Comments on Known Turf: A brief contextual history of the blogger, in the ...

Beautifully written. One of the best posts i have ...

2008-01-01T09:48:00.000+05:30

Beautifully written. One of the best posts i have ever read. :)

thanks, once again, more people who have left more...

2007-12-25T11:45:00.000+05:30

thanks, once again, more people who have left more generous comments. and kingslayer, of course you can. link, blogroll, whatever.

Gawd (which one though???! its all been said in th...

2007-12-24T12:31:00.000+05:30

Gawd (which one though???! its all been said in the comments before I got here.

This post is perhaps the best I have ever read. And that 'perhaps' is just in there coz i like saying 'perhaps' perhaps. Stunning stuff.

I am not a very seasoned blogger, and I have generally blogged just for myself, dont even have a blog roll to add you into... But if you dont mind, can I start my blog roll with you?

Fingers crossed, eyes squeezed shut expecting the " dur hat phitte muuh" coming my way..

amazing... touching and poignant. it is difficult ...

2007-12-10T23:14:00.000+05:30

amazing... touching and poignant. it is difficult to be the "other" no matter what that label means.. either to yourself or to the people that surround you. I could relate to this in so many ways. and it made me think about things in my own childhood that I have long since forgotten. I now think of my daughter, part hindu, part jewish, both by inheritance... what will she be. will she feel lost wherever she goes, not an indian, not an italian, not an american....

maybe one day she will write as beautifully as you do.

A wonderfully written and touching post. Thank you...

2007-12-10T09:31:00.000+05:30

A wonderfully written and touching post. Thank you for sharing a very personal side of your life.

Reading this made me so emotional I had to do it i...

2007-12-10T01:52:00.000+05:30

Reading this made me so emotional I had to do it in three sittings :)
Personally, I didnt realize what it felt like being a minority, growing up in delhi within a highly homogenized middle class punjabi culture and public school upbringing. Almost everyone was the same and you didnt really need to assert much in terms of culture and beliefs.

Now, having lived in a so called multicultural western country for a few years, I can identify with almost everything you narrated, and am shocked that in the world I called perfect (Delhi) there are people who feel the same way that I feel here.

Like you, I am also of the opinion, its not fair, but sure, I dont mind taking on some of the punishment to make the world comfortable. But just knowing what being a minority feels like truly helps. I eally do wish everyone could have the 'minority' experience.

my family came to india after partition, my granpa...

2007-12-08T19:23:00.000+05:30

my family came to india after partition, my granparents frowned at the thought of us (me and my siblings) having muslim friends , maryying one will prob lead to another partition !

i dont share their feelings , beacuse i dont impose my religious beliefs on non-hindus , my muslim friends dont impose thier beleif on me, however if in urban or semi urban india, amongst people our age there is animosity on the basis of religion it is because of politics of faith, reserving seats for muslims, just to get them to vote for your party etc etc

i am a hindu , and i send customary diwali greetings to all myfriends (including muslims ) , have never wished them on eid , never got their "customary" messages on eid , i dont know why ?

if you did not tell that lady you met at the railway station, you are a muslim beacause , being a muslim was not really part of your identitiy while growing up , i guess its ok,

however if you did not tell her because you feared some sort of backlash or something on those line , then you made a mistake , its not for her to decide how "indian" you are because of your religion

as you have written here muslims have ended up becoming mere vote banks in india, because of our politicians,

your article is brilliant ,better than any piece we are subjected to in the mainstream media after some hindu-muslim issue flares up

more people: thanks for sharing your own experienc...

2007-12-07T23:59:00.000+05:30

more people: thanks for sharing your own experiences and letting me see more angles to the same story.
t: of course, you may. ye bhi koi poochne ki baat hai?

Ann deh walls came down...sang I as I add my two b...

