For me, except for the weather and the fact that I don't have my family and friends around, there's absolutely no difference being in Kuwait than it is being in India. It would be comparable to me being in Rajasthan in May...albeit with a completely different economic position. The majority of people I work with in office are Indians, I eat an Indian thali for lunch daily, I speak in Hindi most of the time, and I stay in "Taj" apartments.
As I had written earlier, I really do not like the idea of being, as Sunil rightly put it, stereotyped. I am an Indian, and there are definitely a lot of things about India that I really like. At the same time, there are several things about India....things that really make me cringe when I think about them. The level of filth in public places, the state of infrastructure, the political system, and most of all, the amazingly amazing levels of hypocrisy that abound within a majority of the Indians (there I go stereotyping Indians as hypocrites after having protested against it....see what I mean when I say hypocrites !!!)
I believe that we need to look things with a much wider perspective. Nationalism and patriotism is necessary as long as it helps prevent ourselves from exploitation. My idea of a nation is a group of people that decides to come together and ensure collectively that they aren't exploited. A perfect world would be with nations which try their best to not get exploited, but which at the same time do not want to take any unjustified advantage of other Nations (colonialism and bombing the hell out of oil-rich countries come to mind immediately as examples of unjustified advantage).
I love Mumbai for a variety of reasons, chief among them being the presence of my family and friends. There's also the spirit of the people, the fact that I am not differentiated against and the opportunity that it gives me for having a successful career, and thereby, a happy life.
So the question arises whether I am patriotic ? The answer to that is a No. I love my country and would want to protect it with a vested interest of saving my skin and that of the people around me. However, the extent to which I can go to protect India can only be determined when the time comes for it.
Independence day- I think we should call it the day India gained political freedom. I am borrowing these thoughts from somewhere (cant remember where exactly, but in all probability from Amit Varma's blog), but I do think India is still not an economically free country. We are getting there, but are still a long long way off from where we should be. Take the example of taxes. I read somewhere (again forget the source) a calculation of taxes in terms of no. of months you work for the government. By effective rate of tax in FY 2008 will be something like 24%. So for April to June I work for the government via direct taxes. Then i pay a host of indirect taxes (chief among them being tax on Petrol, Municipal taxes, entertainment tax, etc.). I guess only from September onwards do I start working for myself. And what do I get for the first 5 months that I work for the government ? Safety from foreign and local attack(which surely cant cost so much !), shitty infrastructure, an even shittier judiciary, and a right to vote for rascals of the highest order.
All in all, I am not too kicked at being independent since 60 years. We should maybe celebrate 1991 as the year of independence...which, ironically, was forced upon us by the bad bad West. You see, they refused to lend us money to be put down the drain by providing salaries to government officials who produced crap. 1947 was when we got a right to vote. 1991 was when we got a small percentage of the right to choose the way we want to lead our lives. The percentage is growing every year, and hopefully it will move in the right direction.
So the question arises whether I am patriotic ? The answer to that is a No. I love my country and would want to protect it with a vested interest of saving my skin and that of the people around me. However, the extent to which I can go to protect India can only be determined when the time comes for it.
Independence day- I think we should call it the day India gained political freedom. I am borrowing these thoughts from somewhere (cant remember where exactly, but in all probability from Amit Varma's blog), but I do think India is still not an economically free country. We are getting there, but are still a long long way off from where we should be. Take the example of taxes. I read somewhere (again forget the source) a calculation of taxes in terms of no. of months you work for the government. By effective rate of tax in FY 2008 will be something like 24%. So for April to June I work for the government via direct taxes. Then i pay a host of indirect taxes (chief among them being tax on Petrol, Municipal taxes, entertainment tax, etc.). I guess only from September onwards do I start working for myself. And what do I get for the first 5 months that I work for the government ? Safety from foreign and local attack(which surely cant cost so much !), shitty infrastructure, an even shittier judiciary, and a right to vote for rascals of the highest order.
All in all, I am not too kicked at being independent since 60 years. We should maybe celebrate 1991 as the year of independence...which, ironically, was forced upon us by the bad bad West. You see, they refused to lend us money to be put down the drain by providing salaries to government officials who produced crap. 1947 was when we got a right to vote. 1991 was when we got a small percentage of the right to choose the way we want to lead our lives. The percentage is growing every year, and hopefully it will move in the right direction.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Segmenting ourselves and creating trouble !
