The dictionary meaning of Apartheid:
1. An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.
2. A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.
3. The condition of being separated from others; segregation.

India was one of the major Nations who boycotted the apartheid policies followed by the Government in South Africa, in fact Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the major crusader against the discrimatory practices followed by them from 1948 till 1994. India as a nation strongly opposed the discrimination and exploitation by the White Government.

Looking back at time if we look at ourselves and question whether we have been any different? My answer would be NO. We may have not had discrimination based on skin color, but Caste, Religion, Society status and on and on. Forget yesterday, but just the day before the 13th May 2010, I received a call from the secretary of a housing society where we own a flat asking us to get our tenant to vacate the house and appoint fresh tenant as firstly they did not want a Muslim tenant in the society and secondly the tenant was causing them problems. Would you not call this apartheid?

Our history is caste based, the Brahmins created a haloed platform for themselves to protect their generations from destruction and created all laws to ensure that they remained the only educated people, they made themselves the guardians of Hinduisms and created Mythology to protect themselves from the uneducated masses, they termed other religions like Budhism as wicked and drove them out of the Country. They quenched their thirst from their wells as people from the so called lower caste died of thirst. Were they well-wishers of society or selfish? Till how long back would we not allow access to a jamadar into our house except from an entry reserved for them? Till how long back would we think twice before inviting or going to a Muslim’s place for meals? Why? Ever gave a thought to this question? Please think it over now.

Has our Government done any thinking on this question? Again my answer would be NO. Just recently a national census has been launched in the Country and days and days are being wasted on debating if it should be caste based or not. Are we not faced with any problems that we can waste so much of Parliament time and tax payers money on worthless issues? Every second day issue of reservation in education and jobs crops up, what are these worthless politicians doing for the Nation other than creating a vote bank for themselves? Why have reservations for anybody? Just let the people with the potential come up and do their jobs till they are able to show results. I do not see any development in a Country where everything just works for personal gains.

I still am not able to figure out whether I was amused or appalled by the news recently on the issue raised by the Khap panchayats on the issue of marriages among the same Gotra. Pray what are we trying to do. Why can we not let our youngsters live their own lives and who in the name of God are the Khap panchayats to pass a death sentence on any individual when the Honorable Courts of this Nation took one and a half year to do so, on a criminal who was a proven terrorist with all evidences against him? Not only was the dictat passed but executed also. Is this action in any manner different from the actions of the Islamic Clerics whom we very happily critcise and hate? We as common people in our own families decide that we want our one child to become an Engineer, the other to be a Doctor and the Daughter to be a School Teacher. Do we have the authority to do so? It is time to realize that our children are exposed to media, internet and many other sources of information and most often are better informed than us and are fully capable of making their decisions. Do discuss the problems with them and leave the decision to them. We carry this thought process to our work place also and try to impose our thoughts there. People who are in governance do so at their work place too and end in disaster. Youngsters are already disillusioned and frustrated, I feel this is the time to ponder on this and raise our voices against such practices and prevent a certain rebellion and disaster.

Let us stop worshipping people like Gandhiji and other heroes and show respect the cause they supported and take their work ahead.