Category : Poems

Sub Category : N/A

A future I would like to avoid

Twelve year hence 
My daughter looked up 
'India' for her project
She saw a phrase that made no sense to her
It said 'India was  a secular nation'
She look at me and asked 
"Ma, what is a secular nation"
A secular nation is where
People of any religion can live in peace

“But how can it so  
There are only a few religion in India 
And even they are constantly under threat”
“You are joking right”

I looked at her with a sad smile on my face 
And told her about 
A long time back
When there was an India 
In which all religion could live as one. 
An India which took pride 
In being a mixture of differences.
An India who proudly announced it's identity 
In being the 'unity in diversity'
A nation which had promised secularism 
In it's Constitution itself.
          By Shilpa Mariam Philip
                           19/12/2019