An ugly incident aboard an airline shows that old prejudices are alive & kicking
By A Son Of India (Ref.: TOI, New Delhi, 22/07/2009)
April 15, 2009. I am sitting on board the IC 854 on the way back to New Delhi from Bangkok and Im itching to tell this story. It all started with a group of eight Sardarjis at the check-in counter. Now, I want to make one thing very clear: this is in no way, shape or form meant to make fun of Sardarjis. Some of my closest friends are Sardarjis. Some of the kindest, humblest, most intelligent and polished people I have met in Delhi are Sardarjis, and I have the utmost respect for them. The only reason I am specifying the community here is in context of the story I am about to tell.
On boarding the flight, I had across the aisle and behind me, this very group, who within the first hour, had already guzzled four mini-bottles of Ballantines each, mixed with warm Tiger beer. Hey, dont judge me for staring, Im just Indian! I downed a Ballantines with soda myself, but what was astonishing was the rate at which my dear friends seemed to be drinking. With every drink, their voices got louder, and their language more boisterous. I am from New Delhi, and this is nothing new. I come from a city where you could get shot for cutting someone off in a traffic jam. Anyway, let me get back to my story. I was travelling with my mother and sister. In the seat in front of us, there sat a young, quiet man, with a long beard, a typical Muslim cap, and white salwar.
On the second round of drinks, my mother asked for tomato juice and got half a glass. I asked her why, she said they had just run out. The Muslim gent, too, was denied his request for tomato juice. No, we are all out! Take a Pepsi, thats what you had before, said the air-hostess . What we found strange was that two passengers down sat a White man who also requested tomato juice. Much to our surprise, the hostess reached down and out came a full carton. Our jaws dropped as she served the man politely. I shook my head, tuttutted , dozed off and forgot about this little incident . I woke up again in time for the food. Veg or Non-Veg Our Muslim friend who was so rudely denied a tomato juice had to make a decision between chicken and paneer. Chicken halal he asked. The same air-hostess who had refused him his juice then did something which I could not simply tut-tut at, overlook or ignore. Chicken halal Voh kuch savaal hota hai kya You should say Chicken halal hai Vhat am I meant to know vhat that means Chicken halal Chicken halal Kya pooch rahey ho?
She did not stop there. You need to say Chicken halal hai Chicken halal hai By this time, her voice was raised and she was looking around for approval. Of course, the first to jump to her aid were my good friends, the Sardarjis, who nodded and supported her. This little incident went on for a good three minutes by which time the last five rows of the airplane had joined in. Kya matlab hai Chicken halal Hahaha. Bolna bhi nahi aata. Hahaha! Eventually, after the air-hostess had enjoyed her audience, she said, Haan, halal hai, yeh leh! and rudely handed over the non-veg meal to the man in front.
By this point, I was furious. All the poor man was doing was making sure that the meal was something that he could eat. My mother sensed my mood and nudged me to stay quiet. She knows that if I ever witness any kind of discrimination, I jump in and get involved. I have lived all over the world and have faced discrimination from Whites, Blacks, Asians, Arabs, you name it.
To get back, the food was upon us and everything seemed to have died down until I heard one member of the group yell, This is Indian Airlines, not Muslim Airlines! I could not hold back any longer. I turned to them and said as politely as I could, Sir, please let me inform you that India is a huge nation. We have millions of Muslims. In fact, we have more Muslims than Pakistan. I am a Hindu and I really do not appreciate this kind of talk. At this point they all shut up and nodded.
We wonder why terrorism happens. We wonder what we have done to deserve the Mumbai attacks . I say we should all look to ourselves. We are the largest democracy in the world. We are well on our way to becoming the next superpower. But we are so divided that we just cant make it work. The Europeans did it right, divide and conquer . We were great and rich once upon a time, and we are still the same now. England may have stolen our jewels, but they could never steal our minds and our souls. Let us all join hands and say Jai ho! Lets make India into the great nation I know it can be.
