The story of a decent young person’s behaviour mutating when fired by nationalist/ religious emotion is not unique to India. There are examples in every part of the world.
My husband is a Hindu who was born on the wrong side of the border. The stories he tells of the culture in and around Lahore during his childhood are in sharp contrast to the intolerance and violence that has grown insidiously in Pakistan in recent years.
His Hindu family knew an impoverished local Imam and his family, who they helped feed and set up a shoe shop so he could have another livelihood. Aged eight, my husband would regularly mind the shoe shop when the Imam stepped out for prayer.
It was this Imam who warned his family to leave Pakistan early, saving their lives. But on the other side of the coin, whilst they waited for transport, all their possessions were stolen. The gang who stole it was led by a young Muslim who my husband knew at school – a senior boy who had protected him from bullies when he was a small and easy target. In 1947 it was hard to believe that it was that same boy now taking part in ethnically cleansing Hindus and Sikhs from the place of their birth.
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