Racism, the hated yet globally omnipresent phenomenon is in the headlines again. There has been a spate of vicious attacks on the Indian students studying in Australia in the last month or so, including the attack on a student from Andhra Pradesh which left him in a extremely critical condition. Needless to mention, the attacks and the lacklustre response of Australian authorities led to a spark of protests by the Indian government and the Indian community throughout the globe. The protest was legitimate and as was the desire to live securely in a peaceful society. The Indian media went a step ahead and labelled the entire country as 'Racist' and some groups flagged slogans such as 'Boycott Australia.'
While, I seriously condone the attacks on Indian students in down under and hope that the culprits are put behind the bars soon, are we justified in terming the entire country as 'Racist'? Agreed, there are people with racist mindset in Australia, but which country does not. How sensible is it to label the citizens of an entire nation as racists, because of the misdoings of a few hoodlums? The news channels as irresponsible as they can be have hyped up the issue to increase their viewership and TRP ratings, caring less about the aftermath effects of this generalisation. Has media been thoughtful of the repercussions which approximately 90,000 Indian students and a huge number of Indians families who will continue to stay in the Oz land face?
On one hand, I am happy to see that all the Indians are united against the attacks on their countrymen in a different country, but on the other hand what amazes me is where does our sense of countrymenship goes when it comes to racism in our own country. The racist comment on Shilpa Shetty (Bollywood actress) on a British TV reality show saw such an outrage from Indians that Jade Goody had to apologize publicly. Great work India, but where does this anger disappear when it comes to similar or even more offensive racial discrimination within India. The people from north eastern states are referred with derogatory names and looked down upon because of their eating habits in various parts of India. Is that not racism? Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackrey against the racist attacks in Australia, wrote in an article in Saamna - “Australian players in IPL teams should be removed. Team owners like Vijay Mallya, Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta should display nationalism by doing so.” Where was his feeling of nationalism, when his nephew Raj Thackerey and the MNS were vandalizing shops and beating people from UP and Bihar claiming that Mumbai belong to the Maharashtrians? Are people from UP & Bihar not citizens of India? Several cities in Gujarat have hoardings enunciating India as "Hindu Rashtra." Does a pre-dominant Hindu population makes India a Hindu nation? The North-South divide is just another example of racism.
The racism in India is not only region based, but also on the basis of religion/caste and skin color. Our obsession with skin color can be guaged from the matrimonial advertisements in the newspapers and also from the fact that the immigrant students from Africa are denied housing and termed as scary & dirty in most of our metropolitans. Caste based discrimination can be seen in India on a day to day basis. In a country that prides itself as being the world’s biggest democracy, more than 200 million people from the Dalit communities suffer from caste discrimination. So much is the level of ignorance that at the United Nations conference on Racism in 2001 in Geneva, the Indian government diplomatically ensured that topic of caste discrimination was excluded from the agenda. On the contrary, the government has made reservations for the backward communities in a plethora of government jobs and even education (whether or not they deserve it is a rabbit's chase for another day). What's the need for these reservations if there is no discrimination, is beyond my imagination? Our lack of committment to erase racism within our own country has weakened our stance to deal with racism against our countrymen abroad.
Coming back to Australia, the attacks on Indian students has to be condemned and dealt with serious concern. The Aussie authorities if they are to sustain their $2 billion education industry (just from Indians) and maintain its nick name of 'God's own country,' should crack down on such violent acts against any community. Indians on the other hand should not only stand united when the rights of their fellow-citizens are squashed in a foreign land, but also when they are trampled within the country. The Aussies who committed the attacks must surely be punished, but at the same time we have a greater responsibility to introspect ourselves and erase racism from India first. We proclaim pride in our unity in diversity, so its our duty to ensure that despite of his/her caste, color, creed, and culture India belongs to every Indian.
-Kartavya Jain
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2 comments:
Hi Kartavya,
Gr8 blog, though you just misunderstood on one critical point. Sure, there might be hoardings in Gujarat displaying what you said. Does that mean India should never be referred to as Bharat or Hindustan(Land where the Hindus live)? Does being an Indian mean we should forgo our religious identity?Yes, national pride comes before religion, but then what baffles me is some people having reservations even saying "Vande mataram", as its against their religious principles. If thats the case, can such people be trusted enough to support their country, or will they put their fanatic religious cause first? When did loving one s own country become an issue of conflict with one s religion?
We, as Indians also carry an important if not equal responsibility of being proud of our ancient, rich culture of Hinduism and taking it forward to the entire world. While the nation of ours got attacked under foreign invasions for centuries, we were still able to preserve our cultural and religious identity, and at the same time, it was that religious tolerance that Hinduism teaches us which helped people of different religions all over the world assimilate into the Indian culture and help India make a secular and democratic country.
No other nation in this world gives so much liberties and respect to all minority religions as India.While its really appreciated and proud part of our Indian constitution, any direct/indirect references of undermining the pride of Hinduism should be strongly discouraged.
Why is it that the noise from Navratri festival is objectionable, while the noise from the loud-speakers of a mosque, and all-night sounds & celebrations on 31st Dec is something that should be accepted as religious tolerance?I am a big fan of celebrating the new year myself, nd I always do.While I am not against any religion,I do hate the pseudo-secular cult that always tries to attack Hinduism since its a majority religion.
So the bottomline is, next time you see that hoarding, its just implying towards their religious pride. That does not mean they are against any religion, and for them, nation still comes first than religion.Yes,we are a Hindu-Rashtra or Hindustan because this nation was the cradle of Hindu civilization centuries ago. That has nothing to do with disrespecting or ignoring ppl from other religions. Hinduism is part of India s ancient and proud cultural identity.
Thanks for your comments. First off, Hindustan literally means Land of Indus 'the river'. Hindu is a word derived from its Sanskrit translation 'Sindhu.' Historically, Hindustan was just used to represent the people of northern India. It was only later that since hinduism was a prominent religion in India,the term Hindustan was applied to the entire sub-continent. I never mentioned that one should forgo one's religious beliefs and practices, but what I said was one should not place religion over one's country.
Almost everyone knows India is a Hindu majority nation, so why do one need hoardings to publicize that. Furthermore, one doesn't need any billboards to preach religious values --- Did Shankaracharya or Lord Mahavir used any publicity medium to evangelize what they believed in? How many so called torch-bearers of Hinduism follow all its teachings? All religions teach to live in harmony with all living beings, but ironically today it is used to create communal disharmony. Why specifically in Gujarat? I don't think it needs any explanation. How can one blame and hurt an entire community for the misdoings of some?
Religious fanatism was clearly above the nation during the Godhra riots and Babri Masjid demolition and why because a couple of communities wanted to show their supremacy. My religion doesn't teach me to kill innocent people and demolish holy structures.
Yes, I agree with you that no other country in the world embraces extraordinary mixtures of ethnic groups as well as India does, but isn't that what they deserve? We are not doing any favors to them, are we? To me every Indian citizen should be treated equally despite of his/her caste, creed, and color. So, hows does this issue of majority or minority still holds ground? It is because, it has become more important for us to be a backward caste, a sectarian muslim, or a hindu than to be an Indian.
I am not sure about Gujarat, but the objections to noise has nothing to do with religion. It's just a rule followed almost everywhere to avoid disturbance to people after a particular time of night. Why does one has to add a religious twist to it? To say that it's just against hinduism is a mere propaganda.
Nation is above and beyond any religion. It doesn't belong to anyone based on sheer numbers. As someone has rightly said "India is a thali with sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and doesn't necessarily mix with next, but they belong together on the same plate, and complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast." India of my dreams is the one which provides free and safe land to a medley of ethnicities.
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