The many faces of Patriotism

Many people, specifically Indians, may not like the fact that I love this article by Amit Varma. His article emphasizes, underlines and reiterates my feelings about India and Patriotism. This article is a must-read for everyone who screams about being Indian and patriotic..I am not being negative about India or patriotism, rather I detest people who force their view on others, and this article should be a mandatory read for those people.

Here is an excerpt from the article, they struck a chord when I read them, so I had to reproduce them here:

In my view, there are two kinds of patriotism. The first kind involves feeling that your country is, in some way or the other, greater than others. Often, self-esteem is involved. Patriots of this kind will want others to share their feelings about their country. They might feel offended if someone suggests that their country is not all they imagine it to be.

The other kind of patriotism involves loving certain things about one’s country. This is a personal love, different in each individual’s case, and patriots of this sort will enjoy their patriotism without demanding that others share it.

If we were to be flippant about such grave matters, we could call these kinds of patriotism Mera Bharat Mahaan and Mera Bharat Mujhe Pasand.

I see myself as the second kind of patriot. When I think of the things I love about India, I think of concrete things in the real world, such as its food, its music, the languages that I’m fortunate to know. These don’t blind me from the many things wrong with the country - nor do I have any desire to impose my preferences on others.

The Mera Bharat Mahaan kind of patriot, on the other hand, is involved with a narrative of greatness. A key part of his identity is his Indianness. For this reason, he needs to believe that India is a great country, superior to others.

Symbols like the flag and the anthem are, thus, important to him. They represent his nationalistic fervour. Equally, a display like the Republic Day parade makes him feel proud. Its purpose is validation.

Pride

This need for validation was understandable in our early years as an independent country. We’d just gained independence after decades of being humiliatingly colonised. It was a mini-miracle that we existed, bridging such linguistic, religious and cultural divides. We needed to believe in ourselves as a nation.

And, let’s face it, there was a bit of a collective inferiority complex running through the country.
Sadly, even after 60 years of independence, that craving for validation remains. Why else do we make such a hue and cry every year about India’s entry to the Oscars, and ignore our own national awards? Why else do we rush to claim any foreign achiever with an Indian background as a national hero? (Sunita Williams, born in Ohio and raised in America, has been awarded the Padma Bhushan this year.) Why else do we go gaga with excitement when we hear of Madonna practising yoga or Gwen Stefani putting a Bindi on her head? Why else do we celebrate when Shilpa Shetty wins Big Brother, and ignore poor Rahul Roy, who won the desi version?
India has advanced leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades, but we still haven’t acquired the self-confidence that a mature democracy should have. Too many of us are still sensitive about symbols of our nationhood, and that’s a pity. We are proud, I believe, of entirely the wrong things.

As a nation that won its independence with such difficulty, if there is one thing we should be proud of, and should continue to aspire towards, it is freedom. Not just the freedom to vote, but freedom in every social and economic sense. As long as we don’t infringe on the freedom of others, we should be free to express our sexual preferences, to trade with others, to watch the films we want, to read the books we want, to say what we want. And yes, free to disrespect a flag or refuse to stand up when the anthem is played.

What’s the point of being a free country otherwise?

I tend to identify myself as Canadian, and most NRI's in North America, and Indians elsewhere are offended by it. In fact, it's commonplace to tease Indo-Canadian and Indo-American children as ABCD's or CBCD's. I do not understand the need for such pettiness.

Why is it important for everyone to screech from the roofs that they are Indian? Is it not sufficient if a child understands and honors their cultural value? Why should we prove it to others? Who should we prove it to? The people who left India and came out here to seek a 'better life' yet denounce the country they migrate to? Or those people who live in India and yearn to live elsewhere? I would call either groups of people hypocrites. The third group, would constitute people who live in India, value their culture and honor it. The third group would never force their ideas on others. Do you know why? Because one of the major tenets of Indian culture/history has been tolerance..tolerance of religion, of sexes, of sexuality and everything in between. Unfortunately, some traditionalists refuse to accept change, and others..well others are just hell-bent on being the first kind of patriots..Something, I find quite distasteful..

Oh well, to cap my ravings tonight, I believe Nationality is something a person should chose, whether I am Canadian, American, Indian or Nigerian, is something I chose to be. If it's forced upon me, it loses its value. However, my culture, that is something my parents taught me. My Indian culture is what my mom and dad taught me..being able to read, write and speak 3 regional languages; to cook a multitude of Indian dishes; appreciate the songs, the movies, the diaspora, that is what makes me proud of my culture...

