Religion is — or should be — personal whereas ethnicity and culture have far wider social dimensions.
NEW DELHI: Ethnicity, culture and one’s own pride can be as strong a binding force as the one that is brought upon the adherents of a particular religion or faith. The reason I say this is because religion is — or should be — personal whereas ethnicity and culture have far wider social dimensions. For instance, a Muslim from Lahore will feel culturally closer to a Hindu or Sikh from Amritsar in comparison to a Muslim from Lahore and another Muslim from Africa. Similarly, a Tamil Hindu will feel closer to a Tamil Muslim or a north Sri Lankan, compared to a Hindu from Punjab or Bihar.
SK Chadha
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2011.
