Identity and Violence

'Identity and Violence' is the award winning book written by Amartya Sen.
The book explains the deep rooted problems of terrorism connected to an individual's identity. This thought of identity itself has given me a new perspective of looking at myself. It was very early in my college days that I realised that I do not truely identify my self with any particular religion. But I never realised how for so many people religion is the biggest part of their identity. Also while introducing myself to people and seeking other people's introductions I observe that people mostly identify themselves to the profession and also to the organisations they work for. Very rarely do I find people talking about anything else . Have our identities been limited to the jobs we do ? I sometimes wonder. For me my Ego is inflated when I identify myself as some one seeking answers for bigger challenges in life. I am biased towards people who talk big challenges. That's my conditioning. 2 or 3 identities are dominant at any given time. This gives a person security that he /she is not alone in this world. So I think the biggest challenge to overcome for individuals would be to learn to deal with our own insecurity . Be comfortable with one self as being alone and only can we truly accept other people as they are with their dominant identities. I think it's the responsibility of every individual to find oneself in the inner journey . Unless every individual realises this responsibility we will be dealing with only symptoms of problems the humanity is facing be it the financial crisis ,war ,terror . Unless we gather courage and face ourselves , we ourselves are a threat to humanity. I have started my journey . Have you?