WHO IS THE BLACK CROW?
If
the blot called ‘discrimination’ should go from our society, it should first go
from our own hearts. If we still do not like to shake hands with those who come
to pick thrash from our doorsteps, if we have a ‘separate’ cup, glass and plate
for those who come to clean our floors or cook our food, if we still assume that
we are from an ‘upper caste’ or ‘upper class’… then, there must be a separate God
for those who we think are ‘lower’ than us and for us – yes, the ‘upper’ ones…
Even though we
are, so often, so brutally discriminated in the hands of people who think ‘upper’
and ‘higher’ than us, the blot still persists in us… We still discriminate. Yes, on the basis
of such silly things… The race. The caste. The colour. The class. The gender.
The abilities. The education. The locality. The language. The age. And a dozen
other silly things.
Last
evening, my wife and I watched the latest Hindi movie – ‘Article 15’. And, yes,
we came back home shaken to our bones…
Is this our
India?
Yes Sir, this
is!
Are we still
living like this?
Yes Sir, we
still do!
Can’t believe!
Because, we
can’t see the separate plate we have earmarked for our servant at home, and we
can’t see the truth that we are reluctant to shake hands with the kind soul who
has come to pick the thrash at our door…
Article 15 of
our country’s Constitution may tell us, that we all are equals, but, the constitution
of our minds tells us something else…
So, most of us
may have come home shaken and stirred after watching ‘Article 15’, but, at
home, nothing may have shaken and stirred…
The blot called
‘discrimination’ in the society may take centuries to go… But, need we wait that long for it to go from
our own hearts?
When we had
decided to bring out a book on the subject of discrimination and bias, barely a
couple of months ago, we never thought of the Article 15 of our Constitution or
the movie. For, we knew, that the blot of discrimination was the lowest form of
education… Our little ones, young ones and many adult friends across the world
wrote for this book. We titled it - ‘I am Good, The World Is Good’… with the
baseline – ‘Jaisi Drishti, Waisi Srishti’.
11-year-old
Ian Thomas, who studied in a reputed school, had this story to share…
WHO
IS THE BLACK CROW?
Ian Thomas (11)
I had three best friends
till last year. But, now, I have only two.
My best friends’ names are
Manan Jain, Samarth Kapoor and Anish
Warang*. This year, I did not talk much to Anish; because, he was not in my
class. Manan was a Jain, Samarth was a Punjabi and Anish was a Hindu
Maharashtrian. So, we were BFF’s. Here, I would like to share a story...
Anish’ skin colour was
black. Once, we were having lunch together and were discussing about the
popular game, Fortnite. A 10th standard boy was sitting next to us.
Anish had dropped some of his food. The 10th standard boy, who was
sitting next to us, felt very angry seeing the dropped food.
By looking at Anish, whose
skin colour was black, he started shouting, “Hey, you black crow, what are you
doing? Get out of here.”
Hearing this, Anish
started crying as he could not do anything. We went to the teacher and narrated
the incident to her. The teacher, after hearing about the incident, asked us to
name the 10th standard boy.
Later, when we heard from
the teacher, that the 10th standard boy would be suspended, we saw a
smile on the face of Anish!
So, why do we discriminate
people by their colour, skin, looks, religion etc.?
*Friends’ names changed
Yes
Sir. If the blot called ‘discrimination’ should go from our society, it should first
go from our own hearts.
* These two all-time favourite songs feature in the movie 'Article 15'
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Deccan Herald
Videos: Tristan Rovan /Vrindaban Gurukul
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