Why can't I live and practice peacefully my religion in India?

I studied in Loyola and loved the fathers who taught me well and never for once tried to influence me to change my habits of prayer. They were respectful and did not hesitate to declare and give me the Best Student award ; and it was not a Bible they gave me as present, but Gitanjali of Tagore. In my High School as well as in college I had my best friends Sherrif and Abdullah and never felt a religious color in our relationship. We ate together played together.

Even in working life, I was hosted by a Islamic family in Jordan, being land lord of the house we were staying, invited to dine with their families including lady folk . The teenage girls had so many questions about our marriage customs and were continuously giggling. They respected my vegetarian food habits and made sure I get what I need.

In Damascus and Baghdad as MD, too when I delivered my lecture/presentations more than once, the picture which comes on my laptop as the first Screen happens to me Lord Venkateswara used to get projected on the large screen, but did not elicit any negative comments. One Chief Engineer of their's happened to be a lady, later in discussions made a mention to me that that picture must be the image of God I worship and said it was nice!

There was a Saudi infrastructure developer in Damsacus who heard me from a back row, whom I did not know at that time, but later wanted me to send my engineers team to conduct a survey in Medina. But he wanted a muslim to be sent.

Medina, a sacred place where even certain Muslim sect is important to enter. Can you imagine when I expressed my inability to send a Muslim engineer, after one week, he got permission for my engineer Srinivas and his team, to enter Medina to complete the survey for Skybus. We got photos of the beautiful mosques too taken by our people. The military provided protection, and hid them when the call for prayer was given and all had to rush to prayer halls.The streets just empty out in Medina during prayer time.

People did not believe that this also can happen. It is not any greatness of mine. Times of India reported in front page news with a great surprise and some Muslim group leaders in Mumbai met me, asking how it could have happened!

I never felt the religion could be made a divider of people. But our political system seems to achieve this goal over the last half a century.

Then come to my land of the most ancient civilisation. The way intellectuals in a University here, declare that Lord Krishna is a cheat and Narakasura glorified, Mahishasura glorified and Durga condemned, a famous painter feels happy to take liberties with Durga in his paintings making nude pictures, and then intellectuals argue for his right under freedom of speech too. It is so grotesque behaviour I find.

Such insensitivity and indifference to feelings of one particular community, namely Hindus. It looks like being a Hindu means equivalent to being a punch bag, and every one has a free right to punch which ever way they like.

Being a secular state, all religious groups are to be treated on equal footing. There is nothing like any superior rights for the so called majority Hindu religion. Hindus should be treated on par with Muslims, Christians and Buddhists, Sikhs etc. There is nothing like majority or minority. it is also like any other belief and faith.

They also should have the same rights to freely practice what they believe and have a right not to be abused or hurt just a much as other religious groups cannot be hurt or belittled.

Even if it is a professed Christian, who tries to belittle Jesus or Mary, he shall be punishable under the law for hurting feelings of Christians. The same way, even if a declared Hindu tries to hurt feelings of Hindus, joining forces with a person of other faith, then law should punish such activity.

Actually a simple code of conduct to respect feelings and faith of fellow beings under our fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, should be declared by all religious groups and their heads to discourage such irresponsible behaviour to take liberties with life and feelings of other groups without any provocation.

Since when abuse of Hindu is justified under freedom of speech but abuse of other religion is treated as offence?

Is it too much to ask, that Hindu also should have the same minority groups' rights?

Indifference and remaining mute is not an acceptable behaviour for the rationalists and intellectuals. Condemning Hindus is a favourite pastime for many an intellectual professing superior knowledge without knowing an iota of ancient vedic sayings. It adds insult to injury.

In my opinion since secularists are in majority, we should declare Hindus who quietly practice their religious practices, should be declared a minority just like Christians and Muslims and afforded the same protection.

Sarveh Janah Sukhino Bhavanthu!