‘Have Empathy, Think of Minorities’: Rakhshanda Jalil
As part of The Quint’s ‘Letter to India – Ek Naya Start’ campaign, author Rakhshanda Jalil shares her thoughts.
Photo Courtesy: Mayank Austen Soofi
(On the occasion of Republic Day, The Quint relaunches its campaign ‘Letter to India – Ek Naya Start’ and invites readers to send in suggestions to rebuild India after a tough 2020.
Author Rakhshanda Jalil shares how India can start afresh. The views expressed are her own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for them.)
Dear India,
On this Republic Day, I wish the gift we could give ourselves is the gift of empathy. The ability to think for the others, of the others and by the ‘other’. I mean all of those people that we have somehow, over the years, managed to push to the margins of our collective consciousness.
Women, Adivasis, minorities, in particular Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and increasingly as we are seeing, the farmers. Now, if we could somehow cultivate the ability to think for them, of them and to think of them as part of ourselves, would be the best gift that I can imagine for this country.
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