Today, the world toasted a movie, made by the Brits, about the same city that was held to ransom by armed religious fanatics only a couple of months back. From the early morning on, a country glued to TV broke into cheers when two Indian Muslims walked away with the coveted Academy Awards. Was today not the perfect answer to religious fanaticism from across the border, and in some cases very much from within our borders?

Perhaps there is someone up there sending a message to all of us, saying that it is in our destiny to continue to be a pluralistic society, to not get taken in by hate merchants spewing venom whenever they feel like it — in the name of gods. This is not the first time; even before, when those advocating religious intolerance seemed to be getting what they wanted, timely reminders that we Indians have been and will continue to be an inclusive society have arrived.

The day India won the NatWest Trophy finals against England in 2002 in sensational fashion, at a local teashop in Gandhinagar, the finer aspects of the win were being hotly debated — till somebody who’d not seen the match on TV popped the question: who was at the crease when we won? There was an uncomfortable silence, and then somebody mumbled: “Kaif and Zaheer.”

Then came the chilling rejoinder from the one who asked the question, “Majaa gayee”, more silence, and the crowd quietly dispersed. One should not forget that this came not too many months after the 2002 riots that saw the latent hatred that had for decades simmered between the two communities come to a new boiling point.

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