Getting a little political....
I read that an Indian ambassador was (in a local paper's words) 'Subjected to hands on frisking' in the U.S. airport. I would love to have added 'as usual' but alas no one has made the mistake of making me editor have they? (Yet..... :P)
Anyway not really a very novel piece of news but thought provoking you might say..
For those who have no idea about this piece of news, good for you honestly, the news goes that some Indian woman ambassador was pulled out of an airport security line and (again in the paper's words) was "patted down" or subjected to a "hands on" search. The woman was of course offended and the issue is blown out of proportion by some embassy or the other blah blah..
Some are saying she was singled out because she was clad in a saree, others are for some reason fixated on the words "patted down". I honestly do not know any 'legging down' or 'slapping up' technique of checking someone! But as it was done by a female officer why the hue and cry?
The Woman was probably worried about her diplomatic (ironic word usage!) status image (the fact that it was not recognised maybe) but the point is no one knows you are a whatever ambassador so why not suck it up an leave? Why create an issue? All you have succeeded in doing is reaching out to millions through the media and telling them that you are an important person that the US airport security people did not recognise or give a damn about! Now why would someone want to publicize that? When they don't care about Shahrukh Khan (implying a public figure not comparing work wise) why would they think twice about you?
In all the recent similar kind of incidents right from Abdul Kalam to many who aren't famous enough to come in the papers, these mild bends in security to down right atrocities are not a new thing to hear of. But what I would like to bring to light, which we all seem to miss is, forget who and concentrate on why....
For centuries we have been discriminated and looked down upon in spite of our having proved ourselves time and again..
We have been brandished as a third world country, brown skinned, developing, poor. We have been ruled by the white skinned for almost TWO centuries. We haven't even been independent that long and here we are sucking up to them, considering them God, mimicking them, jumping at security preparations when some president is to arrive, running away abroad because we can't stand it here and then we are all hurt and offended when they bloody frisk someone at an airport!
Take a moment please. What else do you really expect? An honorary medal for idolizing them??
I am not defending them at all.. I am saying do not take it personally (though that may be the intention). Your dignity is not in their hands. Reacting immaturely only makes us look stupid.
No one cares. No one is going to tell the security in charge to be careful next time or let the saree clad women go, or do not double check a Khan or Kalam.
But we still foolishly yap away like a small puppy does at an ant that bit him.
If you have the guts, prove to them you do not care. Prove to them their security checks do not define who we are. If you chose (your choice) to go there (anywhere) do not allow their ways to get to you.
We all have our petty egos but by reacting to these things we simply come out looking childish.
Let us take in our stride and move on. We have nothing to hide.. (hopefully). Only if you fear a rebuttal would you care. Are you hiding a detonator under that saree?
Why do we always look up to the west to take decisions? If we weren't so insecure we wouldn't care about a frisking at all. (Need someone else's approval all the time?)
The media definitely should know, people should learn and be aware of these discriminations, but not as a rebellion but as a mere fact.
One that we have the strength to change if we learn to believe in ourselves.
No one defines who or what we are unless we allow them to!
If you have the strength then prove to them that we simply do not care. We are 'above' such petty attempts of degradation..!
We shall walk away chin up because they didn't find anything to point a finger at us did they??
written nicely!!! good topic!!! n its sumthing different........ Actually its true
ReplyDeleteif u go abroad and pass through the security check ...and all the mess they create spl US ...and than if u write this ill agree ...
ReplyDeletecoz when u see how we treat our visitors with athidi devo bhava .. atleat they should try to have some learning by their mistakes ..
if u know they can't check any of the president of any country let it be present or ex president ..so its an direct insult to the country ..they shold treat us in the right way..
what you are sayin is absolutely right.. they only reason that so many crores were spent when Obama was comin here was coz he was the US president.. not cause he was himself a genius.. if he didnt have that title, no one would'v cared..
