Dear friends, I feel I need to clarify again. My purpose of sharing this experience was not to seek support for my friend. All these happened almost a year back. >From last January, my friend has mostly been in his flat in Bangalore and his ancestral house in Bhopal, in connection with work. And he is seriously considering shifting back, due to various reasons. He is well connected with lots of friends and is perfectly taking care of himself. Moreover, the police men have never been, as far as I know, impolite to him.
But do not jumpt to conclusions like "he was a recluse" or "did not make any effort to mix with the local population." These are just your assumptions, and far from truth. In fact, some local friends offered him help on all the three occasions, and helped him communicate with the policemen who spoke only Malayalam. I cited the experiences of my friend, only to help us examine our own prejudices. Please think for a while: if a Tamil Brahmin or a Maharashtra Brahmin buys a house in a kerala village, will he be subjected to the same kind of experiences. Will it evoke the same kind of suspecion or anxieties? Many Malayalis (certainly Hindus and Christians) buy properties in Ooty, Kodai, Bangalore, Kunoor and most parts of northern India, including villages. Will similar things happen there, and if they do, be seen with the same complacency by any of us? Europeans continue to visit many houses in Trichur--Hindu and Christian. Will it ever evoke the same kind of suspecion as it did when they visited my friend? Once again, I am not saying that Police threatened to put my friend in Jail. But the very experience of uniformed police men unexpectedly knocking on your door--especially when it happends without any obvious reason--shouldn't it be seen as a case of descrimination? Is this the only way to make our society a safe place for everybody? On 7/31/07, Ranjit Ranjit <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > well.. i did not say you would be put in jail.. > > > evenif u didnt say it, our police will DO it. dont worry. they will woven > beautiful stories to convince u and make u secure in the "every one knows > everyone" spaces > > > > -- Dr. Muraleedharan Tharayil Trichur, Kerala India 680 013 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
