To PM Modi, when will I be accepted as an Indian?
Respected Prime Minister,
With a very heavy heart, I, a proud citizen of India, put forth before you a small incident which is a reflection of the ordeal that many other fellow Indians have been and are still going through.
On the 31st October, 2016 at around 11:45 am, 5 students of Campus Law Centre went to visit Jama Masjid. Of the 5 students, one was an exchange student from Germany who wanted to see Delhi, and in particular Old Delhi and its quintessential charm.
On reaching the Masjid, we learned that there would be no entry fee charged from the visitors. We entered through Gate no. 7 where we were rudely stopped by 3 men at the entry of the Masjid. On seeing us, they asked us if we had our mobile phones with us to which we said yes. On hearing that, they pointed to a board hanging above which said “All cameras including mobile phones will be charged @ Rs. 300/- per camera”. That would have added up to a total of Rs. 1500 which is not a small amount for students like us.
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| Niyang Pertin [Photo: Facebook] |
We calmly tried pleading with them that we would not use our phones inside the premises of the Masjid respecting its holy sanctity. To our surprise, as we were trying to plead with them to understand our situation, we could see many people walking past us entering the Masjid without being subjected to any objection or interrogation that we had to go through. People around us were openly carrying their phones with them and some even speaking over the phone as they entered the Masjid. The three said men did nothing to check them or stop them.
On pointing out the fallacy and inequality, they got very hostile and agitated. They kept giving us an ultimatum to either pay or to leave the Masjid. Our pleas and justification fell onto deaf ears as they purposely kept ignoring the other visitors who too were using their mobile phones but not a single paisa was being charged from them.
When they finally realized that there were indeed others who were using phones, they grabbed onto the point that because my male friend was wearing shorts (below the knees) we would not be allowed to enter. Here too, we pointed many foreigners and Indians alike who were inside the Masjid wearing shorts. Moreover, keeping in mind and respecting the laws of Islam, we had no objection and even offered to wear the shawl that was being provided at the entry. Even that made them unhappy as they were bent on getting money out of us and therefore did not allow us entry.
During this entire ordeal they kept shouting at us in loud voices which attracted negative attention from other visitors and unnecessarily subjected us to public humiliation. Because of the negative attention drawn towards us we also had other visitors coming up to us questioning if we were from Nepal or China, thereby shedding light on an issue, ignited by ignorance that keeps popping up every day.
Unable to rationally discuss with them, we sought the help of the guard, a particular Mr. Singh sitting at the security checkpoint in gate no. 7. On telling him our problem he sympathized with us and informed us that the men there did the same to others as well. He also told us that most of the money collected there would go into their own pockets. He unfortunately admitted that he wouldn’t be of much help as they weren’t government employees and had no power to take any action against them and gave us this idea to writing to the PMO. We hope and pray his suggestion yields some action.
We then went back up again and tried pleading with them again. This time the guard too accompanied us who informed them that they weren’t supposed to be charging us a single rupee for entering the Masjid. Paying no heed whatsoever to the guard’s statement, they shouted and shooed us away without even trying to listen to us.
We finally gave up and went through a different gate where we ensured our German friend enjoyed the beauty Jama Masjid had to offer. This time we held on to their cell phones as well and waited for them outside the Masjid to avoid going through a similar ordeal.
Respected sir, this entire ordeal brings forth various questions and issues in mind.
Firstly, why were only we targeted despite there being many others who too carried cell phones with them?
In this 21st century, one would hardly find any individual without having a mobile phone with them. Why then were only we asked if we had phones with us? Was it because we had a foreigner in our midst? We, including Max, the foreigner mentioned, showed our college identity cards to prove we were genuine students of Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi. The rest of us even went forward and showed other documents to prove we are Indians.
Was it because we looked different thereby making us easy preys?
People from the North-eastern part of India are no strangers to having to go through the ordeal of proving their nationality every time they visit any national monuments, parks etc. The sad part is we have gone through this so many times that we have slowly become conditioned to accept it and have our ID’s ready to prove our nationality during such trips within our own country.
When will the government finally take up actions to check on this issue which is an everyday occurrence?
Secondly, this ordeal also sheds light on the poor and exploitative treatment being meted out to foreigners visiting our country.
Our dear German friend is just one fish in the ocean. What of the thousand other tourists who come to India? There are many cases of extortion that the foreigners have to go through. Whatever happened to the concept of Atithi Devo Bhava (English: The guest is equivalent to God)? Is this what we want them taking back with them? Is this the image of India that we want in the international community? The Ministry of Tourism urgently needs to check on such rackets and put an end to it. Broadcasting advertisements of Incredible India featuring Mr. Aamir Khan will not be of much help if every tourist go through such exploitation.
Thirdly, this ordeal also sheds light on the implementation of the principle of equality.
If a proper system is set up by the concerned authorities in the entry gates itself where EVERYBODY is checked to see if they have any cameras or phones with them, then there is no issue. If that was the case, we would have gladly paid the sum of Rs. 300 to be able to witness the beauty that Shah Jahan had left behind.
But to have people randomly picking and checking visitors based solely on their race, colour, and ethnicity and on no other valid ground is absolute inequality. A proper mechanism ought to be set up to keep a better check of this.
Lastly, this incident also sheds light on the fact that certain reforms need to be introduced.
If money is to be collected in national monuments, there is an imperative need for a proper system to be set up. An official counter needs to be set up with legitimate receipts being handed out by officials appointed either by the Archaeological Survey of India or the Delhi Wakf Board for the money collected. This, in turn, will ensure accountability of the money and there shall be lesser hassle and exploitation.
Respected sir, with every faith and hope in you and your government I humbly submit this letter hoping for some reforms to be brought in to ease the pain of the citizens of India. I submit this hoping for the promised acche din.
Note: I am not claiming that this entire episode has been one solely based on racial discrimination. I am not and will not play the victim of racism here. I know many other fellow Indians belonging to the mainland India who have had to go through the same ordeal where such people tried extorting money out of them.
Prejudice, be it towards us or towards the foreigners, does creep in in this episode but I would like to focus more on constructive reforms and actions that needs to be taken to prevent others from going through the same ordeal over and over again.
Let's make India indeed incredible.
(This post first appeared on Niyang Pertin's Facebook page. Niyang later updated on her Facebook that post her open later to the prime minister, Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India, promptly acted upon the issue.)