Travelling in a remote region of Pakistan to research on the abandoned vestiges of the Sikh legacy, I spotted a roadside vendor selling samosas. Due to hunger pangs, I decided to take a break. Savouring the samosas, I could not help but reflect that its triangular shape with wide upper edges and its spiced fillings, respectively, represented the map of the undivided Indian subcontinent and its diverse composite communities.

Unable to savour the flavours of this land, the politicians found every justification to promote a divide on the basis that Hindu and Muslim faiths are so unique that they can’t coexist and had to be separated on a ‘two-nation’ formula!

However, isn’t it interesting that divided on religious lines for seven decades, both nations have not yet been able to brand the samosa as a Hindu or Muslim snack! The samosa continues to be the exact same in both nations!

As the mere mention of ‘two-nation’ is bound to bring forth reactions for its justification, hence I appeal to the readers that before reacting, please rise above the political conditioning that has only taught the reasons for its justification and not the beauty of coexistence! The taste of a samosa is in its totality and not in separateness of its parts!

Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”