Terrorism and Faith

There is something surreal about being in the midst of a pyrotechnic people where nightly my sensibilities are assaulted with a barrage of firecrackers and blasts the strength of which sometimes seem eerily close by. I use the words carefully because I have been through a war, I know what it sounds like and it is not how anyone would chose to fall asleep. This strikes me even more insane in the light of the real danger that India faces from terrorism and the lengthy announcements that come out of the US and UK embassies following the Pune bomb blast at the weekend where a number of people, foreigners and locals were killed.
We are urged to be vigilant among seas of people and packets and security measures that predicate passage on the mistaken basis of the colour of your skin.
And then I ask myself a thousand times why people who want to harm can justify what they do and whether faith is reason enough. I am exploring Delhi and the passage of turks, afghans and moghul rulers and the consequences of faith and power are all too visible.

Visiting Nizamuddin which is the more liberal arm of islam with its emphasis on love and tolerance an openness to followers of other religious affilations I came across this woman who was huddled on the outside of Nizammuddin's tomb almost as if she was part of the pillar. All you could see of her was a huddled mass - and then she turned to look at us and in those eyes I saw anger, scorn and annoyance and it struck me that even here faith plays a part which I am not comfortable with. Perhaps she was angry at being disturbed and I can only apologise for that but there was more to those eyes than that. Women are excluded from the tomb, they have to be on the outside, shrouded and hidden. God only knows what her life must be like and while I do not profess for one minute that mine is preferable or better I know that so much that is wrong in the world is the adherence to faith which enables radicalism,suppression and subjugation in its name.