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In
the past Indians were badly treated
as India was a very poor country and
the more affluent countries saw grim
pictures of poverty exported from
India. When our people went to their
lands they considered people of
Indian origin as dirty people coming
from a failed economy. Almost like
refugees. Perhaps they thought that
these unclean people will bring the
plagues of poverty and misfortune
from their doomed lands to their
country which they had beautified
with their efforts. They showed
their racist devilry to dissuade
Indians from coming to their lands.
Did we stop? No. We as Indians had
lost faith in our country and it's
people and, in spite of the abuses,
we kept running to more affluent
countries in large numbers. We
wanted luxuries without working hard
for it and were ready to tolerate
bad behavior. That only increased
the hate and racism further.
Indians who hung on to their mother
land, even when the future looked
bleak, struggled on. Tough decisions
were taken and that invited the
wrath of the richer countries who
wanted India to remain a poor
country for ever. Sanctions were
imposed, our companies were black
listed, we were spied upon,
neighboring countries were
instigated to fight etc , etc. India
had all odds stacked against it.
China, Burma and Pakistan were
unfriendly. The country was poor. We
still fought it out. Slowly the
nation gained confidence and tough
choices were made. Even at the cost
of ruining our industrial back bone,
we opened our economy. For some time
there was gloom all around but we
metamorphosed. A country that had
all odds against it fought back and
we fought it well. India rose from
the ashes. Again there was frantic
lobbying by world powers to curtail
India's development. But fueled by
good vision and committed people
India kept going. The media kept
highlighting the corrupt, worthless
people but for every bad man there
were many unheard of honest people
doing their job well. Then our
President spoke of his vision of
India as a world power and everyone
laughed. Well statistics are there
for all. This year India will
surpass Japan to become the third
largest economy and we have a good
growth rate.
Now coming back to racism. Can there
be racism directed at Indians now?
The world of the white man had to
make space for the brown man. Egos
were lowered and Indians were seen
in a new light. Past is past. They
abused us till they could. The days
of fawning are over. Now the
disparities are much less. New world
equations have also forced the
crooked to straighten out. Can we
complain of much racism now?
Whatever little racism that remains
will not last in the fast changing
world. As India gains more economic
strength the NRI community too will
surely see the change in how the
world treats them. Let us forget the
past and look at the world in a new
positive light. - Raj - Jan. 27,
2006
I
read an article in Times UK where
the author was pointing out that the
worst immigrants in world have been
the British, destroying industries,
cultures and natives of places where
they were treated as guests - be it
India, America or Australia. So
let's ignore the few foolish racists
and concentrate on improving India
and Indians.
We have been independent for 50
years now and starting our march
ahead. It took USA 200 years to
become USA. Personally I feel
despite all odds we'll do better and
in less time. Bihar alas may take
longer. - Shashank Prasad - Jan.
28, 2006
In
colonizing the world the British did
what was in their interest. That is
not my point.
Yes, India is forging ahead, and we
must be positive about it. I agree,
but that also is not my point.
All I am trying to do is to draw the
attention of the readers to the self
destructive trend of a segment of
society who ape things that they
consider 'Western'. There are young
people of both genders who get drunk
on the streets of Bangalore, Mumbai,
Delhi (and God knows where else) and
indulge in indecent vulgar behavior,
which in their mind, symbolizes the
life in the Western Societies.
Nothing can be further from the
truth, but that's the truth that
media has drilled in their minds. It
is this mentality that also
manifests in the Air India syndrome
or the Indian Restaurant syndrome
that I have talked about earlier.
Today Indian television channels
show the most vulgar aping of the
fringe shows from the West, which
are not watched by respectable
family oriented people in the West.
In India, things are perceived
differently. I have seen three
generations of a family sit and
watch a TV show that was
embarrassingly vulgar - and no one
batted an eyelid. It is the spread
of this rot that I talk about. In
being dazzled by the materialism of
progress, one should not turn a
blind eye to the crud that is being
dished out by some among us (media
men, businessmen etc) to the
gullible people who take it as the
things to emulate and live by.
People like this have always
existed. The British, with a handful
of hired Indians, gradually grabbed
the control of all India because of
this Dodo mentality, due to which,
the British were able to finish off
the vast armies of Indian Kings who
were bent over to outdo each other
in trying to get the British on
their sides. They realized their
folly when the British put a
resident to 'run the affairs' of the
Kingdom while the King could 'enjoy
life' and 'would not have to be
bothered by the pressures of
administration' which 'the resident
would handle in the King's
interest.' Soon the rug was pulled
out from under the King's feet and
they found their heirs being sent to
Kala Pani. Again, the British did
what benefited them. Did the Indians
do that ? Yes, those who struggled
for freedom did that, but it is
certainly true that it was due to
lesser Indians that the British were
able to grab the Country and use its
own people to kill, extort and
fleece the citizenry.
