The Travancore region of Kerala is very far from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Dubai is about equidistant from Kochi, Ayodhya where the Lord Rama was born, and New Delhi, or rather Lutyens’s city, where this newspaper columnist and social media addict, lives. It was in fact social media that brought all of us, the four cities, I, Facebook, and a friend on Social media together late Sunday night as the nation was dissecting, and digesting, the SC judgment on Ayodhya and its import.
The judgment came in for “universal” approval barring perhaps areas inhabited by Left liberals and a few Urban Nasals not connected with Chhattisgarh and Pune. And a small section of Muslims, mostly lawyers and academics.
Usually one judged by the number of “Likes” and comments if a post has been a miss, or has made sense to those reading it. But like TVs TRPs, this is not an infallible method. Apparently most people are averse to making their presence felt even if they have devoured the post.
If they are religious minorities, they also internationalise the fear, verging on terror that the social media now perpetuates.
This was drilled late night when a Face Book Friend [FBF] suddenly popped up in the appreciate window on my Mac. The conversion traces the contours of secularism, freedom of expression and politics. And, as said, Fear and existential fragility. My FBF will not be identified by name. He is from Kerala, a Christian, and lives in the Gulf region. But his words are unedited.
FBF: Sir, Hagia Sofia, Temple Mount, and there are many such examples of other religions’ worship places desecrated to mosques by Islamic invaders. In India Ayodhya case justice has been restored. Please do not oppose this judgment.
John: Christians and Muslims have been at it in South Europe, the Mid East and North Africa for 15 centuries. Hindus and Muslim for 12 centuries. But Islam, and Christianity are minority religions in India. Therefore I worry. Therefore I oppose the lack of justice in judgments.
FBF: If they had given up the claim on Ayodhya and given it to Hindus, their respect in the land would have increased a thousand times…but this a defeat and even now they are planning to go for review petition…and when people like you support it, this will become problem for Christians living in India…why do we need to have animosity with Hindus…let us all live in peace and harmony…it’s unnecessary to take sides in this case….it will never help us…it’s the long awaited cry of the Hindu to have a temple for their popular deity at his birth place…let them have it…! Let’s support it!
JOHN: Our problem is from Hindutva in India, Islamists in West Asia, White supremacists in US, Israeli Zionists in Israel, Buddhist fundus in Lanka, Thailand, and Bhutan, etc. You live in the Mid-east. I lived in India, been to Nepal, Israel, UK, etc, and years mostly in north India, Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand.
FBB: This Hindutva issue itself arose because of Ayodhya… BJP gained strength because of this cause.
John: Our life experiences have moulded our attitude to Islam and Hinduism. Read the judgment. Hindutva is 95 years old in its current virulent form.
FBB: So what I’m trying to say is that let them have the place and temple…let’s be away from unnecessary controversies and arguments … Yes, in 95 years, mainly for this Ram mandir, let them have it…and settle with it…let them build the biggest temple…and celebrate…What’s it to us? We want to live in peace and harmony…that’s it. They were shouting this slogan “Jai Sri Ram” …and they won it… all this polarisation because of Muslims’ attitude and arrogance. Why should we Christians support these religious fanatics and end up in trouble?
JOHN: OK. Let us discuss some other subject. Cricket? Christmas? Oil?
FBB: Yes, exactly. That is what I was saying. Let us not support fanatic Hindutva, which is also majoritarian. Fanatic Islam is microscopic in India but I respect your opinion even if I reject it entirely. You are a well known person…but the image you create with the debates is negative…because you are always on the opposite side…against Hindus in every debate…in Times Now, Republic…they only call you to bash you…so its create a bad image for Christians…they will hate us more and more
JOHN: They will not hate you. Have you written on politics? Why should they hate you because I am exposing them? That is what I was saying. Let us not support fanatic Hindutva, which is also majoritarian. Fanatic Islam is microscopic in India
FBB: Just my opinion sir… because I’m watching many debates in TV…
JOHN: I do not represent Christians. I represent Left Liberals. Don’t watch TV if you cannot separate reality from personalised fear. I do not represent Christians. I represent Left Liberal.
FBB: But that’s not how they project you
JOHN: Do you think every Malayali Christian is a rapist because some are, including a Bishop accused? No.
FBB: It’s not personalised fear Sir, its reality… I don’t think we need to be opposing Hindus all the time…Though we remain neutral to Hindus…there is absolutely no need to support Muslims…they are the ones who created this much of polarisation in India…And we have no issues with Hindus in India.
JOHN: I have opposed Hindutva. I oppose Nazis, and the Zion terror machine, I oppose Buddhist and Sikh Militancy, Islamist terror. I oppose government terror. My choices are political. I am not representing the Christian community. Christians do not have Imams or Shankaracharyas. The Catholic Pope is my religious leader, but the Orthodox Bawa is not. I support minorities.
FBB: I don’t hate Muslims. I have many good and close Muslim friends, but there are good Muslims and there are radical ones.
JOHN: And good Hindus, and radical ones. Many of my relatives are Hindus.
(End of Facebook Messenger Chat)
(John Dayal is an author, editor and activist)
