The metro doors slid open. Dark brown, scraggly skinned, wide eyed and reddish-yellowish teethed people with dirty clothes entered. The first time, that they were travelling in a metro. People moved away since there was a chance that they might be carrying harmful bacteria and other microbes. Ey Shiva! There is a good chance that they might also be robbers or gangsters. Of course, you can never trust the CISF checking. It isn't effective enough. The well-dressed, well-brushed gentlemen and ladies should always stand 3-4 metres away from such crowd. That chasm shouldn't be crossed.
"Why do you not speak Hindi?"
"I come from a place where it is rarely spoken."
"But, it is the national language, no?"
"There are around 780 languages spoken in India. 22 languages have been recognised by the constitution. The question should be whether any language should be made a national language."
"But, a vast majority of Indians speak Hindi."
Majority. An India as defined by a majority. A sanskaar to which everyone has to pay homage. A ruling government which has decided to define Indianness through its own ideologies and religion. See, if you don't accept our beliefs, why don't you go to Pakistan? Because, only our beliefs and our thoughts are Indian thoughts.
The shrewdness of Sardar Patel as he made 547 princely kingdoms accede to the Indian Union, in addition to British India, which was already diverse beyond measure. An iconography of an Indian Flag, an Anthem and a Pledge to create oneness in them. A Republic Day. An Independence Day. Freedom Fighters. A storyline. A Father of the nation. And, minorities who resort to ghettoisation and sometimes violence to fight back against that imposed identity. Hey, nobody consulted us before making us Indians?
It's the same set of questions that we have to ask ourselves today. What is this sense of being an Indian? Do the dirty, blind, shrivelled and the downtrodden living on subsistence possess the same kind of Indianness as the average middle class? Does this Indianness flower suddenly on specific days like August 15th when the wide array of iconography like our flag and our anthem is put on display and speeches made? Does this Indianness pervade beyond our "Love laws" as dictated by a society which states who shall love who? A Hindu shall love a Hindu. A Brahmin shall love a Brahmin. A Tribal shall love a tribal.
He decided to take a train from Delhi to his home state. Since he hadn't booked in advance,he had to travel in the general compartment.
"Why did you come in the general compartment from New Delhi? You could have waited. The journey must have been difficult."Amma asked him, when he came out after a bath.
"It was all right, Amma."
His Maami did not keep quiet though. "Chee. You were smelling when you came here. Those compartments are dirty."
"Yes. Maami, most of the others in the compartment were seasonal workers coming here. And, it was tightly packed. I could hardly move. "
"Of course, I knew that. You should never travel in general compartment. It's full of such people."
"Maami, such people also ensured that I always had a seat by not allowing anybody else to sit there. They also shared their food with me, inspite of not having much for themselves."
Such people. Us and them. The touchables and the untouchables. The ones to be pitied at from a distance. The ones from another religion. The right religion and the wrong religion. The enemy religion and the friendly religion. The ones from another caste. Another class. Another strata. Another language. And, we take our bath on August 15th mornings, stand under flags, distribute sweets, sing songs and celebrate Independence day while our differences bubble up inside us, egged on by our "Indian" Society. And, we all feel proud to be Indians.
"Why do you not speak Hindi?"
"I come from a place where it is rarely spoken."
"But, it is the national language, no?"
"There are around 780 languages spoken in India. 22 languages have been recognised by the constitution. The question should be whether any language should be made a national language."
"But, a vast majority of Indians speak Hindi."
Majority. An India as defined by a majority. A sanskaar to which everyone has to pay homage. A ruling government which has decided to define Indianness through its own ideologies and religion. See, if you don't accept our beliefs, why don't you go to Pakistan? Because, only our beliefs and our thoughts are Indian thoughts.
The shrewdness of Sardar Patel as he made 547 princely kingdoms accede to the Indian Union, in addition to British India, which was already diverse beyond measure. An iconography of an Indian Flag, an Anthem and a Pledge to create oneness in them. A Republic Day. An Independence Day. Freedom Fighters. A storyline. A Father of the nation. And, minorities who resort to ghettoisation and sometimes violence to fight back against that imposed identity. Hey, nobody consulted us before making us Indians?
It's the same set of questions that we have to ask ourselves today. What is this sense of being an Indian? Do the dirty, blind, shrivelled and the downtrodden living on subsistence possess the same kind of Indianness as the average middle class? Does this Indianness flower suddenly on specific days like August 15th when the wide array of iconography like our flag and our anthem is put on display and speeches made? Does this Indianness pervade beyond our "Love laws" as dictated by a society which states who shall love who? A Hindu shall love a Hindu. A Brahmin shall love a Brahmin. A Tribal shall love a tribal.
He decided to take a train from Delhi to his home state. Since he hadn't booked in advance,he had to travel in the general compartment.
"Why did you come in the general compartment from New Delhi? You could have waited. The journey must have been difficult."Amma asked him, when he came out after a bath.
"It was all right, Amma."
His Maami did not keep quiet though. "Chee. You were smelling when you came here. Those compartments are dirty."
"Yes. Maami, most of the others in the compartment were seasonal workers coming here. And, it was tightly packed. I could hardly move. "
"Of course, I knew that. You should never travel in general compartment. It's full of such people."
"Maami, such people also ensured that I always had a seat by not allowing anybody else to sit there. They also shared their food with me, inspite of not having much for themselves."
Such people. Us and them. The touchables and the untouchables. The ones to be pitied at from a distance. The ones from another religion. The right religion and the wrong religion. The enemy religion and the friendly religion. The ones from another caste. Another class. Another strata. Another language. And, we take our bath on August 15th mornings, stand under flags, distribute sweets, sing songs and celebrate Independence day while our differences bubble up inside us, egged on by our "Indian" Society. And, we all feel proud to be Indians.
1 comment:
Very nicely written but some sentences did bother me. About the unification of India. If India wouldn't have been unified, significant portion of India would be left to ruling kings without any guaranty of democracy. people of similar backgrounds and cultures would be divided (as happened in case of partition, and we are still feeling the heat). So, yes, India, though is a long way from becoming a country with true equality, but slowly, with lot of stumbles, is moving towards it. We have come a long, long way in these 68 years. We should be hopeful. No offence to author and his views. It is indeed a great piece.
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