Colours of Violence by Kakar Sudhir

Author:Kakar, Sudhir [Kakar, Sudhir]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789351180920
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-05-31T00:00:00+00:00

Pardis and Muslims: The Past

The Pardis recollect their shared past with the Muslims with a measure of ambivalence. They are aware that their ancestors served the Muslims as farm labourers during the latter’s long rule and that they have been influenced in many ways by their erstwhile masters. The influence is evident in the way they dispose of their dead, in the many Urdu words which have crept into their dialect, for example, valid for father, mazhab for religious faith; and, till recently, in the not too seldom use of Muslim names for their children. Rajesh’s wife Sakila, for instance, has a Muslim name, a fact of which he is deeply ashamed and for which he blames his illiterate in-laws who had no idea of the meaning and importance of names.

In the more recent past, Satish recalls playing football, cricket, and kabaddi as a child with Muslim boys of the neighbourhood. He visited their homes freely, as they did his, and was even friendly with their womenfolk who did not observe any purdah in front of him. Accompanying his mother on her rounds through the Muslim areas, he would carry the fruits and vegetables right inside the houses and was never made to feel unwelcome. The understanding that existed between Hindus and Muslims of the previous generation, Satish says, has disappeared in the younger one which is a hot-blooded lot. Whereas the older Muslims were tolerant, the young ones are aggressive and are provoked to violence at the slightest of pretexts. Kamla Bai agrees with the assessment, as do others, that it was easy to live together with the older generation of Muslims but it is impossible to do so with the younger who are all turning into goondas.

The easier coexistence in an earlier era does not mean that the Pardis ever liked the Muslims or did not feel resentful toward them. The Pardi version of the history of Hindu–Muslim conflict, articulated by Badli Pershad as an elder of the community, goes thus: ‘The clashes between Hindus and Muslims started long ago in the period of the Nizam and his razakars (a marauding, unofficial army) who were very cruel to the Hindus. They used to harass our girls, rape them. This happened not only in villages but even in Hyderabad. We feared the Muslims. The rule was theirs, the king was theirs, the police were theirs, so it was hard for the Hindus to resist. We were also poor and no one supports the poor. Some marwadis may have been well-off but the majority of Hindus was poor. The Muslims were close to the king. They were moneylenders, charging high rates of interest. Thus they were rich and the Hindus poor and though we lived together Muslims dominated the Hindus.

‘We never used to mingle closely with them. Hindus feared Muslims a lot. They were very aggressive. They eat bada gosht (beef) which kept Hindus away from them. They used to prepare kheer (rice pudding) on their festival days but they cooked it in the same vessels.

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