The name's 'Pande' not 'Pandey'

Recently a student named Nido Tania (19 years old) from Arunachal Pradesh died in the heart & soul of India, at Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi. And why? - because he had different hair colour than everybody else did. And I'm just getting started.

Nido Tania, 19

It's shame that India and its citizens, even after 65 years of independence, have not accepted Northeastern people as a part of this country. Those same Northeasterners who have fought the mighty China & Pakistan shrugging shoulders along with the rest of the Indians. It's a shame that India and its citizens call Northeasterners a 'Chinese'. Let me make it clear here that there is nothing wrong with being a 'Chinese'. But calling our very own people 'Chinese' -- meaning not Indians, hurts. It hurts to all those who live in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh & other Northeastern states. And it hurts me. I know I'm not Northeasterner & I can't possibly imagine what it must feel like being discriminated against.

But wait a minute -- I do know how does it feels to be discriminated against in your own country.

I was in Mumbai or so called the 'city of dreams' for a while. And let me be honest, it was best time & the worst time of my life. Best because I was enjoying the freedom that was bestowed upon me by this great city. And worst because at every step, I felt discriminated. Now you must be wondering why? Read the title again. Yes, I think you got it. At every step, I was being asked whether I was 'Pandey' as in 'Chulbul Pandey' and whether i'm from Bihar or UP. Every time I replied with these questions -- why? Why does it matter if it's Pandey or Pande? What's going to happen to me if I say 'Yes', I'm from Bihar or UP? What's going to happen if I say 'No'? How does my being Pandey or Pande change our relationship? Am I going to get any special treatment if I am from Bihar or UP?

Hate crimes, xenophobia or racism - you can give any name to it you want, but the basic fact is people are being discriminated against only because they belong from different part of the country. But the real question is why?

There are many reasons for people being discriminated against because of their - looks, gender, origin, language, but the basic reason behind it is -- fear of 'Unknown'. By 'Unknown' I mean -- lack of knowledge of something or someone. People are discriminated against  just because society does not know them or simply not aware about them. May be because many people migrate from other parts of the country we never have been to. Now here, it's important to understand why people migrate in the first place.

People migrate for two reasons. Firstly, they may wish to get away from the things that they do not like. These are called push factors and include:-

• not enough and poorly paid jobs
• old and poor quality houses
• natural disasters - earthquakes, volcanoes, wars
• few opportunities - shopping centers, cinema, food, schools, hospitals
• poor transport

Secondly, people are attracted to the things that they do like. These are called pull factors and include:-

• more and better paid jobs
• new and good quality houses
• better education - more opportunities
• improved medical care
• better transport

Now here, it's important to note that in the constitution of India, India is referred to as 'Union of states' rather than 'federation of states'. This is because Indian constitution is a mixture of both -- Federal and Unitary government. The reason why I'm mentioning this is that the Indian constitution follows the principle of 'Single citizenship'. It means India doesn't have a separate constitution for center and state governments. In other words, It means our constitution is supreme and every Indian has a right to move around the entire country without any problem.

Now the same benign migration, which by the way is nothing new, but you know that by now, has been given a heinous turn. Over the past few years, some politicians including -- the one who was too cool to stay in 'Sena' & went on to form his own 'Sena' -- have been vocally against such migration. It's such a shame that a fellow Indian has turned against another fellow Indian because of such politicians. Remember when we were all kids and we used to pledge something like this,

“India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I shall strive to be worthy of it. I shall respect my parents, teachers and all elders and treat everyone with courtesy. To my country and all my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well being and prosperity alone lies my happiness.”

Remember we used to call our fellow Indians as 'brothers' and 'sisters' and not 'Bhaiya'?
Look at us. What happened? What's changed?

What happened was some politicians turned us against our very own just because they were 'different' for their own purposes. It's such a shame that we couldn't even realize when it happened. It's such a shame that not a single person walked out on these demagogues & greedy politicians. Not a single person stood for what was the right thing to do. And because of what we didn't do we have lost a young boy,Nindo, who could have done a great service to our country. As I always say,

"We are responsible for happening or not happening of something and everything."

Just because we failed to understand these 'Unknown' people, today, we have lost Nido. And it's such a shame that a bright student had to die to make us realize our mistake. What mistake you ask? Let’s look it up in our Constitution.

