We Are the New ‘Coolies’
By Ayub Khan
Canada
It was 1893 and a young Indian lawyer, dressed in an impeccable European suit, was traveling first class in a train from Durban to Pretoria in South Africa. All was well until the train reached Pietermaritzburg in the province of Natal. A European passenger had summoned the railway officials who ordered that the young lawyer vacate the compartment since ‘coolies’ and non-whites were supposedly not allowed in first class compartments. When the lawyer protested, he was thrown out of the train along with his luggage.
The lawyer, who went on to attain fame as the apostle of nonviolence - Mahatma Gandhi - was forced to stay in a freezing waiting room. “It was winter,” he later wrote in his autobiography, and “the cold was extremely bitter. My overcoat was in my luggage, but I did not dare to ask for it lest I should be insulted again, so I sat and shivered.”
That was exactly how I felt when I was told by Air Canada officials at London’s Heathrow Airport that I won’t be allowed to board my flight to Toronto. I had flown in from Mumbai and was to board an Air Canada flight. Despite the fact that I had arrived two hours ahead of departure the airline officials rudely told me that the flight had closed and that I might be able to fly in the next flight in another three hours. The reason: because of my first and last names they had to do a security check. All other passengers who came along with me on the flight were given boarding passes in Mumbai and zipped through to the aircraft.
I waited in an immensely crowded waiting area with stiff chairs, rude staff, and dirty washrooms. As the departure time drew near for the next flight I was told to board the plane at the last moment.
When I finally reached Toronto I was shocked to discover that my luggage was missing. I was told that it would be delivered to me in the next few days. I prayed that it would reach me safely as it contained several research documents, rare photographs, books, and most of my clothes. The Air Canada call centre representatives in India repeatedly said that they were working on locating it but had not found it. I did not understand why they could not find my luggage when all checked-in bags have a computerized number tag on them.
As I waited for my luggage, I was reminded of Mahatma Gandhi and his predicament 116 years ago. The Muslims are the new ‘coolies’ to be harassed and abused with impunity by one and all. But there is one difference. At least Gandhi had his luggage intact with him. I got my bag after sixteen days of an excruciating wait.
