Patriotism
This is a very difficult question. What defines a patriot or WHO defines one? If you are a patriot, are you one for life, or does that change? What happens if you leave your homeland and move to another country? Does that mean you stop being a patriot? In todays world, where the new India is now emerging, patriotism has just been turned to another word - mainly by the media, but worryingly, also by right wing political parties.
So what exactly is Patriotism? Does it involve singing Vande Mataram (or Vande Mata Rome - hey, that deserves a chuckle) in schools, does it mean standing up when the National Anthem is sung. Does it mean saluting the flag? Does it mean contributing funds to the PM Relief fund? This is a difficult question. There are no set guidelines and no set definitions.
So what is it? As an Indian of this generation, I'm confused. I have grown up in an India which was on it's way up. My grandfather's generation fought for freedom, enduring the hardships of partition and they walked alongside the Mahatma. They were beaten by the police and they went to prison gladly for their beliefs. They always said they were patriots and I believed them. My parents worked hard and provided us with what we needed and imparted us with a good upbringing and managed to enroll us in schools which provided us with a decent education. I never heard them say anything bad about India except how bad the situation was getting day by day. I believe they were patriots too. I had a free ride. I bribed when I needed my Driving Licence, I bribed when I needed my Passport, I bribed when I needed a tax clearance certificate.... oh yeah, I bribed anything and anyone that could be bribed just to avoid being inconvenienced.
There are many from my generation who've fought for a cause and gone to jail. I'm not really sure if they are patriots or not. Sometimes the causes have been environmental, sometimes, they've just been mental like drunk and disorderly. I set out to try and find what patriotism is and here is what I found. You may agree, you may disagree, but in the end, you draw your own conclusions. I have drawn mine.
Patriotism is a simple word that is derived from ancient Latin - 'patria' or father. So easily put, love of the fatherland is patriotism ( err... but I've got a motherland?)
It was suggested that unquestioning loyalty to your country is patriotism. While that might satisfy some, it does not satisfy me. That, to me, is no different than jingo-ism. It might work for a while, but in the end, it leads to nowhere. When unquestioning loyalty is demanded, the object of the loyalty - despite being India, translates into someone in power. I just don't trust the people in power. So I refuse to listen to them without questions. For unquestioning loyalty, look at North Korea. That's what happens with jingo-ism. Moreover, I've got another problem. I've got dual citizenship. That adds a certain complexity to the whole equation, but let’s not go into that just yet.
Someone else suggested that Patriotism is abusing Pakistan. We’ve all done that. I remember days from my college, when we would have a rally on 14th of August hurling abuses at Jinnah and Pakistan. The whiskey did not help, but at the stroke of midnight, slogans of - Jinnah Kutta Kameena Tha miraculously turned to Bharat Mata ki Jai. Now, that WAS fun. We got to use the choicest of bad words, got drunk and pretty much made a nuisance of ourselves. Was that patriotism you ask? I don't really know, but I know for a fact that we enjoyed ourselves.
A few months back, there was a big ruckus about Vande Mataram. Was that about Patriotism? It was suggested that anyone who refused to sing Vande Mataram (read : the muslims) were unpatriotic. Islamic scholars suggested that since the song had deified India, it was anti-Islamic. I won't object to that or agree simply because I'm not qualified to do it. I don't know what Islam says and my understanding of the song is different. What I do know is that the rendition of Vande Mataram by A R Rehman was among the most beautiful renditions I have ever heard and it moved me tremendously. I reject the suggestion that not singing makes you unpatriotic but I also say this - blindly following the leaders of the muslim community by the muslims in India is idiocy and most of them are not themselves any favours either.
The youth of today, and I'm no different, just want to get out of India. India is crowded, it is polluted, there is a lot of corruption, there are hindrances - yes, all that is true. But it's also true that we are not doing anything. Most of us have never given blood and our names are not on the organ donor registry as well. Why, because we can't be asked !! What we can be asked to do is give baksheesh - and lots of baksheesh. That's what we excel in. I've given baksheesh a lot of times. Sometimes I've given 'mithai for the kids' or 'take them to a movie' funds to help ensure speeding things up. I remember handing over a bottle of whiskey to the policeman who had come to my house to do a check for the passport.....
But despite that, I believe that I have done nothing that the masses don't already do. So, does that mean that by doing what everyone else does - is that patriotism? I'm not sure anymore. We know we are doing wrong, but we all figure, that since we are not harming the country by blowing up people or leaking secrets, we are patriots. In the late 1940s, scientists who worked on the US atomic weapons program gave data to the Soviets because they believed that no one nation should be so powerful that it could control everything. Were they patriots?
