Be Indians.

I recently received the following forward from my friend Mr M S Ravikumar.

An American visted India and went back..

His Indian friend Asked : “How was my country?”
American replied: “It’s a great country, with solid ancient history and immensely rich with natural resources..”

His Indian friend Proudly Asked :”How did you find Indians?”
American :”Indians, who Indians? I didn’t find or meet a single Indian there.”

Indian :”What Nonsense? Who else could you meet?”

American-"In Kashmir a Kashmiri, in Punjab, a Punjabi, in Bihar, a Bihari in Maharashtra a Marathi, in Rajastan a Marwadi, in Bengal, a Bengali, in TamilNadu, a Tamilian

This forward I received from another source also a few months back and my reaction at that time was that we are Indians first and last. But getting the forward once again has set me thinking. Why we are not united as the Americans (a pluralistic society)? What prevents us coming near to each other and stand with a single identity? I think the languages divide us .Hence my reply to Mr Ravikumar on the following lines.

Single Nation, single flag, single language. Then we would be speaking in one voice.

Actually we are a collection of States, not like US but as USSR was once . It is just a miracle that we are united despite our regionalism and lack of patriotism. Had the British not ruled us a one State we would have not become a single nation. I am not justifying the regionalism, religion-ism, or caste-ism. But reality is they exist. Parochialism dominates and national interests are pushed to the back ground. It is difficult to lose the regional identity overnight and get integrated to the main stream. Even after more than 50 years of introduction of naya paise ( I was a school boy -1957),we find people talking in terms of ettana (that is half a rupee) till a a few years back nalana (quarter of a rupee) was talked about. Being a Tamilian or Gujarati is not a sin. We should remember that we are first Indians and next whatever we claim we are. The problem is was that Hindi was forced on the South and especially TN and W Bengal, which paved for the feeling of isolation and claim of separate identity. Union can not be brought by law. It has to come by demonstration of love and mutual accommodation .Had English remained as the sole link language this much divisive feelings might not have developed. The British ruled us by division and our Governments today nourish the same policy. To claim that we have 14 national languages is a laughing matter; So much unproductive work is being done because of this.

To call Hindi as the Official language, relegating English to the 2nd place as the link language is still funnier. I personally feel that English, if allowed to continue as the sole language of the Government, both at the centre and States we might have been more united and more progressed, instead of wasting our time and energy in translating English text books into regional languages and doing brain (!) storming to coin equivalent words or expressions to an invention abroad.

We last sense of direction, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru and drifting apart. Stressing the individuality has undermined the unity. Unity in diversity has come to Diversity at the expense of Unity.In any relationship, some compromise is needed by the individuals involved. To remain as a strong nation and continue as the largest democracy in the world we need a common language like English which is widely spoken and understood through out the subcontinent.Regional languages,including Hindi, can flourish in literature,art , culture , entertainment and of course in local politics,if you treat it as another form of entertainment!