On the other side of 'unity in diversity'

I have always been a vehement opposer of one of the skewed Tamilian perspectives of language and Indianness. A part of Tam society and their attitude towards Hindi and anything associated with that language is nothing short of pure hatred, so much so that they would rather wait for a day more to know the news of the nation than listen to it in Hindi. I thought that was parochial - too narrow minded, too mean. I consider, my state of this great nation, a little more tolerant and accomodative. Where probably people don’t know Hindi but feel guilty that they don’t do. People make a genuine effort to patch up some words and strike a conversation with a neighbour in Hindi, even though most of the words are those used in the movies and news from Doordarshan. I too joined my voice to the saying - "Hindi is the national language - Rashtra Bhasha. And everyone should know it".

True, but why is it the Rashtra Bhasha? Because a majority of people speak it! Simple! So what about the minority? I never thought of what it means to be a minority, genuinely. I have never experienced it. Didn't I? I questioned myself. I tried to put myself in positions where I am in the minority. My 20-day trip to Thailand, where for more than 10hours of a day, I was the only one with eyes bigger than the 'usual'. My first trip to Delhi where I somehow am different from the people around. My first trip to chennai. You can probably put it under the category - xenophobia - but it does not take away the merit of my argument. Minority or majority, every person and race has an identity. An identity unique to themselves, an identity that represents who I am. An identity that is a sum total of my upbringing, my values, my habits and my beliefs. This identity is what differentiates me from the guy next to me. This identity differentiates an Indian and an American. While people have varied degrees of self glory in terms of which culture is great, which is not - which race is intelligent and who are fools etc - I personally think that it is a collective responsibility of humanity to protect the diversity of cultures- To preserve the diversity of thoughts and existences - human, animal or plant.

However, while accepting to be accommodative of various cultures, can someone ask me to give up an identity just because it is a minority? Probably not. The counter argument is that there is a difference between being accomodative and giving up your identity. I would restrict this argument to India and not generalize it to the world for this piece of writing.

Courtesy IT boom , I see that there is a lot of skepticism and hatred brewing within the local population in many of the south indian cities against the "intruders". In this era of globalization, even within India there is a lot more cultural friction than it was in the past. And along with it the problems of cultural stereotyping and associated issues. And in all this, the majority thinks there is an intrusion into their culture and way of life while the majority thinks people are just being parochial. The friction comes out in multiple ways - I was a victim in a lot of cases and I felt that those guys were ruthless and racial!

As one of my Tam friends put it - "You cannot force a south Indian to learn Hindi if a north Indian cares no two hoots for South’s unique culture and language." That got me thinking. Cursing myself for thinking in a way that increases the divide within India - "Are the south indians giving up too much?" Seriously, why does not a North Indian learn kannada, telugu or tamil even after living in a place for a decade in some instances. While I have seen Tam junta living in Mumbai speaking Hindi, even knowing that they are mocked at their accent. They know that its important to speak the language of the land to be accepted. Another learned Kannadiga friend of mine said - "I am surprised that a guy going to France on a project for an year, takes french classes for 3 months. And the same guy lives in bangalore for 5 years and cannot even say anything beyond kannada gottilla and enjoy maadi! - even they have one english word in both"

Let us put the parochial argument aside and see if the majority (for instance kannadigas in Bangalore!) have a point. I am trying to see a point. A point, just like in my previous post, (I don’t know how many read it!) is to take away the reason for hatred. I am starting to believe this is the panacea for all acts of hatred - take away the reason for hatred or atleast try to take it away and add a smile on the way. That is how I deal with it now, speak in Kannada and smile to say that I am Work In Progress :)

India is a melange of multiple worlds and that is something we keep forgetting. We cover ourselves with an illusion of One India, One great Bharat etc. While ideally, all of it is true - we are a million worlds. I personally feel that we are a mini-Europe. Every place/state has its share of culture, traditions and values. As long as you don’t appreciate and blend in, you remain an outsider living in India. In the same tone, I should however condemn the extremes - wherever they are. A great race/state is one which accepts everyone and grows on to retain its uniqueness.

'Gult' Thoughts:

Btw, I think Andhra overdoes the being accomodative part unlike our neighbours in chennai. We give up a little too much in our quest to be acceptable by the rest of India and rest of the world. While the entire Tam Brahm community from California flies down to Chennai for the Tyagaraja Aaradhanotsavas, we have totally forgotten the fact that Tyagaraja was a Telugu. And we have to make do with listening to Unni Krishnans of the world singing exquisitely written Telugu songs like "Bantu reeti koluveeyavayya Rama" in some really odd accents and lack of understanding of the meaning. (Note: I totally admire Unni for his carnatic vocal prowess!)

We have given up our culture and traditions so much so that we have forgotten our cultural heroes - Annamayya, Tyagaraju etc. An interesting fact came out the other day in my research that it is only Andhra Pradesh, that has accepted the name suggested by Mr. Nehru. You can notice how Hindi it sounds - is there a word called pradesh that is in telugu colloquial use - is there any other southern state that has such hindi-sounding ending? :) However, I think its our problem - not a problem with someone forcing it on us :))

Lighter Note:

Without the diversity I talked about, I sometimes think that, the world would be like US retailing experience :) Wherever you go, you will always buy from Walmart, Albertsons, Krogers all looking boringly similar and big .... ;-) That way, without the Indian and Mexican flea markets, US would have totally sucked for a shopper from a country like mine :)) And sadly, India too has started to move towards that with Food Worlds and BigBazaars!