I think dividing ourselves into various groups and thinking of ourselves as being superior, and better, than the other groups is something basic in human nature....maybe as 'natural; as the male fascination for .... (please fill in whatever aspect appeals most to you !)
We had an inter-hostel tournament called "Sikander" at my MBA school...not satisfied at grouping ourselves as "IIM Lucknow"-ites, we divided ourselves into various Hostels and the tensions at the tournament ran crazily high...so much politics, so much gamesmanship to show a petty Hostel superiority. I loved playing for the sake of playing (and winning), but the way some of the guys behaved made me feel really wonder what the whole deal was about. We used to think that our Section was better than the rest. One explanation to this emotion may be attributed to finding something to "bind" us together. But many times, especially with things at stake (like jobs and power), the binding glue goes away and gives rise to much more sinister forces.Muslims like to divide themselves in to Shiahs and Sunnis. Even within them, I am sure there would be sub-groups. Hindus will divide themselves into various castes. Maharashtrians would divide themselves into Mumbaikars, Punekars....Mumbaikars into Western line and Central line people. It just goes on and on.
So, I am supposed to be proud of the following, things which make me a superior being as compared to the others:
Location
1. India.
2. Mumbai.
3. Western Suburbs.
4. H-9 at IIM Lucknow
Religion:
1. Hindu.
2. Caste
Education
1. My MBA school
2. NM College
3. CA
4. Section that I was in in my School, college, MBA school.
Eating habits:
1. Vegetarian
2. Don't drink.
3. Don't smoke
Language
1. Gujarati
2. English speaking !
There may be many more, but I feel proud enough already !
All this is fine as long as it works as a uniting thing and possibly even a source of confidence.
However, it doesn't work that ways always. Irrationality takes over, people genuinely start believing they are superior, and hence start demanding special rights and privileges, and try and undermine rights of those who do not belong to their group. These emotions are further flamed by people with vested interests, and then all hell breaks loose !
We had an inter-hostel tournament called "Sikander" at my MBA school...not satisfied at grouping ourselves as "IIM Lucknow"-ites, we divided ourselves into various Hostels and the tensions at the tournament ran crazily high...so much politics, so much gamesmanship to show a petty Hostel superiority. I loved playing for the sake of playing (and winning), but the way some of the guys behaved made me feel really wonder what the whole deal was about. We used to think that our Section was better than the rest. One explanation to this emotion may be attributed to finding something to "bind" us together. But many times, especially with things at stake (like jobs and power), the binding glue goes away and gives rise to much more sinister forces.Muslims like to divide themselves in to Shiahs and Sunnis. Even within them, I am sure there would be sub-groups. Hindus will divide themselves into various castes. Maharashtrians would divide themselves into Mumbaikars, Punekars....Mumbaikars into Western line and Central line people. It just goes on and on.
So, I am supposed to be proud of the following, things which make me a superior being as compared to the others:
Location
1. India.
2. Mumbai.
3. Western Suburbs.
4. H-9 at IIM Lucknow
Religion:
1. Hindu.
2. Caste
Education
1. My MBA school
2. NM College
3. CA
4. Section that I was in in my School, college, MBA school.
Eating habits:
1. Vegetarian
2. Don't drink.
3. Don't smoke
Language
1. Gujarati
2. English speaking !
There may be many more, but I feel proud enough already !
All this is fine as long as it works as a uniting thing and possibly even a source of confidence.
However, it doesn't work that ways always. Irrationality takes over, people genuinely start believing they are superior, and hence start demanding special rights and privileges, and try and undermine rights of those who do not belong to their group. These emotions are further flamed by people with vested interests, and then all hell breaks loose !
Of lessons learnt and forgotten
There is a debate going on amongst my friends, and covered here.
My thoughts on the subject:
1. Gaurav, agree with you that these riots were instigated by the politicians, on both sides of the fence. But these "matchsticks" had inflammable material to work with....the dry wood, the kerosene (in terms of people swept by 6/12/1992 and the Rath Yatra). This was the first time such a thing was happening, and people could be taken for a ride much more easily. In the near future, I do not believe that a politician would be able to instigate people to commit mass murder. People know what impact it can have on their families and on their means of livelihood. Just see the reaction to the train bombings. There was no firewood or kerosene, so the matchsticks couldn't do anything. There was not even a hint of communal tension in the air at the time, regardless of the fact that it came out pretty soon that only Muslims were responsible for the blasts.