A family friend of ours, a retired officer of the Indian Army recently wrote this to me:
Tell me why today’s youth is not pro active- a young man travelling with me from nd to pune by air requested the stewardess to keep his guitar upright at the rear of the plane she refused stating that it is against the airline policy. I called her and told her that it concerns safety both of the equipment and passenger. The safety rules are laid down by the dg civ aviation and all airlines are bound by them i asked the young man to note down her name and report against her first to the capt of the aircraft and then to the civ aviation office at pune. On disembarkation the young man simply took his luggage and exited when i reminded him he smiled and said nothing will happen- i retorted "damn youth power mera bharat mahan- the fault lies with my generation. We brought up a generation which does not assert for its rights- what is the difference between the corporates and the govt???
I have no answer to this. I know this to be true, because I've done this many a times. Instead of spending time and resolving issues or registering complaints, I prefer to ignore it and walk away. 'Why get into the hassle yaar' - that's the standard answer. Movies like Swades and Rang de Basanti hit a chord and we hear everyone saying how they are going to change the world, but when we leave the cinema - 'why get into the hassle yaar'...
My conclusions are mine alone. This path to drawing conclusions is one that you have to walk on yourself. Many refuse to walk this path because it involves answering difficult questions.
Our nation needs a new generation of patriots. Patriots, who are willing to look outside the proverbial box. People who will lead, people who will change, people who will need to ask questions and demand answers. Our parents did whatever they could. Our grandparents gave us a country which we now have to take care of. Our nation has farmers who are committing suicide everyday because of poverty and because people in power are taking advantage of their situation.
I believe that we are not patriotic enough. Making small gestures is no longer enough, but I also strongly believe that today's generation is ready to bring about a change. The reasons are simple. We have seen more of the world than our parents did. MTV CNN and the Internet have ensured that we know what's going on all over the world. It also brought about a lot of changes in the way we think. We are no longer bound by the cold war mentality or even the caste barriers (atleast in the cities) As economic prosperity brings joy to millions in India, it will also bring about an entire generation of people who will start looking and start asking questions.
I'm starting to ask questions. I'm not getting many answers, but I know many other people are asking questions. Someday, I hope, everyone who is asking questions individually, will get together, and collectively raise a voice. That, in my opinion, will be a new start and that will be true patriotism.
But until then, here is a small piece of my mind - ask your self this - how many muslim friends do you have as compared to the number of hindu friends you have. If you even start thinking or counting, you my friend, are no longer my friend - the reason is simple. My friends are my friends and not hindus or sikhs or muslims. The day you start looking at religion, in the immortal words of Yoda the great Jedi master - turned to the dark side, you have.
This is a very difficult question. What defines a patriot or WHO defines one? If you are a patriot, are you one for life, or does that change? What happens if you leave your homeland and move to another country? Does that mean you stop being a patriot? In todays world, where the new India is now emerging, patriotism has just been turned to another word - mainly by the media, but worryingly, also by right wing political parties.
So what exactly is Patriotism? Does it involve singing Vande Mataram (or Vande Mata Rome - hey, that deserves a chuckle) in schools, does it mean standing up when the National Anthem is sung. Does it mean saluting the flag? Does it mean contributing funds to the PM Relief fund? This is a difficult question. There are no set guidelines and no set definitions.
So what is it? As an Indian of this generation, I'm confused. I have grown up in an India which was on it's way up. My grandfather's generation fought for freedom, enduring the hardships of partition and they walked alongside the Mahatma. They were beaten by the police and they went to prison gladly for their beliefs. They always said they were patriots and I believed them. My parents worked hard and provided us with what we needed and imparted us with a good upbringing and managed to enroll us in schools which provided us with a decent education. I never heard them say anything bad about India except how bad the situation was getting day by day. I believe they were patriots too. I had a free ride. I bribed when I needed my Driving Licence, I bribed when I needed my Passport, I bribed when I needed a tax clearance certificate.... oh yeah, I bribed anything and anyone that could be bribed just to avoid being inconvenienced.
There are many from my generation who've fought for a cause and gone to jail. I'm not really sure if they are patriots or not. Sometimes the causes have been environmental, sometimes, they've just been mental like drunk and disorderly. I set out to try and find what patriotism is and here is what I found. You may agree, you may disagree, but in the end, you draw your own conclusions. I have drawn mine.
Patriotism is a simple word that is derived from ancient Latin - 'patria' or father. So easily put, love of the fatherland is patriotism ( err... but I've got a motherland?)
It was suggested that unquestioning loyalty to your country is patriotism. While that might satisfy some, it does not satisfy me. That, to me, is no different than jingo-ism. It might work for a while, but in the end, it leads to nowhere. When unquestioning loyalty is demanded, the object of the loyalty - despite being India, translates into someone in power. I just don't trust the people in power. So I refuse to listen to them without questions. For unquestioning loyalty, look at North Korea. That's what happens with jingo-ism. Moreover, I've got another problem. I've got dual citizenship. That adds a certain complexity to the whole equation, but let’s not go into that just yet.
