It cuts both ways

My daughter declared as soon as the visitors8217; car was out of sight, 8216;I bet they are talibs.8217; I didn8217;t understand. As far...

My daughter declared as soon as the visitors8217; car was out of sight, 8216;I bet they are talibs.8217;

I didn8217;t understand. As far as I knew, they were Mr and Mrs Raman. They were the parents of an eligible boy and we, as parents of an eligible girl, had evinced an interest in their visiting us. In response to our invitation, they had come8212;just the two of them8212;on an informal visit.

8216;What do you mean by that?8217; I asked, puzzled by the pronouncement.

8216;Well,8217; she said, settling down in the sofa and helping herself to the box of sweets brought in by the visitors, 8216;A talib isn8217;t just the talibanis. It is anyone who is a fanatic.8217;

The riddle deepened. I tried to recall every word of the conversation with the guests. Did they ever indicate that their daughter-in-law to be shall not go out to work? Did they speak of a dress code and hint that the sari was the only appropriate dress for a married woman?

I was quite sure that the Ramans were not guilty of any of these crimes. Then how did they get branded?

8216;Oh, ma!8217; Nisha said in exasperation, 8216;didn8217;t you see the markings on the man8217;s forehead? A handful of the holy ash and a spot of kumkum! Even that lady had a dash of the two decorating her forehead. Isn8217;t that indication enough that they are fanatics?8217;

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8216;But those are not unusual symbols,8217; I protested.8216;They are a part of our tradition.8217;

8216;There you are,8217; Nisha cut in sharply, 8216;Our tradition. Our religion. That is what I say. You are all the same. You want to wear your own symbols and scream your religious, caste, sect identities.8217;

8216;All right,8217; I said defiantly. 8216;We have our convictions. So what is your problem?8217;

8216;I will tell you what,8217; she said and leaned forward. The body language, the pitch of her voice, the smirk on her face, all indicated that I had strayed into a zone in which the modern day youth held passionate views. Quite possibly the very same topic had been discussed threadbare over a pizza and a coke just the day before.

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8216;It isn8217;t just my problem,8217; she began, 8216;It is the problem of the world. It is the root cause of all the evil we see around us. Narrow mindedness. Division. A person starts out as a humble believer. Then he moves to identifying himself with his faith and, in the course of time, becomes a raving zealot. The corollary is intolerance and enmity. I see in every one of you a potential talib. With the deadly mix of economics and politics you could all become full-blown dangerous fanatics. You are such devoted followers of your own beliefs that you won8217;t tolerate a variant!8217;

The rapid fire left me shell shocked and the rebel left the scene a winner. It was much later that I realised I could have made a point. The self-styled neutral group has such disdain for the religious, that it is driven to intolerance, too. Doesn8217;t that make them a talib too?