Just now I had a rift with one of my very close friend because he was trying to make me understand that Tamilians are BAD people. He said that his friend was of the opinion that people from Tamil Nadu (ie My State) are headstrong, understand topic A as topic B, come to conclusions that are out of this world, opinionated, want the whole world to understand what they say but refuse to even try to comprehend anybody else's point of view, dramatic and think that shouting at the top of their voice or acting like a fighter cock is the only way to get their point and use it as a tactic to stop others from talking, and much more. I was baffled. Is this really my friend who is talking all these? We used to pull each other’s legs quite often. He calling me a tribal from Nagercoil Jungle and I calling him a savage from Kundapur is not new to us. We were such good friends.
But, these words cannot be taken as a Joke. These are feelings from his heart. Oh my God! How easy his friend was able to corrupt my good friend’s mind. How easy it is to build hatred on the basis of regionalism? His friend must be venomous. When will people like these grow up? When will they think themselves as Indians and not identify themselves as kannadigas, Maharshtrians, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Iyers, Gowdas, Bunts, Sharmas, Marwaris etc.
How can anyone condemn people of a region? All of a sudden, I remembered the pledge we used to take every day in school, with our right arm raised and our palms facing the ground.
“India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.
I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders, respect, and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.
In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.”
JAI HIND
“India is my country” - such beautiful words. How I wish India is my country. No, I belong only to Tamil Nadu. I feel an outsider in other places. More so, when I hear my dear friends talk like this. It is so difficult to digest. I want to run back to the solace of my state. WHY? WHY? Why are such young minds so corrupted? “Maharashtra is for Maharastrians,” says Bal Thackerery. He has managed to tap the feelings of quite a lot of Maharashtrians with this slogan of his. Basically, what constructive work have the Thackereys done so far? Raising protest for anything and everything so that they will be in the headlines quite often seems to be their only objective. Why don’t the media understand this and ignore such people? Why give them so much of importance? His actions sometimes have made me wonder whether Mahrashtra is his own. So is the case in all other states though no one has come out so openly as the Thackereys.
How many Indians are mature enough to think and act according to their mind and not to be influenced by the emotional outcry of these crafty Politicians? What about the pledge I took which says, “I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.” Does it hold good anymore? Does each one of us Indians are proud of the rich and varied heritage of India? People are proud of their own culture, cast, language, race and the region they hail from that they find it a means to condemn other’s culture, caste, language and heritage. That is what triggers hatred which ultimately results in violence. Is that what our pledge teaches us? Why don’t young minds try to spread love instead of hatred? Is it because, it is easy to spread hatred and difficult to spread love?
My friend did not stop there. He added that if I were honest enough to think, I would find a lot of which he conveyed to be true. He said that he can give more examples and that he could make people stand in front of me and tell out their problems and the way they have been treated. I was appalled. He also said that this is not the opinion of just his friend, but is the opinion of Kannadigas, Maharashtrians, North Indians, Bengalis etc. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was time to bid adieu to my dear friend because I don’t like being friends with people who are prejudiced about any society, religion, caste or region. I want to keep myself away from such people. He has been influenced. I know him as an unbiased guy, good-natured and very friendly. I am still dazed. I can’t stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. I know my friend was talking trash and he was just talking what has been fed into his mind by his so called friend. He must have told him that they are one because they hail from the same place. My friend would have felt much cozier that way bitching about fellow Tamilians.
I am remembering the movie “My Name is Khan.” I remember the strong message brought out by Karan Johar through MNIK – “There are only two people in this earth – Good and Bad. Good people do good things and Bad people do bad things.” The message has been repeated so many times in the movie that it remains in our mind. Another strong message conveyed is – “My Name is Khan and I am NOT a terrorist.” He has tried to erase the general animosity that most of the people around the world have for Muslims. It is a commendable work by Karan. I salute him for that. Even if a fraction of our population has understood the message, it is a great achievement by him.
Here, I would like to narrate a conversation between one of my friends and me. This friend of mine likes to talk so much about her caste and the greatness of her community. But for that, she is a good natured and a likable person. One day she asked me, “Geetha, what is the full name of Abhilash (he is my son)? I said it is “Abhilash.” She then asked me, “No, I am asking about his surname.” I told her that we don’t add our surnames to our names. She chided me saying, “No, I think you should add it. It is very important.” She added, “You know why? Only people from a lower caste don’t add their surname to their names.” I did not know whether to laugh or cry. India has developed so much, but the mentality and maturity of people have to change a lot. On retrospection, I found out that both my grandfathers had surnames and three of my dad’s elder brothers had surnames, but then on they had decided not to have it. I like that. I don’t want anyone to make friends with me because of my surname. That is the last thing I would want.
It is sad that I have lost a great friend, but I don’t want to reason out anything with him as he is already prejudiced. If he were an illiterate, then it would make sense of me trying to make him understand. But, he is a highly educated guy working in a reputed MNC. If such educated people have such narrow view point, what can we expect from Illiterates? He is old enough to take his own decisions. But, I am dreaming of an India where everyone is proud of being an INDIAN. I love you INDIA. JAI HIND!
