Opinion Express View: Lesson from rat-hole miners — religion should not matter

If there is such a thing as an irrefutable fact in politics, it is this: Identities — ascribed and earned, social, economic and ideological — are over-determined. A degree of identity politics can, of course, serve a useful purpose. It can foreground and spotlight the experiences and concerns of the marginalised. It can help fine-tune affirmative action policies. On the other hand, it can also be used to demonise entire communities, and to reduce the complexity of individuals to their caste, class, gender. In this context, what Vaqeel Hasan said has struck a particularly resonant note.

Hasan is the head of Rockwell Enterprises, whose employees have become national heroes after they helped rescue the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi. “In our team, there are both Hindus and Muslims, and people from both religions worked hard to save these 41 lives. None of them could have done this alone, and this is the message I want to give to everyone… We should all live in harmony and not spread the poison of hate.” Hasan’s words are simple but they are important to bear in mind as the euphoria around the successful rescue settles and the risk of citizens returning to prejudice-as-usual rears its head.

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In times of crisis, or in industries where talent and excellence is key, identities that otherwise seem dominant shrink and become smaller. When stars, in cricket and cinema, are deified, their last name ceases to matter. When “rat hole miners” risk their own well-being to rescue people they do not know, it is their goodness and not their gods that people care about. It is this sentiment, expressed by Hasan simply and eloquently, that the country should carry forward in the aftermath of the triumph at Uttarkashi.