in 1939 - the writing is on the wall and I'm white washing over it! I'm Indian, I'm Roman Catholic and I'm fed up! Nothing seems to work anymore - if its not enough that outside forces/terrorists attack us, we seem to attack ourselves - Whether its the religion card or the community card, it all seems to work - the average person on the street seems to be waiting to be told who his next victim is! By thinking that we are a young democracy, am I turning a blind eye to a deep rooted problem in the system? Do I need to wait till there is complete anarchy or we turn into a dictatorship to make the hard decision to leave? It's not something I ever thought I would do - being the daughter of a IAF fighter pilot automatically instills in you a sense of pride and yes ownership - but as an owner, do I need to sink with the ship?
One of the reasons I always looked askance on moving abroad is that it is not where you come from - you are always a second class citizen - things are not the same as in India where you fit in seamlessly. But lately, I have been feeling like a second class citizen here as well - I mean I look the same but in spite of having a decent job, my money goes nowhere. Ok the rich are rich in any country, but at least middle class gives you aspiration to a better life. It seems to me now better to be a rung lower in another country since that country's ladder is higher than ours!
My biggest fear now is that we can turn into Afghanistan - I'm not sure exactly what Afghanistan is like but in my mind, it was run over by religious terrorists and I would like to know what the previous decade was like before the final power take over?
What I need is a country where I feel safe from persecution of any kind, where hard work has reward and society is progressive - I know I know It's called Utopia!
2 comments:
We had a pretty heated family discussion about this same topic. My brother & sis-in-law feel like second class citizens here, and want to eventually move back home for that reason. My point was -- we're not discriminated against any less in India, although it may not be because of the color of our skin. It could be because we're "amoral" women who frequent pubs, or are non-Maharashtrians living in Mumbai, or seem like better candidates for soliciting bribes. At least here it's not as systemic.
Interesting thought.
We in Sri Lanka used to think of migrating to the West, looking for money and freedom.
The problem with going West is the culture shock, so we are toying with the idea of India, for the same reasons.
Stand up to bigotry and intolerance while you still can. Over hear, too many people are no longer able to speak out.
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