Tolerance

This Saturday, I had a long argument with a colleague over religious rights, tolerance and the individual. What started as a discussion on Narmada Dam, spiraled into a rant over religion and the minority by my colleague.
Looking around me, all I see is rising intolerance and hardening of views of extremists.
The Danish cartoon controversy, the protests against the movie Da Vinci Code, and the protests against Fanaa which have acquired religious tones all illustrate that extremism is not confined to a particular community or religion.
Unfortunately at times these people are given more importance than is due. Each is pursuing his or her 15 minutes of fame and generating outlandish statements and rulings along the way.