Why Do They Hate My Religion?

Why Do They Hate My Religion?
Dr. P. E. S. Kartha

Oh my Mother,

Why do they accuse us of intolerance?
Why do they say we are fundamentalists?
Why do they say we are primitive and pagan?
Why do they attack us from all sides, from within and without?
When `they' are really some of us, the hurt is excruciating

Oh my Mother,

Does my religion Sanathana Dharma deserve it?
We treated all who came to our home in par with us.
Is it the meaning of intolerance?
We welcomed them when came as refugees.
Is it the meaning of primitiveness?
We shared our home with them when they didn't have any.
Is it the meaning of fundamentalism?
But later they came back with swords or guns or to convert us,
So as to teach us secularism, tolerance and civilization!

Whenever we get hit, oh my Mother,

We are asked to be silent, or they ban our `sites',
Is it the meaning of secularism?
We the victims are always blamed for our sufferings.
How can they say that we inflict our own wounds?

Oh my Mother,

Why the secular law is interested in my caste or religion?
Why the secular government controls temples but not churches or mosques?
Why these different rights, rules and privileges for different religions?
Is it a crime that we belong to a `majority' religion?

Oh my Mother,

We survived for five millenniums or more!
Would we last just another century or even a decade?
Does my teenage son have to complete his life as a Muslim or a Christian?
I do not have any answer, my Mother; I do not have any answer!

Oh my Mother,

Our swelling frustration, rising loneliness, incessant helplessness,
That we were carrying for thousand years without uttering a word,
Not bearable any more, they are on a short fuse, close to their Big Bang
The pain, the fury that was dormant for centuries is now to erupt,
Do something urgently Mother, to avoid the catastrophe that may follow.

Or, if you think it is inevitable,

Do lead us,guide us,and prepare us for the approaching Dharma Yuddha
Oh my Ma, my Bharat Mata, you are my Krishna, you are my Kurukshetra.