2007-12-07T00:17:00.000+05:30

Ann deh walls came down...sang I as I add my two bits. I remember the pesky woman at the Reed-meet. We all firmly avoided telling her what she was obviously unable to see from both sides - important for easing conflict.

Gosh, you just let it all hang like any good writer, digging for meaning within yourself and the world goes to town with interpretations!

The 'kill muslims' conversations are a fact and a cultural blot. Yes, they do happen and sometimes these things are said in the heat of an Indo-Pak cricket match. They are also said openly when the teller is sure there are no muslims present.

It's like i read somewhere how during a Religions of the World type conference, a rabbi had to make the first speech. So he steps up and starts. 'Im sure these gentlemen will all tell you about how they worship god in their different ways. I would like to say that I worship him in His way."

Brilliant, agreed but bang goes the open forum! The author goes on to say how in a poly-cultural world we cannot afford such like.

Hey, am from a hindu himachali father and a tamilian roman-catholic and personally always said, "But mah deah, ah'm cawsmopawlitin." : )

Finally, to me surds are groups of irrational numbers and moz(z)ies are mosquitoes.

feels weird, my stumbling on this post on a date l...

2007-12-06T15:09:00.000+05:30

feels weird, my stumbling on this post on a date like today.

am one of the unfortunate ones to be born into the 'majority' and slowly, painfully understand how much we take for granted, how much we have to be grateful for, how much we expect, without any intention of ever giving back. without any guilt about that intention never crossing our minds.

i'd love to add you to my blogroll. may i?

To feel like an outsider in your own country must ...

2007-11-27T13:36:00.000+05:30

To feel like an outsider in your own country must hurt... but it also hurts when our Mulsim friends say we don't celebrate Eid like they celebrate Diwali, that we make them feel the way they do...

I live in Lucknow, have lived here since I was born... and the year after the Babri Masjid was demolished, we went to visit our family friends on Eid... it made no difference to us. Why didn't the world change for me after the bomb blasts at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi... Why didn't I think now they won't even let us pray... Why did I not question where I belong... I belong here, like you, and nowhere else!

What's unfortunate, Annie, is that the experiences that made you conscious of religious tagging, works both ways. I was in class 7 when a friend, a Muslim friend - whom I never saw as anything else but a friend till before that day - said something I have never forgotten: "Humey is desh ne diya hi kya hai badnaami ke alava?" So why don't you leave this country, someone asked. And her juvenile reply was, "The Mughals have given so much to this country. Humey woh wapis kar do, hum chaley jaayenge!"
I guess that girl was echoing stuff she'd heard at home, which means they did talk about such stuff... Her father was a doctor in Riyadh and she said Muslims were given better facilities there. By the way, she lived in a sprawling bungalow in a plush locality in Lucknow! I didn't know then what she was talking about, I don't know still what she was talking about! But I do know, I'm sorry she talked that way and made me look at here as "one of those"...

JAP... Why blame God for the follies of men. God c...

2007-11-26T20:31:00.000+05:30

JAP... Why blame God for the follies of men. God created man, set him on the Earth, gave him Prophets & Religions to lead his life by. If man misinterprets it or places his faith in religion-peddlers instead of the scriptures, refuses to model hiself on the likes of Jesus or Mohammed, how is God responsible???

I don't like the concept of Hindu-rashtra. Does that make me anti-myself? Since I'm born half-Hindu. And I don't like the idea that Pakistan is based on either. Does that make me totally anti-myself? Since I'm born half-Muslim.

It makes me nothing! I am what I am & not open for analysis!

The content makes me sad. The form makes me enviou...

2007-11-26T18:39:00.000+05:30

The content makes me sad. The form makes me envious.

And organised religion makes me just mad. Anti-Semitism. Islamophobes. Hindu-baiters. Protestant vs Catholic.

If there is a God s/he must be either very twisted or incredibly incompetent.

J.A.P.

got goosebumps reading it, I could so relate to it...

