…the kind of harassment you face
as you search for room/flat to stay in cities like Delhi is appalling, it only
consolidates how primitive this society is. You are humiliated and made to
realise your ‘position’ as tenant. It gets worse as you go down for cheaper
deal. You are disgraced and treated like a lump of shit. There is no line between private and public, you are deemed a property. Not only that once
you get a room then comes another set of blatant intrusions and restrictions. It
can be frustrating if you don’t keep the mind out, it can even turn you into psychopath!
These kind of crude dealing makes you wonder as to who are these people who are
landowners, particularly in big cities (and as you near posh colonies things
become quite crystal clear), and then the pattern emerges.
You are discriminated on any
fancy notion, quirks, idiosyncrasies, most significantly superstitions (believe
me the scoundrels have long list, as god is in private dalliance with them and
they seem to be holder of secret ways) of the house owner, also reverentially referred
as landlords. Any kind of variance can
be source of scrutiny and further exploitation, so language, accent, surname,
region, eat habiting, marital status and god knows what becomes source of intense
scratching. If you have Muslim name then in most cases you will be shown the
door, while Christians don’t seem to have much problems (indeed south Indians, specifically
keralaites are preferred, I guess since they are easily subjugated, complete change
of culture and environment puts most in shells). Since my name confuses and doesn’t
obviously point to Hindu, to make matter worse I was going through mandatory
JNU-kurtha phase, I have been pointedly asked many times whether I am Muslim? Aap muslim tho nahin hai?...don’t know
how to translate that, it is quite nuanced, in the query there is sarcasm and rejection
also. Even quite recently in Mysore the broker clarified that if I am Muslim I wouldn’t
be getting room in ‘this’ locality, hinting some kind of pride. Likes of MN
Srinivas could explain that in some
lucid theory, for me it is clear crudeness.
Unlike likes of Sardesais, Desais,
Guhas, Mishras… who carry the primitive beacon and quite self-assuredly express
humbleness and otherworldly shudhtha
concerns, people from lower sections tend to hide their pecking order in primitive
world. Any hint of it will be detrimental in mean streets of Delhi. So unlike on your face muslims they tend to morph. This the
main reason why biharis as a group are targeted, lumpenized and treated inhumanly. Indeed in
many cases they seek cities to escape the atrocities from the world that Sardesais
of the universe pride in. This in itself should put in context to what kind of depraved
people are at the helm, the one who play saviour.
Post script: pandit is a term for
reverence to knowledge, in case people have forgotten, if it is a casteist
primitive reference (that the elite pride in) then I request it need to be
expunged from English language. Amitabh Matto is known for his exaggerated
concerns but he should understand that unlike careless media Kashmiri Hindus
cannot be referred to as pandits. That is blatant casteism. Morons in the media
can be forgiven for their habitual narcissism but he positions himself as some
kind of intellect. He should be careful. In the meanwhile our man even finds
time to take interviews for civil service aspirants. Come on sirji sab jegeh hath daloge kya, hum jaison
ko bhi tho jeene do. Wonder why these retired bureaucrats/ambassadors even
serving civil servants (they should be dealt severely by the government) find
it interesting to take interviews? Many lack appallingly in their contemporary knowledge
and understanding. It is shocking how they seek to capitalise on their position.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the kind of people inhabiting UPSC.
