Two films
on the contemporary religious divide were screened at the International
Film Festival of India, being held in Goa. The Urdu film, ”Khuda kay
liye” (in the name of God) tackles the contemporary subject of the
inhuman acts done in the name of God. It is a story of the predicament
of a modern liberal Pakistani family which bears the brunt of the communal
dimensions of two different religions.
The movie
is about two musician brothers – one of who gets sucked into the regressive
world of religious extremism; while the other is brutalised by the racial
profiling in the USA. It also handles other issues like the theological
issues, suppression of women and the cultural contextualization of Islam.
The last scene has a liberal and a radical competing for the Azaan.
The contest for who speaks for Islam has begun!
The second
film “Dharma” captures the use of religion to propagate hatred first
within the Hindu community against the Dalits and eventually to unleash
violence against the other religion. It is about a Pundit - a revered
authority on the scriptures - who unwittingly adopts a Muslim baby,
thinking him to be a Brahmin. When confronted with reality, he undergoes
severe penance. But, he is liberated of his pain only when he finds
that love for humanity is the real Dharma! And thus is born his courage
to halt the violent rioters!
But the
main learning is about the way, various groups are propagating different
versions of their religions and the politics of hate. We grow up to
learn that the underlying principle of all religions is love for humanity.
However, the fact remains that the overriding dimension of religion
ranges from suspicion for the other faiths to a violent war with them.
In the name of God, the most heinous of crimes are being wrought and
justified. Religions speaking about brotherhood and love for mankind
are at war with each other.
It is
not enough for a faith to be tolerant towards the other. We need to sift the
grain (perception) from the chaff (prejudice) first in our own minds.
The various dimensions of the philosophy of religions which clash with
its practice need to be understood. The vengeful mask of religious identity
can be allowed to mask our sense of perspective. In the name of mankind,
we need to unlearn our prejudices and “develop new dimensions” of
empathy, peace and social justice.
*In the
name of God, hate propels inflammatory actions,*
*In the
name of mankind, let’s ‘develop new dimensions’! *
*— Pravin
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