But I immediately guessed that my Muslim colleague had committed a mistake by taking me for a Kashmiri Muslim because of my name, M K Shah. In the ensuing days, he had tried to make me understand his mind and feelings and spoke his mind about the Hindu community. I felt bad about the entire situation because when in the company Hindu colleagues, he behaved in the most cooperative manner and would bend backwards to help them. This complex minority behaviour syndrome is quite familiar to me for I belong to a tiny minority in a heavily Muslim-dominated population. I understood Mumbai more when I had to go house-hunting myself and faced lot of bias from every society for a variety of reasons. What should I have concluded from these experiences. I could only tell myself that these were simply excuses to keep trouble away from one's neighbourhood. Yes it may be true that despite being a celebrity, Emran may not be liked by certain people. But he cannot take people for a ride and use his religion to settle issues with any social group. In the last twenty years, due to political interventions, the divide on the basis of religion has increased and it has compelled people to think on certain lines.

What has kept me away from my Home for the last 20 years? While Emraan might go to the minority commission on this personal issue, my community has been deprived of our homeland and home and hearth by the religious brigades yet no one seems to be doing anything about it. Everyone thinks that we have settled down and resigned ourselves to the situation. To Emraan I would say - you are not a terrorist and no one is saying so, but just look around yourself and try to find one answer. You can pressurize society and get your home but will that solve this problem of religious hatred unleashed by the present international political set-up. So why do you complicate problems by bringing triviality to the fore. If you are really interested in doing away with this menace, think in the larger perspective. The virus of communal hatred is much deep-rooted and there are socio-political and economic reasons responsible for it. Society does not discriminate against you on religious grounds; they only see you as a person with different attributes. I personally wish you get your dream house without any hassle. We love you and admire your talent.