FIGHTING TO BE RIGHT... AND FIGHTING WHEN YOU ARE RIGHT









Pic.: Sonia Asrani


“Don't fight to be right, but fight when you are right.”

Amit Kalantri

I can’t expect my fellow-being to follow my religion, or political party... worship my deity or follow my leader… I can’t expect him to eat the food of my liking... dress like I do, read and appreciate what I do…

I am civilized and intelligent enough not to expect that from my fellow-being… Ditto when it comes to him: He doesn’t expect me to, either…

Yes, live and let live is the guiding principle for our happy co-existence in this world…

Now, the trouble brews when I try to demean my fellow-being’s faith, political ideology, food and cultural habits…

So long as I keep my affiliations private and do not make an ugly display in public, there is beauty in my relationships… But, once, I start hard-selling my Gods or Leaders in public… that is, the moment I start becoming a propagandist… I lose all my reasoning ability… I begin to behave like a mob… Blindly and foolishly.

Letting my fellow-being be is the first and foremost principle for living in this society peacefully. No matter which God he worships or which leader he follows, no matter what he eats and how he dresses… yes, unless I letting him be… and, unless, he lets me be… Peace shall remain only an illusion in our society.

If I keep insisting on being right, I might end up proving that… But, at what cost?  

So, I would rather prefer to be peaceful than prove myself right…

“Don't fight to be right,” Amit Kalantri, the young author, is right, “but, fight when you are right.”
  
GERLALD D’CUNHA

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