2. Naren, Mumbai people who have had a first hand experience of the riots will stay away such a thing in the future. My assumption (and I have no means to verify it) is that people in the age group of 15 to 40 are the ones most responsible for the riots. In a matter of less than a decade, there will be many many people very capable of committing these riots who would have no first hand experience of the 1993 riots.
It is much like the stock market booms and crashes. First one happened in 1992. People burnt their fingers real badly at the time. By the year 2000, there was a fresh bunch of "investors" who had no first hand experience of the havoc speculation can wreck. People lost a ton in 2000 as well. Now, we have a fresh bunch of "savvy investors", who will no doubt feel that all these crappy real estate companies, valued basis their "land banks" are great picks. They will burn their hands too, maybe soon or maybe a few years down the line when a bubble appears again.
I personally was less than 12 at the time of the riots...old enough to understand what was going on, but too young to understand first-hand the significance of it. Part of it was also due to the fact that I stayed in a total Hindu colony, and there was no cable TV at my place, so I had a very limited exposure to the riots at that time. Only thing i remember is that school was off for a long time and we had the entire empty road to play cricket on.
All in all, I am hopeful the riots wont occur in the future, primarily because its difficult to foresee a scenario where people in Mumbai getting swept off so much by communal hatred. Gujarat is a different ball game. I know quite a few people from there, and their views are extreme, to say the least.... Narendra Modi is their God who can do no wrong.... "they" need to be suppressed and shown their place....and a lot more of such trash...makes me really scared, given that elections are gonna happen soon. Mr. Modi just might have another ace up his sleeve. And its really not good news for the country.
My thoughts on the subject:
1. Gaurav, agree with you that these riots were instigated by the politicians, on both sides of the fence. But these "matchsticks" had inflammable material to work with....the dry wood, the kerosene (in terms of people swept by 6/12/1992 and the Rath Yatra). This was the first time such a thing was happening, and people could be taken for a ride much more easily. In the near future, I do not believe that a politician would be able to instigate people to commit mass murder. People know what impact it can have on their families and on their means of livelihood. Just see the reaction to the train bombings. There was no firewood or kerosene, so the matchsticks couldn't do anything. There was not even a hint of communal tension in the air at the time, regardless of the fact that it came out pretty soon that only Muslims were responsible for the blasts.
2. Naren, Mumbai people who have had a first hand experience of the riots will stay away such a thing in the future. My assumption (and I have no means to verify it) is that people in the age group of 15 to 40 are the ones most responsible for the riots. In a matter of less than a decade, there will be many many people very capable of committing these riots who would have no first hand experience of the 1993 riots.
It is much like the stock market booms and crashes. First one happened in 1992. People burnt their fingers real badly at the time. By the year 2000, there was a fresh bunch of "investors" who had no first hand experience of the havoc speculation can wreck. People lost a ton in 2000 as well. Now, we have a fresh bunch of "savvy investors", who will no doubt feel that all these crappy real estate companies, valued basis their "land banks" are great picks. They will burn their hands too, maybe soon or maybe a few years down the line when a bubble appears again.
I personally was less than 12 at the time of the riots...old enough to understand what was going on, but too young to understand first-hand the significance of it. Part of it was also due to the fact that I stayed in a total Hindu colony, and there was no cable TV at my place, so I had a very limited exposure to the riots at that time. Only thing i remember is that school was off for a long time and we had the entire empty road to play cricket on.
All in all, I am hopeful the riots wont occur in the future, primarily because its difficult to foresee a scenario where people in Mumbai getting swept off so much by communal hatred. Gujarat is a different ball game. I know quite a few people from there, and their views are extreme, to say the least.... Narendra Modi is their God who can do no wrong.... "they" need to be suppressed and shown their place....and a lot more of such trash...makes me really scared, given that elections are gonna happen soon. Mr. Modi just might have another ace up his sleeve. And its really not good news for the country.
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