In our constitution, we have a preamble, 448 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules. Our preamble contains brief summary of our entire written constitution. Preamble reads,

"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:JUSTICE, social, economic and political;LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;and to promote among them allFRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION."

 

See? Our very own preamble clearly says that 'We' have a right to equality of opportunity (articles 14-18). It says that we are supposed to treat each other as brothers & sisters & assure the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. So what if Nindo went to Delhi for further education. So what if I went to Mumbai for employment opportunities. So what if 'Bhaiyas' of Bihar or UP came to Mumbai or Delhi for employment or education.  Where did I go wrong? Where did 'Bhaiyas' went wrong? And where did Nindo went wrong? What was Nido's fault that he had to be beaten up so bad that he died?

It's times like these that we have to step back & see what we have given to our society. It's times like these that we have to look in the mirror & identify the 'devil'. It's times like these that we end the fear of 'Unknown' by simply educating the masses about our culture. It's times like these we should arrange cross-cultural programs throughout the country on a larger scale. It’s times like these we have to come to terms that India’s political and constitutional structure is pluralistic. Its citizens must internalise the idea that we are a nation of diverse groups of people who need not necessarily resemble one another. Come on, we can do this. It's India we are talking about. The Same country which was supposed to fail because of religious and cultural diversity. But we didn't fail. We succeeded. We succeeded against Polio which killed my 15 year old sister. And we can do it one more time. We can end Racism if we want to. But it's true what they say,

"First step in solving any problem, is recognizing there is one."

Let's accept that we have a problem and start working on solving it. We can & we will end Racism.

Jai Hind
Jai Bharat

Written by Rishikesh Pande

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Why I don't attend functions held on 15 August & 26 January

15 August & 26 January have a very special place in the hearts of Indians (and Pakistanis). On 15 August 1947, India became independent. Before that, the British ruled our nation for over 150 years. I don't have to get into detailed account of how we won our freedom, but it's important to note that we did.

Now the point of discussion here is, why I don't attend functions held on the two most important days in India's history. Am I anti-nationalist? Am I any lesser patriotic than any other Indian if I don't attend them? I have simple answers for them, but before I tell you what they are, I have to discuss some issues associated with these important dates.

The first problem is, many Indians, after 66 years of independence, have forgotten what freedom means and to love one's motherland. Instead of celebrating independence with each & every day of our calendar year, we have started to celebrate it for two days. Many Indians, for some reason, believe that they are patriots & love their country if they celebrate independence for two days; it is nothing less than a delusion as love for their motherland is soon forgotten in a few days time. It is stupid to love your own country for merely two days instead of loving her for 365 days of the calendar year. I don't really blame them. When we all were in school, colleges or in similar educational institutions, we all did the same. Probably that's the reason we continue to do so in our adult life. But that is no excuse for this grave mistake. When we were kids, various functions were held for only two days not because they couldn't but because they didn't think it was necessary. Now in our adult life, if we choose not to love our independence throughout the the year, that is our fault and not school’s.

Before we continue, I want to point out that, there is nothing wrong in celebrating independence on these two dates. I'm not saying you shouldn't celebrate our independence. I'm saying the feeling you have when you celebrate independence day on two occasions, should be same throughout the calendar year. And NO, i'm not anti-nationalist either. I do love my country and I do celebrate independence day and republic day but I do so in a different way than you people.

Now secondly, many Indians have started to give independence day a glamorous look. By glamorous I mean, people dress up in Khadi or white clothes, go out & have fun. While I'm not against the glamorization of Indians, I am, however, against the fashion business industry which uses these important days for promotion of their company's clothes. I am also against people who think that they are more patriotic than the rest of the people just because they wore special clothes. It is wrong of people to send a message that, you are patriotic just because you own/bought/wore white clothes or Khadi & wore it for two days. If you really love your country, why don't you start wearing similar clothes throughout the year?

Thirdly, many Indians have started to look at these two important dates as 'Holidays'. I'm deeply hurt when people refer to these dates as a holidays instead of an anniversary of something remarkable. It is very shallow and stupid, to refer to these dates as 'Holidays'.

