INTRODUCTION
Hello Dear Readers and Dear Friends,
What is Racism? Racism is the behavioural pattern consistently shown by an individual or a group of them, generated out of an evil and biased feeling or sentiment of hatred towards a person or a group of them. This feeling is so intense that the person who experiences it, forgets for a while all the good things that life has to offer to mankind; he forgets the fact that his existence on this planet is just temporary and is supposed to do something beneficial to others, he forgets the fact that despite his high status or birth in a highly regarded family, he doesn't possess any natural authority whatsoever to punish or to humiliate or to demean any person or a group of people based on their lower social status or birth in a family of lower category or a poor economic background or dark color of skin or their religion or caste or language or any such similar parameter.
Most people think that Racism is only the discrimination based on the color of skin. But in reality, it is not just that. It is felt when people discriminate based on religion, caste, language, bank balance, residence in a particular geographical location of importance, social status, number of vehicles like luxury cars, property like lands & mansions, etc. Any thing that creates an unwanted distinction, an uncomfortable inequality between one human and another is "Racism". It is created so as to demean, belittle, frustrate , insult, threaten, harm, injure or even kill some person or a group of them. Thus, it is a huge social evil. Apart from that, it has been the root cause of war, conflict and consequential misery on this planet for thousands of years. So many wars have been fought because somebody behaved in a racist way, an incorrect way with somebody else. It is that part of human behaviour that is considered as a despicable sin in all holy scriptures. Ethically speaking, a racist behaviour is the one which directly degrades a person from being a human being to being a monster or a devil. According to behavioral sciences, it is that typical behaviour which is the lowest or the worst of all types of human behaviour, making him look very similar to some wild animal or a demon, as while conducting such behaviour he tends to give up all the decent qualities and humane traits like shame, restraint, peace, discipline, commitment, dedication, mutual respect, fraternity and his moral duty of observation of equality among all humans. It's very similar to anger, wherein the person forgets every good thing for a while and desires to quench his thirst of severe hatred, as quickly and as immensely as possible, without even thinking of its disastrous outcomes.
Why Am I Writing This Book??
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Racism is prevalent everywhere - in public places like roads, assembly halls, offices, working places, schools & colleges etc. It is an evil which has inflicted severe pain, insulted, wounded and killed millions of human lives in the last 400 years. Yet, it does not stop. It went down temporarily after the 2nd World War, which saw a lots of lives lost, on account of racist hatred. But in the last 20 years, it has again been on a steep rise.
Constant efforts are required by people from all walks of life - whether from the education line, or from social service or from the field of literature - to raise their voice against this evil and try to curb it as much as possible. My effort here, is the same. I am an author. My pen is my weapon, my tool. With this tool, I would like to create public awareness about this social evil in a big manner and thus pave the way for ending it, as much as possible.
A Professor teaching at Harvard University happens to be my facebook friend. The other day he told me on a fb chat, "You are writing this but let me tell you that the chances of this book becoming a best-seller or something like that, are remote." My reply was - "I do not write books, articles or blogs with the motive of making them best-sellers or highly popular. NO WAY...If they become popular, it's well and good, but if they don't, then also I don't get dejected.
I start writing when something inside me begins to burn... my inner self, perhaps after getting exposed to a particular issue. There comes a point, when that inner self cries aloud to do something about that issue. That is the Point, when I start writing on it. I write for myself.. to quench the thirst of my soul, who wants me to do something for a certain Cause. I am not a soldier, who would pick up arms to fight out the issue. I am not a politician, who would jump into an election, to fight it out. As said earlier, I am an author. My pen is my weapon. The racism against the black community has hurted me so badly from within and hence I am writing this book. It's as simple as that.
Constant efforts are required by people from all walks of life - whether from the education line, or from social service or from the field of literature - to raise their voice against this evil and try to curb it as much as possible. My effort here, is the same. I am an author. My pen is my weapon, my tool. With this tool, I would like to create public awareness about this social evil in a big manner and thus pave the way for ending it, as much as possible.
