Excerpt 2

“Why are you so sad and quiet Narottam Ji?” asked Awasthi Ji.

“I am not sad. I am angry. I was just reading the newspaper and I read about two more Muslim men being caught by the special cell of Delhi Police for their involvement in these blasts. I am feeling angry about not being able to take revenge for all the Hindus who were hurt in the blasts and for the families of those who died in these blasts. I just want to kill those Muslim bastards with my own hands,” said Narottam Ji (name changed / another patient in our ward who was just a few years younger than Awasthi Ji, who was the oldest in the ward at 67 years).

“Are you talking about all the Muslims in general or the particular ones who caused those blasts?” asked Awasthi Ji.

“ALL OF THEM. Each and every one of them is the culprit for what has happened to us,” replied Narottam Ji in a voice that almost choked with emotions.

“How so?”

“All of them are terrorists. They either become terrorists or support terrorists. Either way, they kill us. I wish I could kill them.”

“That is exactly what the politicians in our country want. They want all of us to harbour such hatred towards each other so that we never get united and understand what the politicians are doing to us. They are dividing us on the basis of Religion, Caste, Region, Occupation, Education, and every other possible way that they can think of. They are the root cause behind all this hatred, all these explosions and all the terrorism affecting our country today.”

“What are you saying Awasthi Ji? Are you trying to say politicians were involved in these blasts?” asked Narottam Ji.

“Politicians have been involved in each and every bomb blast that has ever occurred for warring purpose in the history of humanity. Even though they may not do it themselves, they are the ultimate cause behind all of them.”

“How?”

“Just think logically for some time. Why would a Muslim give up everything in his life, including his family, his education, his career, his possibility of having his own family, his enjoyment and everything else, to lead a life of anonymity so as to bring pain and suffering upon others?”

 “Because they are MAD and they hate us.”

“If you are saying they are ‘mad’, it is your own assumption and ignorance. And, when you say they hate us, have you ever wondered why?”

“It is their stupid religion and the idiotic verses in their Quran that makes them hate people from other religion.”

“Every religion is stupid. Stupidity isn’t specific to any religion. It is the basis of each and every religion be it Hinduism or Islam or Christianity or Sikhism or any other. As for the verses, I do not find anything idiotic in them. The content of Quran is as philosophical as any other religious book in the world. And, just like any other religious book, in case of Quran as well, a lot of people have presented the meanings of the verses of Quran in an extremely twisted manner to further their personal and political interests. What is idiotic is that a lot of people actually believed all the lies and it is those false beliefs that are making those men vulnerable to the scheming of the actual culprits. Those who make the bombs or place the bombs and actually commit these acts are not the real culprits. You hate them but I don’t. I pity them. They are as much a victim of all the political conspiracies as we are.”

“What ‘political conspiracies’ are you talking about Awasthi Ji?” asked Varun Ji (another patient in our ward).

Before Awasthi Ji could reply to that question, Narottam Ji butted in with his comments, “Must be some Muslim politician who wants to create panic in Hindus so that Muslims gain power and their candidates win elections by scaring us. Isn’t it Awasthi Ji?”

“No. It is not that simple Narottam Ji. It is not that simple. Let me give you an example,” said Awasthi Ji. Before continuing, he looked at Ashaben quite apologetically and said, “I am sorry Ashaben that I am taking your tragedy as an example. I mean GODHRA.”