When I felt like a foreigner in my own country

This week I came back to New Haven from my India visit. I try to visit India at least once in two years. Every visit is special and full of many, many good memories. I have a very strong attachment with my friends, relatives, parents and this place itself that I can't stay away for very long, this country pulls me back from wherever I am. 

No doubt that India is changing, and it's changing fast. The effect of globalization is seen everywhere. Cities are expanding like anything, villages are shrinking, greenery is disappearing from cities and is being replaced by huge buildings, vehicles on roads are increasing, all major fast food chains have their shops at every corner in all major cities, any brand in fashion or automobile you can get very easily now, spotting Mercedes or BMW on the road is no more a surprise. This all in just the last 9 years since I left the country, all this was bound to happen, and change was bound to come, and I welcome this change but I have somewhat mixed feelings about this rapid change for various reasons. I think the problem is the change is mostly superficial. I see that India is changing physically very fast but most other things are still as it is or may be going from bad to worse (just my personal analysis). No doubt that money inflow and circulation have increased in India, the mentality to save money for the future is long gone and consumerism is at its peak. I like it when I see that people are living comfortable lifestyles and can afford many comforts and luxuries that were out of their reach just a few years ago.

Many people are trying to ape Western countries blindly, fast food chains and global soft drink brands have replaced local brands. Even many Indians now prefer to drink mineral water outside their homes, that's a huge surprise for me. But still, there is no concern for the environment or a philanthropic mindset. Any festival season or long weekend results in huge cash collections in many famous temples across the country. People go out of their way to donate money to these religious organizations without being bothered about what these organizations do with all this money. Mostly this money or donations are offered to get something from God, many people who indulge in corruption donate heavily to these organizations and think that they washed their dirty hands and are free to carry on their loot. This is the sick mentality and it should change, donations should be for good causes not for selfish reasons.

When I saw all these things, for a moment I felt like a foreigner in my own country because I couldn't relate to all these things. I was wondering if is this the same place where I was born and brought up. No doubt the place has changed drastically but this change is not from within, it's just an external makeover. Still, there are undercurrents of casteism wherever you go, even elite universities and institutions are not free from these things. If educational institutes are polluted like this then how one can expect students coming out from these institutes to have unbiased views? I saw even small kids have very negative opinions about other communities and people from other religions. I was wondering from where they learn all these things? Why their parents don't take special care so that their kids don't get trapped in a negative mindset about people around them? Don't we have to develop our thinking along with material developments?

India is a country of diverse cultures and languages but this diversity itself has created many problems. We failed to take advantage of this diversity, rather we are stuck with the mindset of protecting our own identity (in terms of cast, religion, region, or language). These challenges are unique for India and I strongly believe that Indians are capable of handling them. Anti-corruption movement started by Anna Hazare and his group is a good initiative in this direction. At least someone is trying to change the system rather than just complaining and blaming it.

But please don't get a pessimistic view about India. It is much more than the problems that I stated above, it's the largest democracy in the world and it's not easy to manage so many people with different cultures, languages, and religions. It's a unique example where people can live happily despite so many problems and hurdles in their lives. 

Sometimes I do feel like a stranger in my own country but the very next moment I realize that I belong there, among all the chaos, noise, dust, and crowds resides a country that I love and care about. I know as a nation we face many problems and some tough challenges but I am also confident that we can handle it and this trip made my belief even stronger. I didn't come disappointed but I came full of optimism and hope.


Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)