Ranting time for me, I guess!
This is something else which makes me mad. Now what’s that, you will ask me. Rightly so...
I have been observing that people who leave the Indian shores (whatsoever reason they might cite, it’s mostly for the dollars!!) for greener pastures in
Those who have been brought up here, studied here, had the best of education here (India has one of the best education systems in the world) think nothing about bad mouthing the system, the infrastructure, the people, anything, everything. They even try camouflaging their
Why should one be ashamed of ones own place of birth? Which country does not have problems? Why run away from problems instead of trying to solve these problems? US or any other country might offer better life style but they still are foreigners there. They will always be second class citizens there, more so after 911.
If we go out of our country of birth for whatsoever reason, we become ambassadors of it. We should be proud of our country of origin. We must tell the world positive aspects of it too. Saying everything negative reflects poorly on us. If one can't be loyal to his/her own country how can he/she be loyal to anything else?
May be I am overeacting!!
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Excuse me, what have you got to say for yourself?
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hi, Gautami
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think you're overreacting, I am sure there are many NRI's or even Americans/Canadians of Indian origin who are not proud of their motherland, but I am hoping so much that they are in the minority.
I'm an Indian currently living in Canada and while I LOVE my adopted country, I am fiercely proud of India and use every opportunity to talk to people about the country I grew up in, and to the credit of the people here, they show a lot of interest in India especially after we've been put on the map with our strong economic surge, outsourcing, Bollywood etc. My children, although they are Canadian, are very proud of their roots and we make it a point to bring them on a vacation to India atleast once every two years so that they never feel alienated from their heritage.
About the Americanised names, I think people do that only because folks here find it quite hard to pronounce our names, I don't think it has anything with wanting to hide one's ethnicity, or atleast I hope not!
thought-provoking post.
ReplyDeleteI guess some of us are more attached to our birth places, origins, and inner pride. I can relate. My parents moved to Hawaii from the mainland U.S. when I was two years old. I was raised in Hawaii and graduated highschool there. I consider myself to be somewhat of a zealot with regard to my island background. Maybe it would be more palatable for us if those who seek new experiences could retain the positive aspects and pride of their upbringings.
Peace and blessings,
Shane
well...i think the profesionals do that. These people are culture-less vultures who scavange for money and fame but forget bonds and roots. I have vendors here of lower income class who would swear India is better in everything and I would be happy hearing that.
ReplyDeleteAnd i fight with them saying malaysia is better, but they never say anything bad about india. they are true countrymen. Even if anyone wants to champion a world order, they must be grateful for their birth country.
To the motherland, jai Hind. I will be back one day.
It is not uncommon for people to take their upbringing for granted. Hopefully, with the passage of time and growing maturity, they will come to appreciate more how much was given them by their country of origin.
ReplyDeleteWhy come here when it's going there too...good point though
ReplyDeleteAmerica has a long tradition of handing off the anti-immigrant sentiment to various ethnic groups.
ReplyDeleteA couple of centuries ago, it was the 'English' and the 'Germans' looking down on the Irish, then the Irish and English and Germans looking down on the Chinese and later the Eastern European immigrants, and then all of them looking down on Mexicans and Central Americans, and that growing mass looking down their noses at Koreans and other Asians and Pacific Rim nationalities. Grossly oversimplifeid, but unfortunately par for the historical course in the US of A.
Just speaking as one fo 300 million 'ugly Americans'
First I must make myself clear.. I am not against US or any other country. I am mad at the attitude of some of my fellow Indians.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe we are global citizens. But its not going to help if I am the only one believing so.
I am only making a point here. In any other country apart from ours, we will always be foreigners. Even if we get citizenship.
Frontier Editor made a valid point.
And I do not consider you Ugly American. Only Bush can be that!
Don't worry. I never took your remarks as offensive.
ReplyDeleteAmericans over the last two centuries have tended to follow three general thems when they go overseas - evangelist/missionary; tourist; and salesman. In general, we are loath to act as just a traveler or guest, and often we forget to show the basic courtesy that any guest should show in a host's home.
Over the last few years, I have noticed that people with roots in India, haved changed their surnames to Christian/Judaic names such as "Joseph" or "David." I don't understand the trend or signficance. Why? I am American, but it appears to denotes a sense of shame that I just honestly don't understand. Maybe someone can shed light on this subject.
ReplyDelete