“Empathy is the act of crossing the barriers between self and the other without collapsing difference.”
“Most Human (Sonnet 2151)
Racism is no longer tolerated as normal,
Islamophobia is no longer tolerated as normal,
Homophobia is no longer tolerated as normal,
Chauvinism is no longer tolerated as normal,
Colonialism is no longer tolerated as normal -
believe you me, I speak as a biologist,
this is the most human humanity have
ever been in our 200,000 years long history.
Accessibility is no longer ignored as unimportant,
Autism is no longer frowned upon as abnormal,
Integration is no longer cussed as act of stigma,
Intolerance no longer celebrated as divine intervention.
No wonder bigots have their knickers in a twist,
customs of the jungle are getting eradicated like disease.
Don't be disheartened by occasional resurgence of fascism,
inhumanity flickers fiercely before fading into the abyss.”
Source: The God Sonnets: Naskar Art of Theology
“I tell my students, who are concerned with the question of betrayal, that when it comes to memoir, there is no such thing as absolute truth—only the truth that is singularly their own. I say this not to release them from responsibility but to illuminate the subjectivity of our inner lives. One person's experience is not another's.”
Source: Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love
“The truth is that Hinduism is both a salad bowl and a melting pot. It is—and was—a great religion not because it was linear or prescriptive, but because, self-assured in its central narrative, it was not intimidated by diversity. ‘It is perfectly acceptable in Hinduism to be a polytheist, monotheist, monist, pantheist, agnostic, atheistic, animist or any combination thereof’.74 This is proof of its deeply eclectic spirit, not a reason to devalue its coherence. As Rabindranath Tagore says: ‘To experience unity in diversity and to establish unity amongst variety—this is the inherent dharma (the spirit) of Bharat. Bharatvarsha never interpreted diversities as hostility.”
Source: The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias and the Way Forward
“I don't beg for equality, I establish equality.”
Source: Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper
“I don't plea, I execute.”
Source: Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper
“I would say our strength is that we can’t get everyone on the same page.”
Source: The White Mosque
“Dream of the King is the Dream of Civilization.”
Source: Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper
“I Too Am A Racist (Sonnet)
I too am a racist, except my racism
is rooted in evolution, not ignorance and fear -
to me, human race is the mightiest animal,
which is why, our responsibility is far greater.
I too am a bigot, but my bigotry is tolerance,
I don't accept anyone as human who's intolerant.
I too am a fundamentalist, but my faith is choice,
every human is free to choose what's best for them.
I too am a traditionalist, except I walk the tradition
of acceptance, not a secondhand host to dividing lineage.
I too am an extremist, except my extreme is annihilation,
my culture don't exist, nor religion, or native language.
I am native of the earth, yet I'm immigrant to humankind,
for I come from a valley, alien to the states of the world.
I am not interested in building bridges, I am the bulldozer,
out to demolish convention that makes divisions possible.”
Source: Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper
“The way apes understand what's cultured, I'm not that sort of cultured - I'm humanly cultured - which means, I live as cure for tribalism, not coddle; I abolish chains, not worship them, I do not entertain stereotypes - I question and denounce prejudice, both external and internal.”
Source: Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper