India. Whither goest thou?

I am a Hindu. I have been proud of the fact that I am a hindu.

The religion, I admit, is esoteric. Religion begins where rationality and intiution end and in that sense, any religion is esoteric. And a religion that is thousands, if not millions of years old, does tend to be a little more esoteric than others.

But from what I understood of the religion, I have found it to be beautiful. It is one religion that focuses on the strength of man. Instead of telling him that he is powerless, instead of telling him to realize he is at the mercy of an almighty, it is a religion that tells him that he IS the almight himself. He is a part of the Whole, and by suitably channeling his energies, he can become one with Him. Makes me feel strong. And responsible. Beautiful message to say the least. It is also probably one of the few religions that does not preclude the existence of other religions. Rather, at a deeper level, it inherently has the message of unity of religions and God.

I come from a country that is 80% Hindu, and yet maintains its secularity. I am proud of my country for that. It is not a country of hindus that condescends to let people from other religions live. It is secular in its very nature. Anyone from any religion has as much right and responsibility in my country, as anyone else, from any other religion. And this is beautiful too. That each and every one is, before anything else, a citizen of the country.

Unfortunately, both these seem to be so, only in theory. The former in its holy texts and the latter probably in the constitution. What I see in practice tears my heart. Religion, instead of nationalistic feelings, is taking precedence. And religion is being abused left right and center to meet the rotten objectives of petty politicians. As a result, politicians, in the name of hinduism are pushing the country to the dark ages. Hinduism, which for ever has been open and welcoming of the influence of other countries and cultures is today interpreted as a religion that does not even allow it's children to learn a nursery rhyme. Contrary to its very basic tenets, it is seen as a religion that does not let its women wear what they want.

Is this the way I want the world to see my religion? Is this the real Hinduism?

Is this the way I want the world to see my country? Is this the real India?

I write this so, since I am a hindu and an Indian, sorry, an Indian, and a Hindu. But this rot is happening as much to any other religion in the country. Fatwas and forced conversions can definitely not be the central themes of any religion.

But equally importantly - are these the things politicians should involve themselves with? Aren't there enough issues visible to their naked eye, that they have to go looking at hemlines of women and textbooks of school children, for issues? Where is my country going?

About me. And India.

I am a Indian who has lived almost all my life in India. I have been proud of my country. It is a third world country, but a country that I has lots to be proud about. And I was proud about all of those. Proud of the fact that it withstood partition. Proud of the fact that it got its act together and reamined one. Proud of the liberty it gives me as a citizen. Proud of the almost unbiased media. Proud of the way it has treated me. Proud of the opportunities it gave me.

I have spent the last few years outside the country. And this gives a very different perspective of all that I thought was good and was proud of. I almost feel like a neutral bystander, standing aside and gazing at what would otherwise have been normal life for me. And when I take a neutral bystander's perspective, I see things I never saw before. And I ask questions I never asked before.

Unfortunately, not all that I have seen has been nice and pretty. Infact a lot of it hasn't been so. When I look back at all that I have seen, since I became a bystander, I see a lot that is perplexing. I fail to understand why a nation needs more reservations, when history shows that it hasn't worked very well in achieving its noble objectives. I fail to understand how important policy decisions, often of national interest and security are reached, not based on what is good for the country, but based on what sounds good to the country. I cannot understand how a city can attract the best in teh world, but cannot get its roads right after fifty years of attempting. I cannot explain to my co-workers why buses have to be burnt if a movie star dies a natural death. I find a lot of these depressing.

And as these questions come up, as these thoughts pass my mind, I realize that the fact that we have lots to be proud of does not make us infallible. We have done lots of good, but we are also doing lots and lots of bad. Being a bystander probably gives me an opportunity to see both and evaluate them for what they are.

I say all this right in my first post, since many of my blogs are likely to be focused on India and things happening there. And I want you to know that I'm not an India basher. Rather, I'm as proud of India as I ever was, but that doesn't stop me from calling a spade a spade, when I see one.