Who is an Indian

WHO IS AN INDIAN?

Legally, an Indian is a person born in India to Indian parents. Some might have been neutralized and given Indian citizenship. 

Among Indians also there is a true Indian and there is a non Indian. These non Indians are those not toeing the thinking of those self proclaimed true Indians. 

Even among the true Indians there are ones with high  pedigree and low pedigree. 

Further there are Indians but before that they are what their community is known as a community.

Thus we are many Indians depending upon our pedigree or thinking or community. 

It is not the pedigree or community but the thoughts of a man that make him an Indian. An Indian is a person who is clear in his thinking that he is human first and last. State drawn boundaries have confined his movements but cannot confine his thoughts and ideas. 

River and Dam

Xxx If life is a river, high school is the dam. Really? 

Just go back and remember those fomenting or fermenting or shall I say tormenting  days! What a life-full of zeal to change the world! A small rivulet eager to change into a ravaging river! 

Then some one builds a dam to control the flow and save the damage and name it high school. Here the flow is controlled but allowed a safe passage for all. 

There are rules. When the dam starts overflowing, the seniors are allowed to move to give way to new entrants as happens in s dam every year during monsoons. 

During the period in the high school, we learn to co exist, compete with humility, learn to help and get help, respect the elders- teachers. In short try to become a good person. As always happens, it does not give any guarantee as the water released from the dam does get out of control and damage the habitation. 

GETTING ALONG

Got along by going along. 

(Surviving by agreeing)

Politicians world over are good at disbursing favors. Now that in India, there is  a limit to number of ministers in a cabinet depending upon the size of the house, it is being increasingly difficult to satisfy all elected representatives.

Every possible area of useless jobs has been explored and implemented. There are committees and sub committees in every conceivable field. Each representative not favored with berth in the ministry wants to head this or that committee, corporation, commission but there are enough of them. So new one will be created by fertile minds like committee on toilets, commission on Swachh Bharat, sub committees on aftermath of demonetization. 

All these and many more will be used by party in government and will help other party/parties who may come in power in the states after elections. 

The only condition is to toe the party line or the boss line who ever is stronger. In order to get along one has to go along. 

Loose no hearts O! contestants! All you have to do is go along to get along. Your personal opinion, ideology or character doesn't matter. 

VOX POPULI

Vox Populi

(Latin -voice of the people's rights Popular sentiment )

As the elections in country's most populous state of U P reach the polling booths in a month, preparations are on war footings to use whatever instrument of power lay at hand. It does not matter if your traditional supporters are with you or not. 'Tu nahi aur sahi, aur nahi aur sahi'. No one is untouchable. 

Voters also are smart. They present themselves in hoards whoever gives them the return fare and a hefty pocket money. They will decide a night before whom to vote unblock depending upon the gifts in cash or kind sent through the middle man called local neta. 

Each contender is claiming popular sentiment in their favor. No wonder. 

After the elections the winning combine will call it Vox Populi - voice of the people or popular sentiment. It will not matter if only 30% of votes cast went in their favor with 70% opposing as happened in 2014. 

Democracy allows rule of minority over majority. 

What then is voice of the people? 

RIP SHOCKEY

SHOCKEY

Four year old  SHOCKEY  to rest.

She came in this household as a puppy of seven days old in January 2013.

I used to take her on a walk for which she was always eager, with me in the evenings during my stay in July-November 2013 stay in Memphis. She used to stay in her cage. Later on after some training, she was allowed to freely move in the house. 

I came here in October 2016 and found her very friendly. She was very strong and it was difficult for me to hold her when I took her out. She would move in this two storied  house freely. She liked bread crumbs, pizza and peanuts. She was equally found of Indian bread. But the doctor had advised not to give her anything else except the prescribed dog food. She was a family member. She was very play full. 

She was having a bad tummy, that is what we and the doctor thought. She started losing weight. Doctor suspected of something serious and kept a close watch. Ultimately it was decided to operate and do biopsy. The cancer had spread all over. The doctor advised to put her to rest as it was not curable. She was under anesthesia when the injection was given to put her to final sleep. 

Just retuned after burying her in the back yard of the house. We bade her good bye with tears eyes. May she rest in peace. We will miss her. 

XENOPHOBIA

Xenophobia- fear of strangers

Do humans suffer from xenophobia-hatred for 'strangers' ? I think not, otherwise they would not be living in harmony with different groups of people of strange in color, creed and community. Over time they have learnt to live with diversity around them. It took a long long time. Historically humans fought lethal wars with those they thought were not like them. It might be on looks, color, faith, language, rituals, eating habits, dress habits and many more such issues but ultimately learnt to live together. The fear of 'others' persisted but they were few are far in between. I may say battles continued but wars were averted. 

Left to us, we would like to be left alone in an island with our family and friends. This would not guarantee peace but at least it will be within family and friends only and chances of reconciliations will be maximum. But this is not possible in modern times.

We will be remembering the 100 years of the end of World War I in 2019 and then we will do the same for World War II in 2045. Reams and reams of paper will be filled with vows not to repeat the same. 

But we have not learnt the lessons, nor will we. 

Brexit has already caused a wide divide between nations and those supporting them. Recent US presidential election has divided the nation as was done by elections in India in 2014. Islamic terrorism is a threat which is taxing the minds of the opposite sides. 

And all this is happening for fear of and hatred for the strangers- the others. The poet said something like: 

सदियों से इंसान ने जीने के कुछ तरीक़े सीखे,

जीने के तरीक़े सीख लिये तो जीने के इरादे छोड़ दिये। 

(For centuries humans learnt the ways of survival. Having learnt that they have now decided not to live).

Greek xenos means stranger Phobos means fear or panic

Fear of otherness 

Fear or hatred of foreigners like brexit, Seria crisis, us presidential election 

Majority Hindus

Islamic terrorism 

Sent from my

LONGING FOR ROOTS

Longing for roots 

Humans were born nomads and stay nomads. They get easily bored staying at one place. No sooner they leave one place for another pasture, they feel like returning or going to some other place. 

In the beginning they moved from villages to small towns and from small towns to big cities-from rural to urban surrounding When the urban surroundings became unbearable they moved to suburbs, edge cities.

Those with deep pockets moved to exurbs -independent pockets of their own. In India they are called farm houses. 

Those with not so deep pockets moved to gated communities for safety and exclusivity.

Some even left the country itself. 

Reasons can be many but the underlying reason is nomadic nature. 

One thing has remained constant- longing for roots.