalows had enabled her to make a ‘jhuggi’ in a nearby slum. She was one of the beings for whom work was worship and so she did it religiously. Somehow, she didn’t mind spending extra hours at our place, in fact she loved it. At times when my mother scolded her, she took it all very respectfully considering her as an elder sister. One day she asked my mum for 2 days leave and extra money at the same time. My mother asked with concern “sab theek haina tumhare ghar mein” She replied “haan memshaab shab theek hai par 1 hafte mein Eid aayegi Eid, tab main apni beti aur damad ko nayi nayi kapde degi”. Without realizing my mom replied “par tumhara naam to Urmila hai?” Name is something which calls for ones identity and transforming from ‘Sakeena’ to Urmila just to earn two meals a day is no less than a shameful spot on our hypocritical culture.
Now, she has left ‘Wajirabad’, which was more than just a store for her daily earnings. Our government feared the destruction that took place in 1992 at Ayodhya and therefore, all the followers of ‘Prophet’ were sent back to their homes before the final verdict came. So, she had to leave keeping her tears and anger aside. Realizing the worsened condition of people living Below Poverty Line in India gave me shivers. Situation further saddens, when these people have to sacrifice their per day wages till they find some other work, which is again easier said than done just because they are Muslims.
Well, beautiful journey from ‘just married to parent-hood’ is spent in deciding the name of coming offspring, who otherwise becomes your shadow as well as life. You are being called by the very name since birth and it happens to be yours till death. It is said that you die and the soul reaches its ultimate destination as per the deeds performed by you on the earth. But, the ones left behind remember you and the foremost thing that hits their mind while missing you is your name. Strange but true that this four letter word not only personifies the attitude & behavior but also brilliantly defines your persona. Name which happens to determine the luck for all of us, also calls for our identity. How worse must be the condition of a nation where one forcefully has to change their entire identity to get a job?
India is a fast moving nation and so it is swiftly adapting modernization in every field ranging from agriculture to science. Well, for that matter it has also achieved remarkable success in the section of vulgarity and pornography. And, how can we forget that over the top drug education that school kids attain free of cost. Considerable makeover could be noticed in the living style of ‘King Parikshit’s’ (that was when kalyug started) age till today. Where a woman was not given a chance to speak before men now is exposing her best assets to the whole world, day in and out. Once we hear was Lord Rama, who truly loved his only wife Sia & travelled oceans to get her back safe and today, our sense of acceptation has reached a level where a man happens to fall in love with every second woman of this universe other than his own better half. On the contrary to all this, we touched the tower of accomplishment, when the first ever lady president Shrimati Pratibha Patil took the supreme responsibility of guiding India with full enthusiasm and delight. We celebrate each festival; Christmas, Diwali, Eid or Gurpurab with a sense of pride and devout. This all is just three-forth of the entire testimony to how we consider ourselves as cautiously globalized and matured countrymen of the realm. After such a dynamic revolution in thinking of Indians, what leaves me in a state of shock is that till date, we have not accepted Muslims as our own.
It is not only about Sakeena or Urmila but million others, who religiously believe in ‘Allah’. It is difficult for a poor Muslim to even earn his/her daily bread in India and similar is the case in Pakistan, I heard. After all, our ‘great-great grandfathers’ have shared same red blood before their children got indulged with minor things like religion, caste, creed and sex. One can be Jennifer, Ramesh, Mohammad or Gurpreet but, if, someone has to leave his/her individuality for the sake of society, then its shame on us. Winning laurels in innumerable subjects but seriously failing in understanding the simple meaning of Human Being is none other than a big black blot on each Indian.
“Ishwar –Allah tero Naam, Sabko Sanmati de Bhagwan”
P.S.: 2nd para is completely fictitious, no intentions of harming people's emotions.
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