ViSiON

Today, I am remembering India, my country, very fondly. Most Indians not residing in India, at least my age, like the idea of liking India - showing off how it is not far behind the developed nations they're currently in. I am one of those who used to be frustrated by the corruption back home and I also remember defending my country innumerable times here when asked about the poverty or the corruption that plagues my nation. Yes, I have fumbled myself when thinking about these issues and still have found pretty facts to buttress my claims and insist that India might not be rich but is soon to become "the youngest nation where 75% of the population is below 40 years" thus giving it the boon of a gene pool that will thrive on education and ignite the sparks of knowledge. However, despite these loosely comforting statistics, I cannot turn a blind eye towards the innate problem - how deeply domestically racist one Indian tends to get when placed in a room full of other Indians. I see that when I go to the Indian Consulate in New York or I must admit I have seen that in my own school when students sitting on the pavement during school functions stared at other student's parents. Comments were made on how inappropriately they were dressed or behaved. I even remember my school friends clustering in superficial groupism - the super rich, the pool of nerds, the congregations of Catholics, the not-so-bright..I know the age-old-adage - birds of a feather flock together, but aren't we birds of the same feather? We came from the same city, same school - and yet, we were all divided. When we reach college, we become a little more broad-minded and if I can say it truthfully enough, the reason is not because college implants a force of Love Thy Neighbor Campaign. Instead, it is because when you reach that seat (that was limited and took you great toil to make it), you realize there are many more smarter and hard-working than you. At that point, we seek to make "diverse" friends who will be good contacts in case of an emergency like bunking or good notes in case of an insurgency like flunking. I don't know who I am sitting here and cursing but I know one thing - something in India needs to change. Among the many things, that something is ViSiON minus the 2 big I's that are filling our nation - "Ignorance" of the unknown and "Intolerance" of the known.