I would like to share a few incidents of caste discrimination prevailing in our country which have come to my notice.
Echanala village in Lingasugur, taluka of Raichur district in Karnataka State where casteist forces are, it seems, still active. A hotel owner refused to give a customer drinking water in a glass and instead poured water into his cupped hands. In certain hotels customers are made to sit separately on their caste identity and separate glasses are provided for them. Members of lower castes are NOT allowed to sit and eat breakfast alongside so-called upper caste customers. Caste based discrimination is practised at barbershops where some people (Read: upper castes) are given haircuts inside the shop, others (Read: lower castes) are made to get their haircut outside the village.
In Gujarat, the members belonging to minority community and lower castes cannot purchase houses in posh areas nor they are rented houses. Their grooms cannot ride on horses and cannot pass their marriage procession through upper caste localities. They cannot grow long moustaches. They cannot draw water from wells. They cannot burn their dead bodies in crematorium reserved for upper caste exclusively. The Dalits have to maintain their separate crematoriums. These examples are only tip of the iceberg.
Th situation is, more or less, the same throughout the country. We do not have access to such discriminatory incidents because of upper caste domination on media.
Is this Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s India? Can we say that he spent his entire life for fruitless or resultless movements?
Farooq AbdulgafarBawani
Rajkot, Gujarat
Believing in Luck in Islam
Generally it is said that what is lotted cannot be blotted. Does Islam support and subscribe to it.
Believing in luck’s fortune and misfortune is one of the seven basic beliefs known as Iman-e-Mufassil in Islam. A Muslim denying it or any of them can no longer belong to the fold of Islam. It is assumed that a man wins or loses in life as per what is predestined in his luck. It means that if he is born with good-luck, he wins and enjoys happiness and comfort, and if he is born with ill-luck, he loses and experiences sorrow and trouble in life. It goes on contrary to the teaching of the Qur’an: “Lo! Allah does not change the lot of a nation unless it tries to change its lot itself.” (13:11)
Who is having the power and authority to remove one’s misfortune striking him? Since Allah is Almighty and Supreme authority in the universe, He can absolutely remove one’s misfortune even if it is predestined in his luck. The Qur’an announces: “If Allah helps you, none can overcome you. If He forsakes you, who is there who can help you? In Allah let the believers put their trust.” (3:160) It is seen that when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ faced a misfortune, he gave charity especially to orphans and offered prayer (na’fl) seeking Allah’s forgiveness and help for removing his misfortune. So, a Muslim should also act as the Prophet did for getting rid of misfortune in life. Allah will deliver him in both worlds! In Sha-Allah!
Muhammad Abdus Samad
Ambari, Dhupdhara, Assam
English Divas
Each year we dutifully mark Hindi Divas on Sep. 14 though one wonders who exactly celebrates it with zeal. The irony is hard to miss: while Hindi is feted ceremonially, it is English that has become the true passport to jobs, technical education and upward mobility. From corporate boardrooms to call centres, English is the sine qua non of success. Even our domestic help now proudly announces she is learning English alongside her first-grade daughter.
This is not elitism; it is aspiration at the grassroots. Hinglish already dominates our advertising jingles and Bollywood scripts. The language has ceased to be foreign; it is now woven into the fabric of everyday India.
So why not institutionalise this reality? An English Divas would acknowledge the language that empowers millions, expedites opportunity, and connects India to the world. Far from diminishing Hindi, it would celebrate our multilingual strength.
Avinash Godboley,
Dewas, Madhya Pradesh