Some Food For Thought

Sania Mirza decides to wed a Pakistani cricketer and the entire country loses its sleep over it. People are throwing up their hands in frustration, scratching and shaking their heads in disbelief. A Pakistani ? That too Shoaib Malik ? Has she lost her senses ? Why can't she marry an Indian ? Will she stop playing for India ? Such questions and many more are doing the rounds. Parents have stopped worrying about their children's exams and the only thing up their minds is Sania's marriage. While the wiser few have supported her decision the not so wise ones have gone on to the extent of calling for her exit from India. Once the darling of an entire nation, this decision of her's has transformed her into an overnight villain.

Why are people reacting so harshly to Sania Mirza's decision to marry Shoaib Malik. Of course its an open secret that Maliks's no saint and his misadventures with another Hyderabadi girl are well known. Despite this if Sania wants to spend the rest of her life with him, its her life her decision and we should respect it. Why raise such a brouhaha when she herself has no issues with Shoaib's past. Sania Mirza as a sportsperson has contributed enormously to Indian Tennis and deserves much better than being subjected to such mindless scrutiny. If we cannot support her, we should at least not make it difficult for her to cherish this personal moment.

Why should there be calls for Sania Mirza to renounce her Indian Citizenship ? She has married a Pakistani cricketer and not some terrorist or an ISI agent. Its not as if after marriage she will start representing Pakistan. Its sickening to see people start questioning someone's patriotism and integrity without reasons. It has happened to Shah Rukh Khan before and now its happening to Sania Mirza. It is nothing but flawed nationalism and fickle mindedness on part of those people who raise such issues. Sir V.S.Naipaul has a Pakistani wife, does that make him a traitor ? Rajiv Gandhi married Sonia Gandhi(an Italian), does that mean there weren't any suitable Indian girls available for him ? People who think on those lines need to grow up.

Why use different yardsticks for different people when it comes to patriotism. Just sample this. L.K.Advani goes to Pakistan and lavishes praises on Jinnah (the man responsible for India's partition). Eyebrows are raised, he loses his party post but nobody dares calling him a traitor. Jaswant Singh in his book hails Jinnah as a great leader and holds Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel responsible for partition. He gets expelled from his party but did anybody call him a traitor ? Certain politicians from Tamil Nadu have always supported the LTTE despite the knowledge that they are involved in anti India activities. What do we do with them ? We don't confront them, instead we send them to the Lok Sabha and empower their dirty hands. The celebrated Sir V.S.Naipaul publicly terms Mahatma Gandhi as a fool and degrades India in foreign media, yet we take pride in his achievements.

Now compare this. Shah Rukh Khan merely supports the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the IPL and immediately gets labeled as a traitor. His film gets stalled in Mumbai, Gujrat and other places. People start calling him a Pakistani. Sania Mirza decides to marry a Pakistani cricketer and there are calls for her to leave India. Online forums are filled with hate messages and all kinds of nasty things written about her. Where were these so called patriots when a certain Ms. Madhi Ramamurthy from Chennai married Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan (Isn't Sri Lanka the country from where the LTTE used to operate ? Isn't LTTE responsible for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination ?). Of course Muralitharan has got nothing to do with the LTTE but we would not give such benefit of doubt to Shoaib Malik (he's a Pakistani after all, isn't he ?). Its all right if an Indian Tamil wishes to marry a Sri Lankan Tamil, there's no problem if a Bihari chooses to wed a Nepali but all hell breaks loose if an Indian Muslim tries to marry a Pakistani Muslim. Why ??

It is this step motherly treatment that is alienating Muslims from the mainstream. India is home to the second largest Muslim population in the world. It is as much a Muslim country as it is a Hindu one. India cannot prosper by treating its largest minority as second rate citizens. Why is it that a Muslim has to prove it at every stage of his life that he is a patriot, that he is an Indian ? What has a vandal like Bal Thackrey done for India that makes him question the loyalty of committed Indian Muslims like SRK and Sania Mirza or for that matter question the loyalty of any Indian Muslim ? Does being a non Muslim gives you the certificate that you would not cheat on India ? Does being a Muslim make you any less Indian than any of the non-Muslims or vice versa ? These questions remain unanswered and if things don't change drastically we will find the coming generations also asking the same questions in dismay. This is the price we pay for being Indian Muslims and it hurts.