Are we too comfortable to disown our country?
It is not uncommon in India to hear people say how rotten the system is et cetera. At least we would come across one person a day who would say it, or sometimes even we would utter such words. And I think this is not something unique to India alone. Whenever someone is not satisfied with the system, they vent out their anger. Recently I came across two incidents in public places which made me feel very uncomfortable.
Few days back when I was at Jaipur, my friend and me stopped at a restaurant for lunch. When I was at the counter, I heard the guy behind me say,
"You are not fully aware of India" in a heavy European accent.
I turned around and saw a white guy and he was talking with his partner, an Indian girl, with flashy designer cloths and a Kara in arm.
She said, "I told you, I don’t fit in this place", he nodded, she carried on "I look like one, but I am not one. I totally do not fit in this country"
He asked, "Is that why you are not aware of what to eat here?" She answered in affirmative.
I found it funny. One don’t have to fit into anywhere to know about the place, at least to choose a dish at the restaurant.
Yesterday I was in a bar at Pondicherry with my friends. It was almost 10.30 PM. The bar was empty except for us and three French guys and their Indian guide nearby. They grabbed our attention when we heard the French guys say something in Tamil. They were brushing up their Tamil. In a while their guide taught them few Tamil slangs. Suddenly the guide spoke loudly,
"In this F’ing country you can buy anything, its a F’ed up country, its a <Tamil slang> country. That is why I want to get out of here"
Though its not very uncommon, I am very surprised to see how easy it is to run away and distance oneself from where they belong. I don’t want to be judgemental about them, but it did bother me a bit. We may not have a 100% perfect country, but obviously we are working on it. But why is it so easy to distance oneself or give up rather than explaining the facts or understanding the ground reality?
Yes its so very true that we all criticize our country for one reason or the other, although the degree and subject of criticism does vary from person to person; the core issue remains the same that we as a countryman lacks the fundamental willingness to bring the change. And that applies to most of us. This is because we do not appreciate human-life, without which its impossible to even hope for bright future. The road is and will be long and painful and to respect other human beings is to acknowledge the fact that we are all equal, once we realize that it would be easier for us to connect the dots, it would definitely make us more aware of our surroundings and whats going on in it, which can help in bring about the change not only in an individual but in a long run as a nation too.
What can we say, just hypocrites. But on a broader sense most of us are in various degree. We want change but we dont want to be part of the change process. We don’t want to contribute for the change. We expect others to bring a change with a magic wand and easily criticize each and everything thing without realizing its easy to say than act. Preaching is always easier than practicising isn’t it? Other day on a talk show, everyone was laughing at Kapil Sibal when the crowd asked how he plans to implement the changes he wants to bring in the education sector. When he said the community at ground level should also be part of the process everyone laughed at him. He was visibly angry when he told as much as they expect govt to do everything, even the people at ground level should do their part a bit for making sure changes happens. We don’t want to be a catalyst, all we need is a change to be brought by others and benefit us in turn. Hypocrites!
It is the same here in the UK….I often hear people talk about going abroad when they are fed up with things here..instead of trying to do something about making things better.
Good question. It does seem many among us are in a terrible rush to get off and away….But if people are basically the same everywhere, there should be a similar sentiment everywhere! All rushing around in hope of something new, something better, something different.
We criticize our nation, because that is how we have been conditioned and brought up. We see people around us complaining, criticizing and condemning our nation, so even we start learning from them.
Though there is a lot of scope for improvement in our country, sometimes I feel we criticize way too much. Anyway, about those foreigners, they always seem to compare India with their own country. That’s where the problem lies. If we could experience each country individually and without passing any judgement, then that shall be the best thing ever!
This is my first time here, and I really enjoyed my visit!
enna thought thala, please visit subroto bagchis blog. He too has the same take on this.http://www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi/my-mother-is-an-ugly-woman/. And by the way dude, i am from the gr8 metropolis of villupuram.
Jai Hind
Hi Srikanth welcome. Yes I read Subroto Bagchis blog few months back. It was so strong.
Cool, good to see bloggers around Pondy
This isn’t restricted to just resident Indians. Even after they leave the country, NRIs continue to diss India.
I think by criticizing their country and saying “They don’t belong here” and “I want to get out of here etc, they feel morally superior to the rest of the Indians who love their country in spite of it’s faults and don’t want to run away.
Basically, just an inferiority complex coming to the fore.