Dr. Veda Pratap Vaidik
Our religious and political leaders ought to take serious note of the two obnoxious incidents that happened in the country a day before. In the first incident, Nagaraju, a Hindu youth was brutally butchered for marrying a Muslim girl by name Sultana. The second dreadful incident of killing was reported from a village in Gujarat where a group of so-called Hindus attacked two other religious Hindus for reciting their prayers over loudspeakers.
Kindly take note of the matter that these attacks were neither by any Hindu on Muslims nor by any Muslim on Hindus. Both the killing was for different reasons and the nature of the crime also differed. In fact, there is an astounding similarity in both murders. In both the killings intolerance was the motivating cause. Heaven would not have fallen at the instance of a few villagers knowingly or unknowingly operating the loudspeakers. What was the urgency to physically attack them to prevent playing the loudspeakers?
If the loudspeaker sound was really deafening and it was causing public nuisance, the aggrieved party could have approached the law enforcing agencies like the police and lodge their complaint. But killing someone for airing his prayers through a loudspeaker is crude and inhuman. It is obvious; the underlying reason for this killing was sheer arrogance and egotism of those neighbours who committed the crime. If the killers were so concerned of others following the law in letter and spirit, then they needed to do self-introspection, which law permitted them to kill their neighbours?
As far as the marriage of a Muslim girl to a Hindu boy is concerned, the friendship between the two was there for long. That marriage was not part of any conspiracy for any planned religious conversion. It was a love marriage and nothing more than that. But it is unfortunate, today in our country we have hardly any prominent leader or notable movement that encourages inter-religious and inter-caste marriages. We are still ensnared in the rigid boundaries of religion and caste. One who is out of such shackles can only be a true religious person and a true devotee of God.
If God is unique, how can his children be different? Their complexion, language, food and drink may vary according to the location and environment. But if they are sons of the same father how can you discriminate against them? If you discriminate against them, then it is clear that you are not religious and you believe not the unique almighty, but multiple gods. This implies the god has not created you, but you have created gods.
In every country people with vested interests have created and promoted Gods of their choice, according to their needs and prevailing conditions. Such people are really anti-God. Deeds and words of these elements prompt rational people to challenge the existence of God.
*Dr. Vaidik is a widely travelled scholar-journalist. He has visited more than 80 countries on diplomatic and educationalmissions. Dr. Vaidik has won more than a dozen National and International awards for academic and journalistic excellence. He has been a member of several Advisory Committees of Government of India.