The Hindu and the Muslim - Religion will follow you

Excerpts from an article by Shahina K K in the Hindustan Times on Oct 4, 2008. Parts of a write-up by Shahina on The Hoot, a media watchdog portal, were used by "The Indian Mujahideen" in its terror email relating to the Delhi serial blasts of Sept 13, 2008.

In the excerpts below, Shahina, a self-professed agnostic, describes her state of mind following this shocking discovery and what followed afterwards, and what she fears MIGHT follow...

• "...Our friends initially responded as if it is nothing but rather a minor crime of plagiarism that we need not worry about further. In fact as they explained later, they had been trying to shrug off the acerbic realization that what we call terrorism is some where very near our doorstep.
  
  "However their arrival at my place was followed by a call from Sevanti Ninan, the columnist who edits The Hoot. Even though it was not unexpected, I had felt a tremor while being informed of the enquiry by the Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad about me. They contacted Sevanti and she told me that it was impossible to hold back whatever information they wanted about me...
  
  "...but living in a metro stricken with terror, it was altogether a different ball game. Here even my name matters. The heaviness of a Muslim name could make life miserable in Delhi. No matter whether you follow religion, religion will definitely follow you.
  
  "I have been waiting for the bootsteps at my door any time. My friends say the investigators might have been monitoring my cyber activities and telephone calls. It is hard to live knowing that you are under surveillance. For the last two weeks we had been in touch with several of the authorities to clarify my position on the whole episode.
  
  "One of the top officials we met during the course of this, a gentleman who amazed us with his extremely polite manner, asked, So, you’re a Muslim?” I wanted to respond with a big NO, and to shout from the roof top that I am agnostic, kept away from the clutches of religion even from my teens.
  
  "But I couldn’t. I gave him no answer. I was skeptical about the political correctness of such an answer through out my life.
  
  "Am I doing wrong by turning my back on the millions of innocent people who follow religion, bearing the brunt of what ever have been done in the name of religion? My partner who is, by birth a Hindu had been cajoled to claim the same in front of that officer, in order to prove our secular credentials in a city where we are nothing more than names.
  
  "It was for the first time, religion intruded into our life together. We had not hesitated even fraction of a second to leave the column for religion blank in the birth registration form when our son, Anpu, was born..."

---------------
In today's highly polarised atmosphere of "they" and "us", The Hindu and the Muslim series is a conscious effort to record, and dissect, "Hindu-Muslim encounters" (including the ones done by police) and look for patterns...