Objection for Objection’s Sake

Objection for Objection’s Sake

195:9

1994 10 October 5-6 Objection for Objection’s Sake (364)

At a symposium held in Ghalib Academy in New Delhi on December 6, 1992, on the subject: ‘Religion does not teach communalism,’ the writer in the course of his speech, made the point that according to God’s scheme of creation, free competition is in the natural order of things. In a competitive set-up, there is bound to be friction, and, if this escalates, it can lead to confrontations between individuals and groups. This state of affairs, being quite natural, is unlikely to change. Given this situation, the only way to lead a peaceful life is to practise avoidance. That is to say, that whenever there is the fear of clashing in life’s activities, the principle of avoidance should be put into practice. This will prevent any head on collisions and will ensure that human life develops in comparative safety.

You may have noticed playcards fixed in the streets at various points with the words: “Keep distance.” It is by adhering to this part of the ‘code of the road’ that many vehicles can pass through the street at the same time without colliding with one another. It behooves all civic-minded citizens to adopt this same principle in their private and public lives as well as on the streets.

At question and answer time at the end of the speech, an educated Muslim got up and said, “The principle of ‘keeping distance’ suggested by you implies separate spheres for Hindus and Muslims and their having to conduct their lives in such a way that they have absolutely no connection with each other. With such a separation, our problems, far from being solved, would certainly escalate. (This shows how an insincere person can willfully misconstrue obvious and straightforward point.)

I replied that ‘keeping distance’ does not mean leading separate lives; it means rather the avoidance of confrontation in controversial situations. The signboard which admonishes drivers to ‘keep distance’ does not direct people to shut off their engines and bring their vehicles to a standstill on the street. It only means that while driving in heavy traffic, whenever there is any fear of a collision, they should take care not to drive too close to other vehicles.