2007-11-22T15:03:00.000+05:30

got goosebumps reading it, I could so relate to it, I am supposed to be brahmin by birth, but am not religious. my early childhood was in Srinagar, and I have a whole lot of memories which are from other end of spectrum... I guess as humans we all think and feel alike.
loved the way you write it

Thanks for sharing it!Minorities lives are difficu...

2007-11-22T00:25:00.000+05:30

Thanks for sharing it!

Minorities lives are difficult everywhere. Even those of us who are able to migrate to Pakistan from India, and native Sindhis, Baluchis and some Pathans are still waiting to be treated equally as Majority Pakistani Punjabis. I can never able to get a job somewhere other than Karachi due to my heritage (my grand parents are from New Delhi).

What can you fear, if you don't know it? Or can yo...

2007-11-18T09:10:00.000+05:30

What can you fear, if you don't know it? Or can you only fear what you don't know?

That just about sums it up ... I guess. If you know, what fear then?

Of course, a lot of us fear knowing itself ... for fear of what it would do to our mind and perspective.
:)

You have so thoughtfully touched upon these most s...

2007-11-16T06:15:00.000+05:30

You have so thoughtfully touched upon these most sensitive idiosyncrasies of the society that we live in. I know of friends, muslims at that, who celebrate diwali. And after reading your article, I am left to wonder why i dont celebrate or even know what Eid mean?

Ultimately, I believe the society is a novel of the politicians. Schools of thought are one thing, politicians preaching is another! No matter, how much I want to believe my Muslim friends are just as me, my mom wants me to beware! She believes the politicians!

Anon (before cynic in wonderland), you idiot! Don'...

2007-11-14T22:27:00.000+05:30

Anon (before cynic in wonderland), you idiot! Don't adopt that condescending tone, you don't deserve to. Your comment clearly brings out the bigot in you. You need an education & I'm going to give you one. Jihad refers to the war against the inner evil. The war against people who attack you is only an extension of that. But I don't expect you to know. That you received a lowly education is amply clear from your comment.
Lesson # 2: Age old Buddha statues (Bamiyan) were destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan not by the stupid Pakis. Wonder all you like about why Indian Muslims don't pack their bags & go to Pak. You're not expected to understand the contributions of Maulana Azad, Zakir Husain, Dr. Kalam, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Aamir, Salman, Shahrukh, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan etc. You're too blinded by the bigotry you were brought up with to notice all of that. I pity your parents. They mustn't be proud of the child they brought up.
Lesson # 3: Hindus haven't suffered at the hands of Muslims in India. Hindus have suffered at the hands of Hindus in India; refer to the caste system. Sikhs have suffered at the hands of Hindus; refer to the 1984 riots in Delhi. Christians have suffered at the hands of Jews; refer to Biblical history. And any excesses under Aurangzeb were repaid by the mountain rat, Shivaji; refer to Sardeshmukhi.
Lesson # 4: Salman Rushdie not only mocked his religion & his prophet, but lived in hiding for years after that. But like I said, you don't have a world class education & you're therefore not expected to know what goes on in the wider world.
I wonder why we pay any attention to idiots like you!!!

Jai... previous comment wasn't directed at you, it was the coward anons.

Annie... Muslims all over the world are different. It's cultural influences that make you who you are. So Brit Paki Mozis like Alvira in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom also exist. As do Russian Muslims like Marat Safin & his sister Darina (http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-img-show?G_ID=G00008V_aNPNfDS0&P_ID=&start=21&pagtotal=26).

Beautifully written, very thought provoking. I am ...

2007-11-13T14:31:00.000+05:30

Beautifully written, very thought provoking. I am a hindu, but managed to get thru a number of years of my childhood without knowing it - wish we could go back to that time.

well, what can i say, other than that some muslim...

