I've been reading with some interest the discussion in the GDN's 'Letters to the Editor' about banning Christmas parties in schools.
Maybe it's because I'm doing political science as one of my subjects this semester, but I thought of the separation of religion from the state in secular countries as I read the letters.
Studying in Mumbai, I've gradually understood how being secular is defined in the Indian context.
Bringing 518 princely states under Hindu, Muslim and Sikh rulers united under an abstract concept of India, after independence, proved a difficult exercise in keeping religion out of politics.
In spite of frictions and the emergence of Hindu nationalist parties, the political scenario is secular.
The Prime Minister is from the minority Sikh community, the Vice-President is Muslim and all the power in the country is wielded by the ruling party president Sonia Gandhi, who is Italian-born and a Roman Catholic.
I was born in the then North Bombay, in an entirely Muslim neighbourhood, in which we were the only Christian family.
I remember the goats tethered during Eid Al Adha, known here as Baqri Id, that we would feed. Every festival was celebrated with equal gaiety and involved everyone in the neighbourhood.
After almost 18 years, I'm in the city again, now living in a south Mumbai suburb that has a curious mix of Parsis (Zoroastrians who migrated from Persia), Catholics and Muslims.
I remember the Orientation Ceremony that my parents and I attended upon admission to college, which is incidentally a Catholic minority institution. It began with a religious dance that is usually performed during the Ganesh (a Hindu deity) festival in Maharashtra.
My mum raised her eyebrows at that, but my dad was quick to say that though the college is Catholic, it doesn't mean that everybody else is excluded.
From the principal's address, I learnt that our college motto, 'Roots Upwards' is from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture.
In the library, I came across a book written by the principal which revealed that she is an expert in the mediaeval Vijayanagara kingdom and the temples and ruins of Hampi, in Karnataka state.
I wondered at that time what made a nun of the Society of the Sacred Heart choose to study this unexplored facet of Indian heritage, rather than say the Sistine Chapel and Renaissance architecture.
I realised that to be a mature and accepting person, one ought to explore and appreciate something that is not part of one's culture without perceiving it as a 'threat', or compromising on what you believe for that matter.
Gandhi once said: "I want winds of all cultures to blow through my house, but I refuse to be swept off my feet by any of them."
Another example of religious cohesion that I came across was during a memorial service held in my hostel's chapel, for the father of a girl from the working women's wing.
After the nuns led the prayers for the dead, a Muslim girl recited Quranic verses.
Nobody found it heretic that Islamic prayers for the dead were being offered for a Christian man.
The bereaved girl wasn't present and I doubt she would have understood the Arabic, but all the same she would have appreciated the solidarity and sympathy that transcend language and faith.
I fail to understand why people would want to waste time and energy asking for a ban on Christmas parties in schools and use arguments such us how parents would feel "if children of all religions were kept hungry and thirsty throughout school hours to teach them what fasting means to Muslims" (GDN January 10).
Such remarks are insensitive and can't be used to counter a joyful class party that one disapproves of, merely to prove a point. There are better things in the world to fight for rather than putting an end to celebrations.
In fact, one of the memories I associate with Christmas is watching the icon of Arab youth and Nobel Peace laureate, Yasser Arafat, braving Israeli barricades to attend the Christmas Mass at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, an annual ritual he had observed for years.
Honestly, there is precious little to rejoice these days, so why ruin Christmas parties for children who are trying to spread some cheer ?
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