I stood up for a fellow citizen. I would do it all over again

When I look at our country today, I feel we have not truly achieved freedom. To me, freedom means a person can breathe freely. That they can live their life with their family, friends, and relatives without fear. That they can practise their religion and interact with their neighbours and society at large with dignity. In recent years, for our fellow Muslim citizens, that freedom has become increasingly harder to come by. This brings shame to our country and Constitution. Every community has sacrificed for India’s independence. This country is made by all of us, it is of all of us, it belongs to us all. This is why I always stand up for my fellow countrymen. In January, I was celebrating Republic Day at a friend’s shop when I noticed that seven to eight men from the Bajrang Dal had barged into the shop of an elderly man, Vakeel Ahmed, and started misbehaving with him over the name of his shop, claiming the word “Baba” belonged to Hindus alone. I tried to calm them down, but when that didn’t work and they started asking me for my name, I said, “My name is Mohammad Deepak.” It was to say to them: We are all Indians.

In the days that followed, Bajrang Dal members put up an Instagram post calling for all “Hindu” men to unite and teach me “a lesson”. Another group of men claiming allegiance to the outfit reached Kotdwar from Dehradun. They hurled threats and abuses against my family in front of my gym.  I am willing to die for my country, but when it comes to your family’s safety, you are forced to think of the consequences. I have a five-year-old daughter, a wife, a mother. After the incident, my daughter couldn’t go to school for some time. I was forced to stay inside my house for two-and-a-half months. My gym is my only source of income. I have a house loan and my daughter’s school fees. Before the incident, my gym had 150-200 members; that has dropped to 40-42.

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I do not believe these groups’ actions represent the Hindu faith. Even as they accuse the “other” of being against Hinduism, it is they who muddy the name of our religion and gods. They do so by intimidating others and inflicting pain, disrespecting other religions and people in the name of our gods. “Hindus” aren’t angry with me. Recently, I attended an event in Dehradun, attended mostly by Hindus. Nearly everybody came up to me and expressed appreciation for what I had done. I have received love and appreciation from people of all backgrounds, who have helped me at a very difficult time.

I have no regrets, and would do it all over again. As much as I have been harassed, whether by these groups or the police by way of an FIR and summons, I have also been blessed to witness more and more people speaking up for what is right. I see on social media now that when goons come to shut down shops, others resist. People tell me that by raising my voice, I have managed to dent the climate of fear.

Today, the Hindu-Muslim divide has become so deep I fear it will not leave people’s hearts and minds in the foreseeable future. Governments are stoking hate for political gain. My country and its people are so much more than this. If there are wrongdoers, there is no paucity of those willing to stand up for the greater good. Change happens when people stop watching from the sidelines and start facing the situation. The time for that change has come.

The writer owns a gym in Uttarakhand