Lest we forget...

Yesterday, my dad and I went to see Rambo 4 (I think), and in the movie we were taken to Burma, the civil war there, and how the army ambushes villagers, kidnaps their children, kill the men and rape the women. The movie is full of blood and gore, unsuitable for young children, but thought provoking if we question certain aspects of the movie.

I know abductions, rape, child soldiers and honor killings are a fact of life..an unpleasant fact, which most North Americans pretend to ignore. But that movie yesterday, fictional maybe, but it brought forth something important to me..Remembering those who suffer.

Today, my dad and I watched a BBC documentary on Auschwitz, and how 1.3M people were sent to that camp in 4.5 years and 1.1M were killed. Of them about 200,000 were children. A survivor was almost in tears as she recognized her aunt and 4 cousins in a photograph taken minutes before they were sent to the crematorium. The children ranged from 2 - 10.....Remembering those who are brutalized.

A few minutes ago, I read this, an article about child soldiers in Uganda, Rwanda, Columbia and other war ridden countries. The author uses a byline "Lest we forget"....something I feel is very important in counteracting these acts of crime, war, terror and inhumane brutalization.

In our busy lives, we juggle work, families, friends, colleagues, our kids schedules, our finances, and so much more, and we think our lives are hard. Maybe our life is hard, for us, in this little world we can view. But if we look at the bigger picture, rather if we consider the gargantuan struggles faced by these individuals, children and adults alike, we look and sound like morons. Yet, what do we do when we hear about 15 year old girls abducted from their homes, raped repeatedly, forced to bear children and then fight in a civil war? We feel terribly burdened, maybe for a few hours, we feel indignant and angry, and then we go back to our normal and sane lives. In short, we do nothing. Sometimes, it's rather burdensome to even consider that you and I, ordinary people, can do something about it. Maybe we can..I am doing what seemed like an idea to me..Lest we forget...

I find that the most inhumane thing which could happen to these survivors, is being forgotten. Nothing hurts as much as being forgotten. Their struggles, their strength, their unbroken spirit, their stories - when we forget the events, their cries for help, and their courage, we are no better than the insipid idiots who were responsible for these war crimes...Lest we forget.

Tonight, I cannot forget and refuse to do so..In my own tiny way, this is my homage to those warriors who were forced to survive, and to those who gave up their lives, so that others may survive....children, men, women, jews, gypsies, asians, africans, native americans, mexicans, columbians, indians, army, navy and airforces, abused women and children, gang war victims, and everyone else I did not mention...I remember..

Lest we forget....

news bites in the New Year...

Happy New Year everyone!

I know, I know..it's almost the end of January already!! I can't believe it, I'm still in the mood to decorate the tree or eat that nice chocolate cake or wait to spend the holidays with my family..yep, I'm still in December :)! Atleast, I wish I was..I had an absolutely fantastic vacation visiting family and friends in the US, but now I've been dragged kicking and screaming into 2008 and back to Toronto...and it's good to be back...atleast that's what I have to tell myself to brave the -28deg C windchill factor for the past few days..brrrr!!

Anyway, coming back to the topic, tonight I felt I had neglected my blog long enough, and it was time to flex my mental fingers and the literal ones as well..and write something noteworthy. Alas, before I started writing something philosophical and very meaningful (I could write something like that you know..now now, don't be mean buddy..I saw that snicker!! ;) ), I came across this, James E. O’Shea's farewell remarks after he quit his job as the LA Times Editor. I particularly liked his speech - somewhat pithy, convoluted and journalistic enough that it's mindboggling in certain sections. But overall, it had some very reproducable quotes, and here are the ones I like:

"The formula for success? A small investment in new resources more than pays for itself with added revenues"

"Journalists and not accountants should seize responsibility for the financial health of our newspapers so journalists can make decisions about the size of our staffs and how much news remains in our papers and web sites. The biggest challenge we face -- journalists and dedicated newspaper folks alike – is to overcome this pervasive culture of defeat, the psychology of surrender that accepts decline as inevitable. This mindset plagues our business and threatens our newspapers and livelihoods."

"A dollar’s worth of smart investment is worth far more than a barrel of budget cuts."

"We must tell people what they want to know and — even more important — what they might not want to know, about war, politics, economics, schools, corruption and the thoughts and deeds of those who lead us. We need to tell readers more about Barack Obama and less about Britney Spears. We must give a voice to those who can’t afford a megaphone. And we must become more than a marketing slogan. "