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SHASHITHAROORON'WHOISANINDIAN?ANATIONOFMINORITIES'
organisedbytheNationalCommissionofMinorities
Indiannationalismisnotbasedonlanguage,orgeography,orethnicity,orreligion,butisthatofanideaofan
everever land emerging from an ancient civilisation, united by a shared history, sustained by pluralist
democracy
Wemustaskthequestion:WhoisanIndian?
At midnight on August 15, 1947, independent India was born as its first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,
proclaimed"atrystwithdestinyamomentwhichcomesbutrarelyinhistory,whenwepassfromtheoldto
thenew,whenanageendsandwhenthesoulofanation,longsuppressed,findsutterance".Withthosewords
helaunchedIndiaonaremarkableexperimentingovernance.
Remarkablebecauseitwashappeningatall."India,"WinstonChurchilloncebarked,"ismerelyageographical
expression.ItisnomoreasinglecountrythantheEquator."
Churchill was rarely right about India, but it is true that no other country in the world embraces the
extraordinarymixtureofethnicgroups,theprofusionofmutuallyincomprehensiblelanguages,thevarietiesof
topography and climate, the diversity of religions and cultural practices and the range of levels of economic
developmentthatIndiadoes.
AndyetIndiaismorethanthesumofitscontradictions.JustthinkingaboutIndiamakescleartheimmensityof
thechallengeofdefiningwhatitmeanstobeanIndian.
Howcanoneapproachthislandofsnowpeaksandtropicaljungles,with23majorlanguagesand22,000distinct
"dialects"(includingsomespokenbymorepeoplethanDanishorNorwegian),inhabitedintheseconddecadeof
thetwentyfirstcenturybyoverabillionindividualsofeveryethnicextractionknowntohumanity?
How does one come to terms with a country whose population is nearly 30 per cent illiterate but which has
educated the world's secondlargest pool of trained scientists and engineers, whose teeming cities overflow
whiletwooutofthreeIndiansscratchalivingfromthesoil?
Whatisthecluetounderstandingacountryrifewithdespairanddisrepair,whichnonethelessmovedaMughal
emperortodeclaim,"Ifonearththerebeparadiseofbliss,itisthis,itisthis,itisthis..."?
Howdoesonegaugeaculturewhichelevatednonviolencetoaneffectivemoralprinciple,butwhosefreedom
wasborninbloodandwhoseindependencestillsoaksinit?
Howdoesoneexplainalandwherepeasantorganisationsandsuspiciousofficialsonceattemptedtoclosedown
KentuckyFriedChickenasathreattothenation,whereaformerprimeministeroncebitterlycriticizedthesale
of PepsiCola "in a country where villagers don't have clean drinking water", and which yet invents more
sophisticatedsoftwarefortheplanet'scomputermanufacturersthananyothercountryintheworld?
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How can one determine the future of an ageless civilisation that was the birthplace of four major religions, a
dozen different traditions of classical dance, eightyfive major political parties and three hundred ways of
cookingthepotato?
Theshortansweristhatitcan'tbedoneatleastnottoeveryone'ssatisfaction.AnytruismaboutIndiacanbe
immediately contradicted by another truism about India. It is often jokingly said that "anything you can say
aboutIndia,theoppositeisalsotrue".Thecountry'snationalmotto,emblazonedonitsgovernmentalcrest,is
"Satyameva Jayate": Truth Alone Triumphs. The question remains, however: whose truth? It is a question to
whichthereareatleastabillionanswersifthelastcensushasn'tundercountedusagain.
Butthatsortofananswerisnoansweratall,andsoanotheranswertothosequestionshastobesought.And
thismaylieinasimpleinsight:thesingularthingaboutIndiaisthatyoucanonlyspeakofitintheplural.There
are,inthehackneyedphrase,manyIndias.Everythingexistsincountlessvariants.Thereisnosinglestandard,no
fixedstereotype,no"oneway".
ThispluralismisacknowledgedinthewayIndiaarrangesitsownaffairs:allgroups,faiths,tastesandideologies
surviveandcontendfortheirplaceinthesun.Atatimewhenmostdevelopingcountriesoptedforauthoritarian
modelsofgovernmenttopromotenationbuildingandtodirectdevelopment,Indiachosetobeamultiparty
democracy.
And despite many stresses and strains, including 22 months of autocratic rule during the 1975 Emergency, a
multiparty democracy freewheeling, rumbustious, corrupt and inefficient, perhaps, but nonetheless
flourishingIndiahasremained.
One result is that India strikes many as maddening, chaotic, inefficient and seemingly unpurposeful as it
muddlesitswaythroughtheseconddecadeofthetwentyfirstcentury.Another,though,isthatIndiaisnotjust
acountry,itisanadventure,oneinwhichallavenuesareopenandeverythingispossible.
"India,"wrotetheBritishhistorianEPThompson,"isperhapsthemostimportantcountryforthefutureofthe
world.Alltheconvergentinfluencesoftheworldrunthroughthissociety....Thereisnotathoughtthatisbeing
thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind." That Indian mind has been shaped by
remarkablydiverseforces:ancientHindutradition,mythandscripture;theimpactofIslamandChristianity;and
twocenturiesofBritishcolonialrule.
Theresultisunique.ManyobservershavebeenastonishedbyIndia'ssurvivalasapluraliststate.ButIndiacould
hardlyhavesurvivedasanythingelse.Pluralismisarealitythatemergesfromtheverynatureofthecountry;it
isachoicemadeinevitablebyIndia'sgeographyandreaffirmedbyitshistory.
