Prejudices- Inherent & Acquired
“But why?” is a question I constantly seemed to ask people when I was a child. There was this Sports Shoe Shop in our neighbor hood and everybody knew the owner, he was dumb and deaf, yet he never seemed to have any problem communicating with any of us. In 1992-93 things changed. The change was apparent, some people stopped talking to this man and others maintained cordial civilities expected of them. This was a very strange experience because noticeably the neighborhood which once used to boast of being very cosmopolitan was suddenly divided. Babri Masjid was demolished on 6.12.1992 and all hell broke loose. Curfew was declared, violence continued, schools were closed, people feared venturing out of their houses. During one of these days while walking on the streets with my mother I saw that the shoe shop was not there any more, it was burnt down. Why? Because the owner was a Muslim. Who burnt it down? Hindus. But am I not a Hindu? Are Hindus bad? My parents fortunately don’t harbor c...