Someone else suggested that Patriotism is abusing Pakistan. We’ve all done that. I remember days from my college, when we would have a rally on 14th of August hurling abuses at Jinnah and Pakistan. The whiskey did not help, but at the stroke of midnight, slogans of - Jinnah Kutta Kameena Tha miraculously turned to Bharat Mata ki Jai. Now, that WAS fun. We got to use the choicest of bad words, got drunk and pretty much made a nuisance of ourselves. Was that patriotism you ask? I don't really know, but I know for a fact that we enjoyed ourselves.
A few months back, there was a big ruckus about Vande Mataram. Was that about Patriotism? It was suggested that anyone who refused to sing Vande Mataram (read : the muslims) were unpatriotic. Islamic scholars suggested that since the song had deified India, it was anti-Islamic. I won't object to that or agree simply because I'm not qualified to do it. I don't know what Islam says and my understanding of the song is different. What I do know is that the rendition of Vande Mataram by A R Rehman was among the most beautiful renditions I have ever heard and it moved me tremendously. I reject the suggestion that not singing makes you unpatriotic but I also say this - blindly following the leaders of the muslim community by the muslims in India is idiocy and most of them are not themselves any favours either.
The youth of today, and I'm no different, just want to get out of India. India is crowded, it is polluted, there is a lot of corruption, there are hindrances - yes, all that is true. But it's also true that we are not doing anything. Most of us have never given blood and our names are not on the organ donor registry as well. Why, because we can't be asked !! What we can be asked to do is give baksheesh - and lots of baksheesh. That's what we excel in. I've given baksheesh a lot of times. Sometimes I've given 'mithai for the kids' or 'take them to a movie' funds to help ensure speeding things up. I remember handing over a bottle of whiskey to the policeman who had come to my house to do a check for the passport.....
But despite that, I believe that I have done nothing that the masses don't already do. So, does that mean that by doing what everyone else does - is that patriotism? I'm not sure anymore. We know we are doing wrong, but we all figure, that since we are not harming the country by blowing up people or leaking secrets, we are patriots. In the late 1940s, scientists who worked on the US atomic weapons program gave data to the Soviets because they believed that no one nation should be so powerful that it could control everything. Were they patriots?
A family friend of ours, a retired officer of the Indian Army recently wrote this to me:
Tell me why today’s youth is not pro active- a young man travelling with me from nd to pune by air requested the stewardess to keep his guitar upright at the rear of the plane she refused stating that it is against the airline policy. I called her and told her that it concerns safety both of the equipment and passenger. The safety rules are laid down by the dg civ aviation and all airlines are bound by them i asked the young man to note down her name and report against her first to the capt of the aircraft and then to the civ aviation office at pune. On disembarkation the young man simply took his luggage and exited when i reminded him he smiled and said nothing will happen- i retorted "damn youth power mera bharat mahan- the fault lies with my generation. We brought up a generation which does not assert for its rights- what is the difference between the corporates and the govt???
I have no answer to this. I know this to be true, because I've done this many a times. Instead of spending time and resolving issues or registering complaints, I prefer to ignore it and walk away. 'Why get into the hassle yaar' - that's the standard answer. Movies like Swades and Rang de Basanti hit a chord and we hear everyone saying how they are going to change the world, but when we leave the cinema - 'why get into the hassle yaar'...
My conclusions are mine alone. This path to drawing conclusions is one that you have to walk on yourself. Many refuse to walk this path because it involves answering difficult questions.
Our nation needs a new generation of patriots. Patriots, who are willing to look outside the proverbial box. People who will lead, people who will change, people who will need to ask questions and demand answers. Our parents did whatever they could. Our grandparents gave us a country which we now have to take care of. Our nation has farmers who are committing suicide everyday because of poverty and because people in power are taking advantage of their situation.
I believe that we are not patriotic enough. Making small gestures is no longer enough, but I also strongly believe that today's generation is ready to bring about a change. The reasons are simple. We have seen more of the world than our parents did. MTV CNN and the Internet have ensured that we know what's going on all over the world. It also brought about a lot of changes in the way we think. We are no longer bound by the cold war mentality or even the caste barriers (atleast in the cities) As economic prosperity brings joy to millions in India, it will also bring about an entire generation of people who will start looking and start asking questions.
I'm starting to ask questions. I'm not getting many answers, but I know many other people are asking questions. Someday, I hope, everyone who is asking questions individually, will get together, and collectively raise a voice. That, in my opinion, will be a new start and that will be true patriotism.
But until then, here is a small piece of my mind - ask your self this - how many muslim friends do you have as compared to the number of hindu friends you have. If you even start thinking or counting, you my friend, are no longer my friend - the reason is simple. My friends are my friends and not hindus or sikhs or muslims. The day you start looking at religion, in the immortal words of Yoda the great Jedi master - turned to the dark side, you have.
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