2007-11-12T16:53:00.000+05:30

well, what can i say, other than that some muslims have brought it all upon the others.
when they start citing their religious identity as the reason for their violence, when your religion is reason enough to indulge in terrorism, it's only natural that anyone sharing that religious identity is looked upon with suspicion - a muslim, any muslim, already has enough intent (religion) to wreak jihad, going by that logic.
Similarly Pakistan was created as a "homeland for muslims". That State indulges in terrorist activities against india as anyone knows. They also inflict enormous tragedy on the non-muslims in that country. They destroy age-old statues of buddha.... i can go on and on here. so it's only natural to wonder why muslims stayed back at all in this country, and why they aren't packing their bags and going to some place where they get better freedoms, if they so feel they are victims of marginalization and discriminations in india.
only if you "secular" "liberal" indian muslims eschew the rest, prove yourselves trustworthy, will all of this stop. the ball is in your court.
hindus have suffered enough at the hands of muslims from centuries to merit having enough hate. it's only the tolerant attitude of hindus that has made sure that muslims haven't been booted out of the country israel-ishtyle.
muslims take their religion way too seriously.... if they'd all just loosen up and let the rest of the world know it's not that big a deal, that they can actually laugh at themselves and their customs and parody muhammad and all their holy symbols as members of other religions have done, that someone having pork at the same table isn't committing sacrilege.. that they are fine with others eating during ramzan (i'm talking about the Gulf here), maybe things would be better.

Opinionated,1. All the anon comments that end with...

2007-11-12T12:56:00.000+05:30

Opinionated,

1. All the anon comments that end with regards,Jai have been made by me, Jai_Choorakkot

2. I havent intended to hide, its a lot of trouble logging in with word verification and the thing makes you do it twice.

3. Not really contested anything Annie wrote with the exception of parental influence on kids, and there too, I'd think reality is somewhere in between.

4. Not been ignored either.

Thanks,
Jai

Hi Annie,I wish I didn't know what you are talking...

2007-11-12T11:55:00.000+05:30

Hi Annie,

I wish I didn't know what you are talking about, but I think I know it too well. I have gone through a similar life and have asked similar questions.

I know your question is rhetoric, but i will try answering it. Ignore me if you find me preachy.

You are just another human being. A luckier one than most others though. You have seen more sides of life and that makes you more tolerant and wiser. Everyone gets called bad things, tags that they do not deserve. But you know how to react and keep your calm. The world needs more people like you.

Thank you for sharing bits of your life.

~Sheece

Hats also off to you & all your friends who seem t...

2007-11-09T16:20:00.000+05:30

Hats also off to you & all your friends who seem to effortlessly ignore the anonymous comments. They're quite a load of shit, but the Internet is open for all I guess. What surprises me is why they hide behind the anonymous tag?

Annie, I was led to here from IndiaUncut. I frankl...

2007-11-08T21:43:00.000+05:30

Annie, I was led to here from IndiaUncut. I frankly don't know what to say.. But I'll say this: Being an Indian Muslim, I've been planning to write something on these lines for a very long time. But now, I plan to simply link to your article.

It is surely an autobiography any Indian Muslim would gladly accept for her/his own.

If only faith could be just a personal belief. You...

2007-11-08T00:34:00.000+05:30

If only faith could be just a personal belief. You seem like the african american person who hates to belong to a disadvantaged community or the dalit/sc indian who curses his fate to be born into a community with a prefix backward.

They try, they try hard to break away from these identities. Its easy for you to attempt this since you do not belong to the group of traditionally "believing" muslims ,some one who is willing to detach from Islam both on a spiritual as well as social level.

But what about the believing muslim who loves his /her identity insite of it working against her the muslim man with the surname mohammad would undergo strip search a thousand times at the airport but never hate his islamic name , the hijabi who gets stared at supermarkets or the muslim man who gets to hear snide remarks about his breaks not for coffee or a smoke but for his daily namaz.

What about 'US' its harder for us trust me to live with a faith we love in this society but I'm stil going to be proud about being a muslim.