Fourthly, suddenly when these two dates are near, people, mostly children, start buying national flags. How idiotic that is. If you think you are patriotic by buying these flags, think again; they should be given respect and should be with you throughout the year & not only on two occasions. By buying national flags, and attending functions held, you are not going to be a patriot. Instead of paying respects to these flags that they deserve, they are later found in the garbage or on the streets. How pathetic is that.

India's flag and emblem

So far we have seen the problems related to these dates in short. Now I would like to tell you the reason for my absences from functions held on concerned dates. The reason is, for me, love for India or motherland is not bound by time or date. I love my India every day & my love for her never deteriorate like the rest of the Indians. I don't feel any less patriotic on any other day than I do on these days. I love my national flag & anthem (and song) on all days of a year. It is as simple as that. Secondly, no show off is needed. If you really love your country, you should not just talk about it, but you should act on it. In other words -

"action speaks louder than words."

Thirdly, the most important thing that I do is respect my constitution. We have, in our constitution, some fundamental rights & duties. Just as one knows and uses his/her own fundamental rights, one should also perform his/her fundamental duties. I not only use my fundamental rights prescribed in the constitution but also abide by fundamental duties prescribed in the same constitution. We forget the fact that we have some moral or ethical obligations towards our country.

And finally, My love for India is not a one night stand, it is a lifelong commitment to my motherland.

So this year, when you go out to buy white/Khadi clothes, remember that you are not supposed to. Remember to respect our national flag and national anthem - be careful with the national flags. Remember, it’s not a ‘Holiday’ but celebration of anniversary of something remarkable.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.

Written by Rishikesh Pande

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India -- a nation, an idea or just a dream

India as a nation :

India is a country with population of more than 1.2bn people according to 2011 census. India's economy is growing at the rate of 4.5 (GDP). India has a unique mixture of people from different religions but according to preamble of constitution, india is a secular nation. India's 60% (acc. to 2011 census) population still lives in villages. more than 900 mn indians own mobile phones. More than 137 mn (not enough) indians are using internet & 59% of them access internet via mobile phones. India is largest the democracy in the world & is known for preserving the human rights of it's citizens.

India as an idea :

India as an idea could be traced back to a time when it was ruled by the british empire. That was the time when people were patriotic. These patriots had an idea of a great nation -- which will be run by a government of the people, by the people & for the people -- a democracy. A democracy which will be secular in nature, which will have freedom of expression, freedom of speech etc. They struggled for a long time(more than 150 yrs) & victory was theirs. On 15th august 1947, india became an independent country -- a democracy. The then PM of india, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first PM of independent country.
Our constitution was a masterpiece drafted by Dr. Ambedkar. It contained everything that our freedom fighters ever thought of; but most importantly -- freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression etc are one of the most recently used or publicized fundamental rights.

India as a dream:

After 65 years of independence, we can't really say that the dreams our founding fathers saw, came true. Under the UPA 2 government, there have been too many scams. Not just scams but freedom of speech, freedom of expression have come into question. Recently Mr. Trivedi a cartoonist, was arrested for drawing a cartoon mocking the UPA 2 government. Just after the sad demise of Mr. Balasaheb thackrey, 2 girls from mumbai were arrested. What for? For updating a facebook status which merely in polite words said -- when was the last time we paid homage to our freedom fighters like this? Is this the kind of government our founding fathers wanted?
Now what's the purpose behind writing all this. 2014 elections are coming & we can probably see BJP candidate Mr. Modi vs congress candidate Mr. Rahul gandhi faceoff. This is high time that we vote. And while voting, vote for the ideology of a candidate & not that of a person or a party.


Ideology of Mr. Gandhi led to freedom from the british empire. So if we again vote or support the ideology of a person, we might get freedom from corruption, scams etc. We might as well get our freedom back. For all this to happen, casting a vote is important. Not voting is definitely not the solution to the problem. Voting for a person's ideology might change the situation in india. Many people ask -- why vote? Nothing's gonna change. Well solution for that is again not abstaining from voting but voting for change.

Vote so that the dream our founding fathers had would come true. Vote so that you can see the change.

Mr. Gandhi once said -

"Be the Change you wish to see in the World."

Vote for change. Vote to bring back freedom.
Written By Rishikesh Pande


Edited By Manjushree Iyer

Originally written on 13 May 2013

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