By A Son Of India (Ref.: TOI, New Delhi, 22/07/2009)
April 15, 2009. I am sitting on board the IC 854 on the way back to New Delhi from Bangkok and Im itching to tell this story. It all started with a group of eight Sardarjis at the check-in counter. Now, I want to make one thing very clear: this is in no way, shape or form meant to make fun of Sardarjis. Some of my closest friends are Sardarjis. Some of the kindest, humblest, most intelligent and polished people I have met in Delhi are Sardarjis, and I have the utmost respect for them. The only reason I am specifying the community here is in context of the story I am about to tell.
On boarding the flight, I had across the aisle and behind me, this very group, who within the first hour, had already guzzled four mini-bottles of Ballantines each, mixed with warm Tiger beer. Hey, dont judge me for staring, Im just Indian! I downed a Ballantines with soda myself, but what was astonishing was the rate at which my dear friends seemed to be drinking. With every drink, their voices got louder, and their language more boisterous. I am from New Delhi, and this is nothing new. I come from a city where you could get shot for cutting someone off in a traffic jam. Anyway, let me get back to my story. I was travelling with my mother and sister. In the seat in front of us, there sat a young, quiet man, with a long beard, a typical Muslim cap, and white salwar.
On the second round of drinks, my mother asked for tomato juice and got half a glass. I asked her why, she said they had just run out. The Muslim gent, too, was denied his request for tomato juice. No, we are all out! Take a Pepsi, thats what you had before, said the air-hostess . What we found strange was that two passengers down sat a White man who also requested tomato juice. Much to our surprise, the hostess reached down and out came a full carton. Our jaws dropped as she served the man politely. I shook my head, tuttutted , dozed off and forgot about this little incident . I woke up again in time for the food. Veg or Non-Veg Our Muslim friend who was so rudely denied a tomato juice had to make a decision between chicken and paneer. Chicken halal he asked. The same air-hostess who had refused him his juice then did something which I could not simply tut-tut at, overlook or ignore. Chicken halal Voh kuch savaal hota hai kya You should say Chicken halal hai Vhat am I meant to know vhat that means Chicken halal Chicken halal Kya pooch rahey ho?
She did not stop there. You need to say Chicken halal hai Chicken halal hai By this time, her voice was raised and she was looking around for approval. Of course, the first to jump to her aid were my good friends, the Sardarjis, who nodded and supported her. This little incident went on for a good three minutes by which time the last five rows of the airplane had joined in. Kya matlab hai Chicken halal Hahaha. Bolna bhi nahi aata. Hahaha! Eventually, after the air-hostess had enjoyed her audience, she said, Haan, halal hai, yeh leh! and rudely handed over the non-veg meal to the man in front.
By this point, I was furious. All the poor man was doing was making sure that the meal was something that he could eat. My mother sensed my mood and nudged me to stay quiet. She knows that if I ever witness any kind of discrimination, I jump in and get involved. I have lived all over the world and have faced discrimination from Whites, Blacks, Asians, Arabs, you name it.
To get back, the food was upon us and everything seemed to have died down until I heard one member of the group yell, This is Indian Airlines, not Muslim Airlines! I could not hold back any longer. I turned to them and said as politely as I could, Sir, please let me inform you that India is a huge nation. We have millions of Muslims. In fact, we have more Muslims than Pakistan. I am a Hindu and I really do not appreciate this kind of talk. At this point they all shut up and nodded.
We wonder why terrorism happens. We wonder what we have done to deserve the Mumbai attacks . I say we should all look to ourselves. We are the largest democracy in the world. We are well on our way to becoming the next superpower. But we are so divided that we just cant make it work. The Europeans did it right, divide and conquer . We were great and rich once upon a time, and we are still the same now. England may have stolen our jewels, but they could never steal our minds and our souls. Let us all join hands and say Jai ho! Lets make India into the great nation I know it can be.
