We can be proud of many things as a nation. We have achieved much as a civilization through the ages, and since we became a unified nation officially on that fateful day in 1947. I am proud to belong to this country. I would not choose to have been born anywhere else, or at any other time.
Even
more emphatically, I would not choose another family. I am lucky in many ways.
But this is not about that.
Recently, I have started noticing in me a subtle delusion.
I am sure there are many others, given the extremely flawed and immature human
being that I am, but I want to focus on this particular one.
It is about the pride that stems from achievements that I
have no direct or indirect claims to. Yes, we as human beings have a sense of
community and belonging, and therefore are capable of drawing happiness from
the success of any individual from our social groups or nations.
As an Indian though, here I am talking about that characteristic
Indian pride for great things that have some connection to India.
When an Indian scientist makes an important discovery, for example,
there is ample reason for us patriotic citizens to rejoice in that fact. But
when a scientist of Indian ‘origins’, who has chosen another nation as his own,
by birth or otherwise, achieves something remarkable – why do we get to claim
pride in that?
Does it not seem desperate?
I feel it is. And it bothers me.
It is like the struggling person in life with low self-worth
who likes to feel good by reminding people of the fact that a distant relative
of theirs, who they have never actually met, became famous. As if that somehow
means they have done so themselves and deserve respect for it.
We hail from a great civilization. We have enough and more
in us, to make ours a grand nation too. And slowly but steadily, we are
getting there.
And that leads me to the second part of this thing that is
bugging me.
The pride in the feats and achievements of ancient India.
I feel that when we go for the easy pride in the vague
notions and ‘facts’ of ancient Indian greatness, we blind ourselves to the
present day problems that we need to face to a certain degree.
I have seen and at times even been complicit in vehement
arguments about something ancient India did or is said to have done. Yes, there
is a fierce patriotic element in that but I sense now an overwhelming delusional
part in it too.
So here are some things many modern Indians are proud of,
but with a twist. Let us look at them in context for once, shall we?
We invented the modern number system, and zero.
Can you name five great mathematicians in India today? What
have been some recent modern contributions from our nation to the field of
mathematics? Are we at the forefront of this area of study? How do we get
there?
We had a very advanced system of medicine in ancient
India.
What are the current health and medical statistics in India
that we need to improve? Where do we rank in the global scale of things as far
as our medical institutions go? How much of the population has access to good
medical services?
We have a great history of the arts and literature.
Mahabharata is still the longest epic ever written.
This is true. But can you name the most critically acclaimed
writers of at least two languages in India right now? How many great schools of
the arts do we have? How many traditional art forms are fading away in to
obscurity? What do we need to do to revive our native arts?
Do you see where I am going with this?
At what point does pride become something that lures us into
complacency, and not something positive that is born from the reality we live
in?
I say again – I am proud to be an Indian. But I also feel
that I would rather be an informed and aware citizen who beams with a little
less pride, than a proud and boastful moron, who lives in a manufactured nation
of abstract notions and ancient wonders.
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