India, a country with rich cultural diversity, is considered to be a developing country. With advancements in every field going at phenomenal rates, India is coming in league with many leading countries of the world. Our condition today is much better that what was 50 years ago. The leaders of our country are working hard to bring the level of India up to the standards of a developed country, like United States Of America.
Today, we can proudly boast of all our achievements. But, even though we have achieved so much, one thing very wickedly lurkes in the background, escaping focus, that can have a very serious influence on our development-The Indian Mentality.
I am not a feminist. But I do feel strongly against the discrimination that the female race faces in The Cultural Soup of a country- India. This blog will not be about me ranting on and on about how everybody is unfair with women these days, and have been for a few centuries now. Instead, I would chart out the situation with an example- mine.
I belong to a conservative Punjabi family, proud of its lineage. We never miss a chance to flaunt our exceptional but sometimes useless qualities, like our Very Famous Short Temper and The Profanity. One of my uncles is settled in The States and has a Russian wife (talk about the obsession of Punjabis with fair skin) and they have a part -American, part- Indian son, who has an American name with an Indian surname. And then, its me and my elder brother who are very unfortunately settled in India.
The reason for stating this as a misfortune could not be clearer. Of course, the issue is self explanatory. My cousin, is considered an American (though if mentioned, that he is of American origin, the anger of all my family members zooms up to an invisible height, which takes months to get down. Punjabi ego). He is allowed to have an iPhone, even though he has barely crossed his teens; is allowed to have a girlfriend (my family members actually ENCOURAGE him on having one) and is allowed to hang out with friends; allowed to move out at 18, do whatever he wants to do with his life and many other things.
Inspite of being the elder sister, I don't enjoy such relaxations. Just the other day, I was looking up options for high school junior and senior year, having completed my freshman and sophomore years in a different one. I got the opportunity to study in a well known English school, which was situated far up north of the country. When I expressed my wish to go there, keeping in mind the vast number of opportunities I'll have if I did, I was denied with the reason- "You are a girl. We don't send girls away from home at such a young age". I didn't even get a chance to counter my argument; the discussion ended with one single reply from my mother. And I didn't even have the nerve to retaliate further. Her reply shut me up.
My ramble may come off as pure jealousy, or what the scientists call- the human tendency to feel inferior/ inferiority complex. But, many times, I can't help but wonder, would it have made a difference if I was not an Indian citizen? Does your location matter so much in your mentality? Is your culture just restricted to the borders of your country and, vanishes the second you put a toe out? Is it really us, who govern our thoughts and views or is it the fear of 'what society will think'? Are Indians really worth the admiration they get from other races? I don't think so.
I am not really against my culture, though there is no denying the Western one is way better in many ways. But, sometimes, I feel suffocated, merely due to the fact that I can't actually live life the way I want to. The deal is simple - "Go our way or be looked down upon". That's suffocating. Not being able to walk on roads with freedom, that's suffocating. Not being able to choose education of your choice, that's suffocating. Living with a fear which is not exactly living, that's suffocating.
It's not that I didn't get to go to a good school, or that I don't get to go out with my friends, or that I don't have the freedom to wear clothes of my choice. That way I consider myself to be luckier that the others. But I get these benfits with certain restrictions. Its like allowing a person to breathe, but forcing a hand upon their nose. You do survive, but don't live. What is the point, then, of such a life?
So much for being Indian..!
Prishita
