People are set in their views, not much can change them

Racism is definitely present in the world today, but I think the main differences we see now are not just based on race, they are largely based on religious sentiments as well as rightwing views. Whether you look at the US or India, right-wing views have dominated society. People do not want to discuss issues, they are adamant about what they believe and the agenda they want to implement and they are willing to implement it at any cost.

The issue of nationalism also gets raised quite a lot, but I think that is simply a convenient way to hide their own agenda or rationalise the hate. Whether in India, Myanmar or the US, you have a similar argument being made – the indigenous people are suffering while a minority is dominating the country.

Unfortunately, a lot of the hateful activities happen in rural areas, which the media simply is not able to cover because they don’t have access to those areas. Even social media has picked up a different shade in the past few years. Earlier, people used it to catch up with each other and make an effort to learn about different cultures. Now, you have so many paid accounts making sure they post hateful comments wherever possible, things can get quite abusive and violent.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the situation is going to improve unless people change their mindset. That, I think, will only happen when people are able to realise that political parties might not be working in their best interests. Unless people’s jobs or education gets affected, I think they will continue to have the same mindset.

From Mr Mohammad Neyaz Sarwar

Corporate banker living in Sharjah