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Truth to heal

Truth to heal

Author: Quamar Ashraf
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 19, 2007
URL: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/05/19/stories/2007051952960400.htm

[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: Now tell who is the one who is distorting history, and who is indulging in brainwashing?]

When falsehood is constantly repeated, it begins to sound like the truth, since people get used to hearing it. Hiren Patel (name changed), a 19-year-old from Ahmedabad, had heard stories that he thought were true. These were the kind of stories Hiren was used to hearing: "The Muslims destroyed temples in India over the centuries and finally divided the motherland." Hiren thought those who believe in equality of all communities and religions were wrong. He snidely called them 'pseudo-secularists' and thought they were the "biggest block to our hopes of turning India into a Hindu raj."

One day Hiren attended a camp organised by the NGO Anhad. The camps are held across Gujarat to help ordinary people understand they must not blindly accept propaganda and allow themselves to be communally divided. Hiren learnt to question and evaluate whatever 'information' he was given. He began to question his most basic beliefs. He found they were not based on facts but on hatred ingrained in him by communalists. Today Hiren courageously speaks about composite culture and secularism with his friends, whereas these words were, until now, blasphemous.

Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad's founder, says she not only gives participants an accurate idea of history, but also asks them to refrain from believing whatever they are told by any political group or party.

For example, says Hashmi, "Even those who are opposed to Modi's anti-Muslim tirade, praise his 'Vibrant Gujarat' campaign, which is a total farce." She shows people the falseness of the claims by using data from the National Sample Survey. "We stress that communalism is not the problem of Muslims only, it destroys the very ethics of our existence."

Normally 20 experts from different fields try to eradicate the misconceptions with which participants have grown up. Hashmi explains, "We usually give a bag full of different items 10-12 people and ask them to prepare a list describing the possible items in it. We ask them, 'Should we believe the list you prepared'? Naturally, they say no and ask to open the bag. Then the owner of the bag says the bag contains stones, tridents, etc. Five to six of them readily believe it, while the rest insist on looking for themselves." Noted activist Teesta Setalvad, who also holds such camps, says, "Camps like these would help restore people's faith in secularism and composite culture. We are directly reaching the mass that the communalists use during riots against Muslims. While the communalists with their wide network organise camps and workshops and campaign across the country, dividing people on communal lines with their brand of education and policies, the secularists failed to counter their campaign."

Hashmi is said to have organised over 50 camps in the last five years, with an average of 100 participants each, mostly Hindus. She claims the camps make a difference to the outlook of about 80 per cent of participants. . She sums up, " There is only a need to inform people about the truth on the ground."


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