We the People

I start with a line I read on some blog a few days: "The spirit of Indians as a people is over-whelmingly warm; yet, the warmth and instant connection one may say between Indian and Indian is sadly found wanting when it comes to Indian and India." Also fresh in my memory is a question raised in a book review I was reading last weekend that asked: "What does patriotism mean to the common man?"

Rhetorical, yet worth thinking the question is. People are peculiar, especially the moment you start attributing general characteristics and tendencies to them in groups, and of all peoples, Indians have their own well-earned reputation for peculiarities and eccentricities, which is both laudable and remarkable in its own right. Now, keep aside the initial images of frenzied media hype, of rhetorical loud Sunny Deol dialogues, of "Ae watan, ae watan..." Chorus-singing competitions in school, of war movies, Pakistan, of saffron, green and white that spring to the mind when one thinks of "patriotism", and then think what does it really mean to you. I'm afraid this is a question quite tough for most of us to answer, especially honestly and unambiguously. What is it that you really feel for your country? And what is it that you really need to?

I have to admit that my brief stay abroad actually went a long way in helping me reflect and develop a deep perspective and appreciation for India. Once I was away from it, I could see the identity of the nation and its people and its characteristics, I could also appreciate its strengths, weaknesses and complacence from a third-persons' view, and most of all, I could determine whether I actually felt the 'love' for the country separately from the immediate environment where I resided the way I had been accustomed to proclaiming since childhood in "I love my India.." songs.

I believe that a temporary period of distance from anything that's been an integral part of our lives so much that we've hitherto always taken it as granted, always produces either of two extreme reactions in the mind: either you realise its deficiencies, lack of necessity/functionality etc and discard regard for it to a great extent in favour of new-found replacements, or you realise its importance/your regard for it, miss it and actually value it more if and when you get it back. People's relationship with their nations are also like that. People who move abroad either being hyper-actively and enthusiastically 'Indian' or begin scorning at it as the developing, full-of-social-and-economic-evils place.

My own opinion here is not so important, although I always rejoice as I increasingly see people in my generation preferring India as the place to work and to reside in even to the disadvantage of lesser evil and coming back from visits abroad as students charmed by the 'holiday' but yet feeling like coming home. So much for brain drain. The point which finally got me to write this post was the other end of this mass patriotism, or whatever it is that we feel, that leads us to aggressively establish our identity and connection with an Indian. It's the same aggression and natural bonding that you'd see among any two Indians who accidentally meet up in any part of the globe on a metro station. It's the same aggression a cricket match unites people from all strata of life otherwise ready to kill over religion, caste, quota in supporting eleven men wearing blue. It's the same aggression because of which Kalpana Chawla's achievements are proudly labelled Indians and celebrated in mass hysteria, tears and joy. It's the same aggression which makes one track Sunita Williams, who's never been to India, as she lands safely on Planet Earth.

So far, so good. But there are questions unanswered.

Is this aggression good or bad? Is THIS what patriotism is and should be? If yes, or acceptably yes, then why isn't that aggression visible between Indian and India like between Indian and Indian? Meaning thereby, why don't we protect the cleanliness of our roads, the harmony of our society, the poor of this India, fight the corruption and let our pride work for removing its deficiencies than hiding them? Why the "chalta hai" attitude there? And then again, the other question, we aggressively proclaim Sunita Williams as Indian, but why not Salman Rushdie who's actually far more connected to the country and its culture and brought equal if not more laurels but has been banned and banished here. Why disown Indian doctors in Australia found guilty of terror attacks while continue to aggressively acknowledge and claim pride in Silicon Valley's Indianness?

Too many questions right. I can't answer for the people of the whole of this country, but even as far as I'm individually concerned, my mind is still too busy figuring out the right middle path between zealous exuberance, pride, shame, responsibility, prudence and lastly, patriotism.

Hum logon ko samajh sako to samjho dilbar jaani

ulti seedhi jaisi bhi hai apni yehi kahani

Phir bhi dil hai hindustani....