Nationalistic Feelings

Inequality. One of the things that intrigues me the most. I'm a person who believes in equality. All men are equal. There is not even an ounce of doubt about that.

The great Tamil poet Bharathiyaar sings in one of his poems as follows,

Vellai niratthoru poonai.
Engal veettil valarudhu kandeer.
Pillaigal pettradhu appoonai.
Avai paerukkoru niramaagum.
Saambal niram oru kutty.
Karum saandhu niram oru kutty.
Paambin niram oru kutty.
Vellaip paalin niram oru kutty.

Endha niram irundhaalum.
Avai yaavum oru tharam andro?
Indha niram siridhentrum.
Idhu yaetram endrum sollalaamo.

"Look at the white cat
That lives in my house.
The cat gave birth to kittens
And each were different in colour.
One was grey in colour
While the other was blackish orange [Please pardon me if I got it wrong]
One was in the colour of a snake
And another was milky white.

Whichever colour they maybe in,
They are of the same quality.
Is it right to say that one colour is inferior
And the other is superior?"

This is a rough translation of the verses that I've quoted. Please bear with me if my version is horrible.

Bhaarathi talks about the diversity that prevails amongst human beings. What has to be kept in mind is that he also highlights the fact that all men are equal. It is not right to say that one is greater than the other. The fundamental thing that constitutes human beings is the same throughout the earth. All men bleed when cut, all men exult when they succeed, all men feel sad when something terrible happens to them. Thus, the emotions of each and every human being is basically the same all over the world. This substantiates the fact that all men are equal.

If that is so what is the need for patriotism and nationalistic feelings? This is a question that arises in everyone's mind.

Bhaarathi sang that all men are equal. I feel that all men are equal. There are many others throughout the world who share the same opinion. On the other hand, there are also people like Hitler, who think that their race alone is the best and others are not. The people who fall under the latter category resort to any kind of activities to prove their supremacy. The former practise tolerance. But isn't there a limit for tolerance?

The British reigned over India for a very long period of nearly 300 years. Those who came to do business started to colonize the region and make people their slaves. And as Hindu tradition goes, 'Athithi devo bhava'. Respect thy guests. The same respect shown to them brought about strong and adverse repercussions. As a result of which the whole country and her 'rich and varied heritage' is crumbling slowly and steadily.

No human being would be silent seeing his mother being raped by some stranger. It is nothing but cowardice if one remains so. Is there anything as shameful as that? But the bitter truth is that there are many such cowards.

You would probably want to know what makes me write this post. An incident in which a Tamil friend of mine said that English was his mother tongue is what provoked me to put this up. One's mother tongue is a matter of his/her identity. A language is to a society what initials is to an individual. Would someone call someone else his father? If that is so how can one's calling a foreign language his mother tongue be justified?

It is a well-known fact that comments in popular social networking websites are highly abusive in nature. I have seen comments such as 'India is a shithole' and 'Indians are cow piss drinkers' on Youtube. Remaining silent seeing such comments is for sure an act of cowardice. I don't mean to say that one has to give back similar comments. I just mean that those who make such comments have to be properly educated and be presented with the right and authentic facts. Be polite to a rogue, he'll get fed up and can even change into a new leaf. Isn't that what Lord Buddha did when he saw Angulimaala?

I'd openly express the fact that I'm proud of my country. My friend said that he's a proud Indian but I just don't understand how he expresses it. Does he do it through his lifestyle? Or does he do it through his speech? Or does he do it through his taste? I still can't figure it out because most of his habits and tastes are heavily influenced by the West. I'm not pointing out to a single person in this essay. There are many people like him and this post is targeted only towards them. Many Indians are blindly aping the West. There is no doubt about that. I strongly feel that it isn't a welcome change. It is each and every Indian's duty to preserve India's tradition, cultural grandeur and make them flourish. Isn't it the duty of a son to take care of his mother when she is hurt or sick?

I feel proud of my country, I feel proud of the languages spoken here, I feel proud of its rich tradition. And by doing so I don't undermine the other traditions or say that other countries are inferior to mine. They have their own specialities while mine has her own. I would just spread knowledge about what makes me feel proud of my country. I'd learn things that are useful, from other traditions and other countries too. After all, all men are equal. It doesn't matter from whom you learn, it only matters what you learn.