ReplyDeletethe constant need to please and shoulder up to the US is what would eventually kill us in our own 'esprit' and make them live on in ours..
what has globalisation done? more than anything, its the americanisation of the enitre world.. Europe 4 instance, has sucha a rich culture, just like ours.. which is bein taken over by d need to resemble d economic superpower..
thats y china is on d way up... far from thinkin about d US as a superier power, they think of it as a potential adversary that 1 day, they know and so does d US, they will manage to crush.. they have no mercy.. none at al..
v should have a quest 4 r own identity n success.. hopefully 1 day that wud happen..
Great post! It is true that the the Unites States has a strong hold on various nations in the world and yes "westernization" is taking over the world. I'd like to point out a couple of things though:
ReplyDelete1. India's political association with the States is more than just idolizing. Whether we like it or not the US hold tremendous power in important organizations such as the UN, NATO etc., it also has a lot of resources and of course a market that the Indian nation often targets: a lot of the clothes made here for example have come from sweatshops in India. If there's no market supply will shatter. The same, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) is for China. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, here is from China! America is one of China's major trading partner. There is this huge political interdependence that determines how we behave towards what. And it's not one sided. My point is that we cannot separate ourselves from this dependence. It is inevitable, not because we idolize the States but because the world today is a LOT more interdependent that it ever was.
2. Another thing is that the issue with security checks is for the most part a precaution. The reason Indians are ones amongst many who are held aside and patted down is because India has a significant muslim population and sadly people now associate muslim with terrorist. Is it racial profiling? Yes but it's not malignant, it's not racism. (Although there are some who use it to foster the racism that they harbour and more than anything feel bad for them not being able to look past superficiality).
Agree with you. Also she is not the only woman in sari to be frisked. all the others have to undergo their checks. We are so willing to go to their country, we have to go through their security checks.
ReplyDeleteAlso her objection can stem from the fact that in India rules are never meant for everyone, only for the commoners. The rich and the powerful always get special treatment. Maybe we start expecting it from others too.
Wow thnx to all!!!
ReplyDeletePraveen - yes it is a direct insult to our country when they frisk our diplomats. but unfortunately the biggest defense they have is that their law allows them to frisk diplomats too!
Swagata - Yes we do allow the powerful and rich to exempt themselves from our security checks.. So expecting such treatment is one thing, but a diplomat of a country is another.. they can expect, have the right to. because as a nation that is the treatment that we provide.. the civil aviation minister now says we need to tit-for-tat by frisking their diplomats.. lets see if that works
Sharanya - Indian muslims only add up to about 5% of the world's muslims. and searching a diplomat is not because of any such reason coz it makes no logical sense. her name was a Shankar. Muslim? Nope.. Either ways that is agn no justification for frisking someone like Kalam either. I am not denying US's status in the international front, all I am saying is sure we can deal with them but there is no need to drool over any white skin.. Respect them and trade with them.. thats it.. keep it matter of fact.
Vaidehi - China is bloody another extreme.. i do not approve.. we are far better.. mediocracy is what is required. if u get aggressive with competition u will find u r internationally mistrusted like china.. tho they are feared and respected bcoz they are needed, as like Sharanya pointed out, China has it's market EVERYWHERE!
Yes, I know that she was not a Muslim, I have myself been asked to step aside often times. What I was trying to point out is that the reason they do pull us aside is not because we are willing to put our dignities away and drool over them. I don't think I have understood who is drooling over. Is that the general thought of most of the Indian society? (Because, I doubt it). I think Indians are patriotic, most of them don't hold kind attitudes towards NRIs, unless I'm wrong of course. Am I?
ReplyDeleteyes, you are right when you say few people (like myself) are not very kindly to NRI's. But, I find here that most are (esp of our age) very keen on leaving India and settling abroad, esp in America, because they hate the conditions here. (funny coz they haven't really seen any conditions there either).
ReplyDeleteAnd patriotic? Nope.. Not at least in the radius I have seen. Yes there are a few but most simply don't care while others actually dislike almost everything about this place. and their dream? America.. usually, or some white country...
it saddens me .. this attitude saddens me. the more our intelligent, hard working, naive population keep floating there and follow their rules and pay taxes there why will our country be given the respect we deserve?
America is well aware that if tomorrow free flight tickets and guarenteed jobs are provided max of India will move there.. I do not blame their perception bcoz it is true. we have a white skin fetish. we underestimate ourselves, and assume that we are born in a 'poor' country. the problem is our mindsets have gone poor and rotten and that reflects the country.