In this article I have put my
crosshairs on the fawning mentality
of some Indians. And there are
numerous around us. Don't believe
me? Go out on the streets of our
metropolises and you will find the
empty eyed youth who go around
drugged / drunk out of their wits,
with crazy hair-do's and torn jeans
emulating what they think is the
Western way of life, or the three
generations of people who sit and
watch filthy shows in the believe
that they are being 'progressive'.
When I see such people I lament to
myself about the lack of pride these
people have for their value system,
their culture and their traditions.
It has become difficult to find
"Indian" Barbie dolls in India
because everyone wants the
"Westernized" dolls. This mentality
is not found in the West. You go to
any store but you won't find people
clamouring for the "Indian Bride"
Barbie.
How many people listen to Indian
classical music these days? Why is
the use of Hindi lagging so much on
the Internet everyday? While it is
okay to learn Do Re Me Fa... but it
should not be done over the grave of
Sa Re Ga Ma... That's my contention.
- Aarcee - Jan. 28, 2006
Change can not be stopped. The only
certain thing is change. We can not
expect anything to be static.
Everything we know of is dynamic.
The milky way is moving, the stars
are moving, the planets are moving,
the satellites are moving, people
are moving and social needs and
requirements are also dynamic like
the rest. So society has been
changing, is changing and will
continue to change.
A bunch of misguided youth in
metropolitan cities, aping what they
consider western ways, do not worry
me as they do not constitute even
one percent of the Indian
population. A certain segment of the
society has been living wild
existence even in the past. Alcohol
and drugs have been used by such
segments for time immemorial. These
lost youth are not really shaping
the Indian society of tomorrow.
India is evolving it's own culture
as per the social requirements of
the changing times. While Indians
are experimenting with new found,
technologies, gadgetry, luxuries and
new ways of life, I think we are not
really aping the west. It is not as
simple as aping. It is as complex as
evolving. We are evolving a new
culture of our own which has it's
good and bad sides, like any other
culture. You find the most
westernized looking guy bending to
touch his elders feet, the
electronic gadgetry toting youth
leading traditional lives at home
etc. Some amalgamation is being
produced which is difficult to
comprehend. Sometimes I find myself
appreciating the well informed,
scientific minded youth who have
technology running with blood in
their veins and sometimes I feel
angry when young people talk in
accented language with liberal
sprinkling of slang. I do not know
which way we are headed. It is very
complex. I do not know what values
will be retained and what will be
lost. We can, at best, try to guide
the youth to retain some things we
consider good.
Ten years hence I do not know what
the Indian society will be like.
This change is a complex phenomenon
whose reach into society and the
future course are very difficult to
predict. I can only hope we shape up
something good. Frankly, to me it
looks that though we all try to look
wise, actually man does not know
what he wants out of development. We
are groping around blindfolded in a
dark room, grabbing things we chance
upon. We call it development. Can it
get us happiness? I do not know. -
Raj - Jan. 29, 2006
A very good assessment has been made
by Mr. Raj. It is true that nothing
is as permanent as change. Society
is changing and this is inevitable.
When a clod of clay is spun on the
potters wheel, it begins to change
shape. Without the confines of the
potter's fingers it can become
deformed and useless. A potter's
caring fingers shape it into a
useful object.
We, as educated people, have the
responsibility to pitch in and guide
the newer generation (a lot of young
people read these words) to take
pride in our culture and heritage
while embracing modernity. If we
don't do it, folks like
timesofindia.com will do it - they
have a photo of a new blonde woman
on the top of their homepage
everyday. Is it that there are no
attractive women left in India? I
read CNN (among many other news
sites) everyday. Haven't found any
pictures of pretty Indian women on
there yet. - Aarcee
- Jan. 29, 2006
I think it is all about economy. The
country with bigger economies make
bigger waves by hosting bigger
events, they train their athletes
better getting better performance
from them, make bigger budget movies
etc. and that gets reported.
Naturally we find blondes, brunettes
and red heads peering at us on the
pages of the news papers. After all
globalization means being part of
the global village and the reporting
perspective of the media too is
globally wide. When our women do
great things they are reported
around the world too. Our winners of
beauty pageants, top business women
etc. do get coverage in the world
press.
The ultimate truth is that it is all
about economics of the country.
Success ki puja hoti hai. If we want
Indian faces world over we have to
work for development. India has come
a long way in the last decade. Some
more time and then you will find the
blondes, brunettes and red heads
replaced by Chinese and Indian men
and women.
They do not fawn before a particular
hair colour or skin colour, they
fawn before what symbolizes success.
Just like when the President or CEO
of a company, who symbolizes
success, come visiting the most of
the employees fawn. Let us work for
India's development, wherever we
are. Let us boost India's image in
the eyes of the world. If the last
decade is any indicator, very soon
we will have the world fawning
around us too. - Raj - Jan. 30,
2006 |
