As the date of my return flight to India comes near,I have many thoughts flowing in my mind, ranging from happiness of returning to home,Summers in India :( and most importantly difference of life and culture in UK and India.
My most important concern while I was here in UK was that some Gora's are very big racists. And they leave no stone unturned to make you feel UNWANTED in their country. But when these thoughts were about to be completely affirmed to my mind ,there came another set of experiences that challenged my affirmations,my thoughts and my outlook to people and hence culture in UK. There were many experiences and i will try to compare those situations with those in India.
In one of the experiences I and my friend was waiting for a bus for nearly 10 minutes and before the bus came, there came a large group of Gora people came to the bus stand .
Now when the bus came my general instinct looking at some of the recent stints of Racism i witnessed, I thought to back off and let the English group board the bus first to avoid any mood spoiling racist confrontation on my way to office ! However to my surprise no one in the whole group rushed forward to prove that he deserved a bigger right to board this bus than us and they very courteously made sure that we went into the bus first and later they all followed. I was trying to imagine thi situation in India and specifically My Punjab. Had 2 people from UP or BIHAR been standing at the bus stop and a Tall and healthy group of PUNJABIs came to the same bus stop, would have they done the same thing ? I don't think so, I am sure they would have jumped into the bus first, looking at the other two people waiting there before them ,with a wicked smile on their face to prove this was their place and they had a more strong point/right to board the bus before them. Then WHO is a bigger Racist ?
In another case, while coming back from my BT office,generally the bus which leaves BT office is full of Indian IT people from office,both lower and upper floors hardly leaving any seat empty . And most of the time Gora's have to stand during their whole journey. Its quite a nightmare for regular commuters on this route as buses from BT Adastral Park are generally full from 8-10 in the morning and 5-7 in the evening ! So don't you think we are disturbing their balanced lives and don't they have a right to vent out their resentment when their government is not listening to them in stopping the inflow of migrants ? We are forcing them to struggle for resources in their own country ,which they once did with us in our country . So what did we do then ?
A Gora who works hard from 9-5 PM in a mall to earn a meagre 600-700 pounds for bread and butter( Yes , you only get bread and butter in 600 £ in UK ! ) for his/her family , sees you buy a 100 £ pound watch,30 £ purse and 20 £ shirt in 30 minutes in the same store for yourself , how would he/she actually feel ? Can we accept this in our country ? or for a moment leave country aside, can we imagine this in our state ? That the wealth is getting accumulated to a citizen of some other country while we are starving for even food ?
After living for say 20 years in ENGLAND, you still support INDIA in an INDIA /ENGLAND cricket match, and yes I agree we always will because we are proud to be Indians,This is what we always say . This is what Gora's also say ,if you yourself are so proud to be an Indian and even after living for 20 years in ENGLAND, you cant support ENGLAND ,then why are you living here ? If you still have your heart in India then why are you here ? Go back !!
Can WE accept that some people living in India start to support Pakistan in an India/Pak match ? Can we ever accept that ? The prompt answer from any Indian would be a BIG NO . Then Are THEY not right ? or Are WE getting it wrong somewhere ?
I am not justifying the violent racist attacks of Gora people nor am I criticising people who leave India and come abroad for better oppurtunities(Every one has a right to live a comfortable and luxurious life ! ) , but I am just trying to divert OUR attention to a place that actually deserves it. That is my India and its diverse attitudes that need a quick healing, else...........
Hey Ankur....I alwz appreciate ur out of the box kind of thinking...gud one...:)
ReplyDeleteIts just a matter of perception sir... It all depends on the state of mind ...if we have a couple of pleasant experiences our mind stars questioning the conventional negative perception about racist goras... its not that we punjabi's act racist ...its just the way of life here in India... its just that everything is so vast in India except the resources that we are forced to treat people on merit ;)
ReplyDelete@Charu : Thanks Yaar :)
ReplyDelete@Aman : Yes Sir , you are right, but I really like the last line of your comment :)
What an observation!
ReplyDeleteI am not able to decide whom to support ;)
Goras or Punjabis :D
i think rather i support you :) for your wonderful insight...you rock bhai!