Today the biggest prob is many ppl have the money to send their kids, and look for jobs abroad. I am not against globalization, or to a certain extent interdependancy, but don't kick the country that gave u shelter for so many years, call it names and settle in a huff, some place else. when another recession strikes where will they all come crying back?
We aren't the best but if every citizen puts in what he can we can grow, we have potential. I know it sounds like some mother teresa but I truly believe this. we have become slaves in our minds. If we become leaders instead we wouldn't need any America to tell us we are good. we would already know it.
Yes, people do move abroad, yes, people are dreaming of working, studying etc abroad.You say it's because India has a reputation of being a poor country, people have a "white fetish". You really think every single NRI has dropped their lives in India in a second and flown over abroad, that people are only waiting for a chance to leave India? It's not an easy decision, America is not perfect and I like to believe that people, for the most part are well aware of that. You say people are "not aware of the conditions there", what makes you say that? Besides if you are not content with one place don't you have the right to move to another? How else will you cause a change? Isn't moving away a statement that declare loudly that you are not satisfied with what the government is offering to you as benefits? Take for example a country like Japan, the government offers one of the BEST healthcare to its citizens. I met an old couple on my way to India this year. They are both Indian (born and brought up there), we were talking about where they were from and what they are planning to do on their visit and whether they plan on moving back to India now that their kids are settled and successful. They said they would love to but since uncle's health is not the best they want to stay in Japan, the treatment he's getting there is of great quality and not expensive. This is just one of various reasons why people move to other places and I would like to point out that, from the few people I have met, very very few maybe 1/14 or so families have moved here because they believe their status has risen by moving abroad. Most of them have moved in order to provide their children with a better education.
ReplyDeletePeople's decisions are driven by opportunity, if you get offered a position to be an editor of Time magazine would you move to the states?
Also, on another note, if your tax money is used mainly to pay off corrupt politicians shouldn't you have the right to decide that you want nothing to do with such an act?
Oh dear.. spoken like a true NRI.. no offense.. :)
ReplyDeleteIf u live under the delusion that the taxes you pay there are not feeding currupt politicians then I really wouldnt like to burst ur bubble.. but for a fact the politicians in the west are far more currupt and brutal, if I may use the term.
So either way the currupt politician tag remains but its who's infrastructure and development (so to speak) you are paying for.
And u think moving away is telling the govt they need to start acting up! thats bull..
they honestly don't even care and even if they did they are simply glad the population is moving there. Less of a headache for them.
And you should be aware that no one here or rather barely anyone here in India know, or want to see, America's flaws.
India and many countries for that matter are aping the US and the repurcussions are going to be horrible, we are going down stream the minute we started "westernizing".. n i mean this at a more large scale and bigger picture level (economic system for eg) not something trivial like change in clothing, etc.. tho that isnt very trivial either but i hope u get my point for now.
There isn't lack of opportunity here in terms of education or even mediacal facility for that matter. If u can move to a another continent surely u can find a better place in the country. it is simply an escapist attitude.
And as for ur Japanese couple, well, they are giving you the lamest excuse. they are simply happily settled and comfortable there and do not want to come back to an India that they feel isnt good enough for them.
Opportunity isnt one that exists it is one that also sometimes needs to be found. But if u truly belive that it doesnt exist in some place then as much as it stares u in the face u will go and become a citizen of some place else, follow their rules to the 't', something u refrained frm in ur own country, and happily curse the country u left behind. It's is an equation of our psychs not actual physical opportunity.
The 1 in 14 ppl are the only ones who had the guts to own up to the fact that that was the reason they left India. the others are simply giving u excuses. in their hearts they wanted to leave anyway. so why not add a tag of education or job or even health for that matter.
Just a heads up, did u know ppl from all over the world are now coming to India for one of the world's best health care treatments because it is far more affordable and good? An Indian doctor of 27 saved an American woman with a complicated spinal operation that doctors in 7 other countries (including her own) actually refused to do!
Ppl frm the US come here too. If we were that bad would they? When they see it I don't understand why we can't...