Why are we embarrassed to show love for India?.............(cc)

[Guest guest]

Why are we embarrassed to show love for India?

23 Jan, 2007 - TIMES NEWS NETWORK

- Jyoti Sharma

 

Unlike the UK and US, why do Indians shy away from

public displays of affection for our country?

 

Why is it that Indians do not wear love for their

country on their sleeve the way Americans, British or

Australians do? Unlike a US citizen who would wear

'Proud to be an American' tee to work, why does an

Indian keeps his tri-colour toting zeal confined to a

Team India match? Why don't we see more Indians

wearing clothes, turbans or even bindis and dupattas

in the colours of the nation? Why is it that no

building proudly wears the Indian flag on its exterior

a la the Nasdaq?

 

You would be hard pressed to spot one student in the

college campus with Indian colours on him. And if you

do, it's possible you would wonder what agenda the

person is pursuing!

 

Is it that Indians are less proud of their country

than rest of the world? Or, does the truth lie

elsewhere?

 

Nationwide polls as part of the India Poised campaign

show that Indian youth today are fiercely proud of

India and passionate about seeing their country in the

forefront of world powers. Make no mistake, at heart

we are all proud Indians. But, rarely would anyone

catch us admitting so publicly! What makes us Indians

so defensive about a public display of affection for

our country?

 

Explains sociologist Beenu Syal, " Even with elders,

Indians are respectful rather than affectionate. The

same attitudes apply to the country, which is seen as

the motherland. "

 

So, whereas Indians look up to their country as the

motherland and accord the respect due to it, they

would be as loathe to show that affection publicly as

they would be to hug their parents, siblings or wives

in public.

 

And yet, today there's a difference. India is suddenly

into PDA (public display of affection)! Today on the

world scene, the country seems to demand and expect

that show of affection and Young India is suddenly

eager to show that love and proudly display that

affection. If Shilpa Shetty is the target of a racist

attack on UK TV, it arouses strong emotions in India

and youngsters are willing to fight back for what they

consider an insult to India.

 

So far as wearing tri-colour goes, initially of course

there was the legal issue related to our usage of the

tri-colour. Till a few years ago, wearing Indian

colours or hoisting a flag meant you were flouting the

law. It took a long court case to finally get the

freedom to hoist the tri-colour. Says youth activist

Aditya Raj Kaul, " The laws were definitely a factor

here. Now, with those regressive laws gone, you see

many more people hoisting a flag on August 15 and

January 26. But it will still take some more time for

the trend to really catch up. In that context, 2006

has been something of a watershed with so many

youngsters not being shy of taking up issues that made

a difference to the country. "

 

Indeed, this year has seen Indian youth raise their

voice as one for Jessica Lall, Priyadarshini Mattoo

and Nitish Katara. Helping them along and showing them

that patriotism and a sense of justice are the right

emotions to fight for, were movies like Rang De

Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai.

 

Kunal Kapoor, RDB's Aslam, adds, " You can't attribute

such a strong reaction to only a film. RDB was just a

catalyst. It tapped what was already in there by

presenting patriotism in a package that the youngsters

understood and empathised with. Also, our generation

definitely takes more pride in our country than the

generations before us.

 

We are more informed, we don't look up to the west and

we know there are opportunities for us in India. "

 

Suddenly today love for the country is not just the

neta's prerogative. " I love my country " no longer

reeks of hypocrisy or self-aggrandisement . Today's

youth loves India for her history, for her rich

culture, for truthfulness, for a sense of justice and

fair play.