A Professor teaching at Harvard University happens to be my facebook friend. The other day he told me on a fb chat, "You are writing this but let me tell you that the chances of this book becoming a best-seller or something like that, are remote." My reply was - "I do not write books, articles or blogs with the motive of making them best-sellers or highly popular. NO WAY...If they become popular, it's well and good, but if they don't, then also I don't get dejected.
I start writing when something inside me begins to burn... my inner self, perhaps after getting exposed to a particular issue. There comes a point, when that inner self cries aloud to do something about that issue. That is the Point, when I start writing on it. I write for myself.. to quench the thirst of my soul, who wants me to do something for a certain Cause. I am not a soldier, who would pick up arms to fight out the issue. I am not a politician, who would jump into an election, to fight it out. As said earlier, I am an author. My pen is my weapon. The racism against the black community has hurted me so badly from within and hence I am writing this book. It's as simple as that.
A guy from Phoenix, Arizona asked me - "Why are you writing a book on a black guy?" My answer was - "Oh man.. comeon...!!! Wait a minute..! The book is about Racism and Discrimination...it's not about blacks & whites. Although the story revolves around the murder of Floyd in the beginning, the entire book is not about him. It's about the atrocities one human being inflicts upon the other... while carrying a mental image or an impression of being superior to him in some way - by his skin color or by being richer or by being physically stronger, etc.
These days, racism is at its climax in the US. When I saw that video of 4 white policemen torturing a single unarmed and harmless black guy, George Floyd, to death, I was shaken from within. My heart was broken into pieces as that video was unbearable beyond imagination, to me. Immediately, something inside me told me - this... this should not happen anywhere on this planet. One human being can not squeeze the life out of another one in such a disgusting, barbaric manner, for a trivial reason. I need to do something about it urgently, whatever I can, with whatever tools I have at my disposal. I am a writer and so I decided to raise my voice against this kind of inhumane barbarism through my pen, by writing a book on it. How many would listen to my voice? - I don't know. It can be just a few dozens only, with most others ridiculing me. Or it can be in millions too, with lots of them carefully listening to what I need to say so badly right now...this voice is coming so loud from within now that I can't keep my mouth shut on this monstrous issue any more - Racism, Discrimination, Inequality - these are the names of a devil, which brings hell on earth, very often nowadays. This monster has to be destroyed or at least brought under control now, before it's too late - before it becomes a new norm that a more powerful guy kills a less powerful one on our streets, on a daily basis, for no big reason at all. This time it has happened to Floyd next time it can happen to anybody - You, Me, anyone... I can not wait any more and allow this thing to spread further. It's a huge scar on all of us, wherever we live - in the US or outside it. It needs to go ... IT HAS TO GO. - That's the main reason why I have lifted my pen once again, after 3 years, to write this book.
- Kamlesh Bhatt.
These days, racism is at its climax in the US. When I saw that video of 4 white policemen torturing a single unarmed and harmless black guy, George Floyd, to death, I was shaken from within. My heart was broken into pieces as that video was unbearable beyond imagination, to me. Immediately, something inside me told me - this... this should not happen anywhere on this planet. One human being can not squeeze the life out of another one in such a disgusting, barbaric manner, for a trivial reason. I need to do something about it urgently, whatever I can, with whatever tools I have at my disposal. I am a writer and so I decided to raise my voice against this kind of inhumane barbarism through my pen, by writing a book on it. How many would listen to my voice? - I don't know. It can be just a few dozens only, with most others ridiculing me. Or it can be in millions too, with lots of them carefully listening to what I need to say so badly right now...this voice is coming so loud from within now that I can't keep my mouth shut on this monstrous issue any more - Racism, Discrimination, Inequality - these are the names of a devil, which brings hell on earth, very often nowadays. This monster has to be destroyed or at least brought under control now, before it's too late - before it becomes a new norm that a more powerful guy kills a less powerful one on our streets, on a daily basis, for no big reason at all. This time it has happened to Floyd next time it can happen to anybody - You, Me, anyone... I can not wait any more and allow this thing to spread further. It's a huge scar on all of us, wherever we live - in the US or outside it. It needs to go ... IT HAS TO GO. - That's the main reason why I have lifted my pen once again, after 3 years, to write this book.
- Kamlesh Bhatt.
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