India's is a civilisation that, over millennia, has offered refuge and, more important, religious and cultural
freedom,toJews,Parsis,severalvarietiesofChristians,andofcourseMuslims.
JewscametoKeralacenturiesbeforeChrist,withthedestructionbytheBabyloniansoftheirFirstTemple,and
theyknewnopersecutiononIndiansoiluntilthePortuguesearrivedinthe16thcenturytoinflictit.
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ChristianityarrivedonIndiansoilwithStThomastheApostle(DoubtingThomas),whocametotheKeralacoast
sometimebefore52ADandwaswelcomedonshorebyafluteplayingJewishgirl.Hemademanyconverts,so
thereareIndianstodaywhoseancestorswereChristianwellbeforeanyEuropeansdiscoveredChristianity.
InKerala,whereIslamcamethroughtraders,travellersandmissionariesratherthanbythesword,theZamorin
of Calicut was so impressed by the seafaring skills of this community that he issued a decree obliging each
fisherman'sfamilytobringuponesonasaMuslimtomanhisallMuslimnavy!
SothefirstchallengeisthatwecannotgeneraliseaboutIndia.Oneofthefewgeneralisationsthatcansafelybe
madeaboutIndiaisthatnothingcanbetakenforgrantedaboutthecountry.Notevenitsname:fortheword
Indiacomes fromtheriverIndus,whichflowsinPakistan.That anomalyiseasilyexplained,forweknowthat
PakistanwashackedoffthestoopedshouldersofIndiabythedepartingBritishin1947.(Yeteachexplanation
breedsanotheranomaly.PakistanwascreatedasahomelandforIndia'sMuslims,butatleasttillveryrecently
thereweremoreMuslimsinIndiathaninPakistan.)
Soifwecan'tgeneralise,wemustaskthequestion:who,then,isanIndian?
OnlyinIndiacouldacountryberuledbyamanwhodoesnotunderstandits'nationallanguage'
Inoursixandahalfdecadesofindependence,manythoughtfulobservershaveseenacountrymoreconscious
thaneverofwhatdividesit:religion,region,caste,language,ethnicity.WhatmakesIndia,then,anation?
Toanswerthat,I'dliketotakeanItalianexamplenottheoneyouimagine!Amidstthepopularfermentthat
made an Italian nation out of a mosaic of principalities and statelets in the late 19th century, one Italian
nationalist(MassimoTaparellid'Azeglio)memorablywrote,"WehavecreatedItaly.Nowallweneedtodoisto
createItalians."
Oddly enough, no Indian nationalist succumbed to the temptation to express the same thought "we have
createdIndia;nowallweneedtodoistocreateIndians."
Suchasentimentwouldnot,inanycase,haveoccurredtoNehru,thatpreeminentvoiceofIndiannationalism,
becausehebelievedintheexistenceofIndiaandIndiansformillenniabeforehegavewordstotheirlongings;
hewouldneverhavespokenof"creating"IndiaorIndians,merelyofbeingtheagentforthereassertionofwhat
hadalwaysexistedbuthadbeenlongsuppressed.
Nonetheless,theIndiathatwasbornin1947wasinaveryrealsenseanewcreation:aState thathadmade
fellowcitizensoftheLadakhiandtheLaccadivianforthefirsttime,thatdividedPunjabifromPunjabiforthefirst
time,thataskedtheKeralitepeasanttofeelallegiancetoaKashmiriPanditrulinginDelhi,alsoforthefirsttime.
Nehruwouldnothavewrittenofthechallengeof"creating"Indians,butcreatingIndianswaswhat,infact,the
nationalistmovementdid.
Let me illustrate what this means with a simple story. When India celebrated the 49th anniversary of its
independencefromBritishrule15yearsago,ourthenprimeminister,HDDeveGowda,stoodattherampartsof
Delhi's 17thcentury Red Fort and delivered the traditional Independence Day address to the nation in Hindi,
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India's"nationallanguage".Eightotherprimeministershaddoneexactlythesamething48timesbeforehim,
butwhatwasunusualthistimewasthatDeveGowda,asouthernerfromthestateofKarnataka,spoketothe
countryinalanguageofwhichhedidnotknowaword.
TraditionandpoliticsrequiredaspeechinHindi,sohegaveonethewordshavingbeenwrittenoutforhimin
hisnativeKannadascript,inwhichthey,ofcourse,madenosense.
Such an episode is almost inconceivable elsewhere, but it represents the best of the oddities that help make
India.OnlyinIndiacouldacountryberuledbyamanwhodoesnotunderstandits"nationallanguage";onlyin
India,forthatmatter,istherea"nationallanguage"whichhalfthepopulationdoesnotunderstandonlyinIndia
couldthisparticularsolutionbefoundtoenabletheprimeministertoaddresshispeople.
OneofIndiancinema'sfinest"playbacksingers,"theKeraliteKJYesudas,sanghiswaytothetopoftheHindi
musicchartswithlyricsinthatlanguagewrittenintheMalayalamscriptforhim,buttoseethesamepractice
elevatedtotheprimeministerialaddressonIndependenceDaywasastartlingaffirmationofIndianpluralism.
For,yousee,weareallminoritiesinIndia.AtypicalIndiansteppingoffatrain,aHindispeakingHindumalefrom
the Gangetic plain state of Uttar Pradesh, might cherish the illusion that he represents the "majority
community,"touseanexpressionmuchfavouredbythelessindustriousofourjournalists.Buthedoesnot.Asa
Hinduhebelongstothefaithadheredtobysome81pcofthepopulation,butamajorityofthecountrydoes
not speak Hindi; a majority does not hail from Uttar Pradesh; and if he were visiting, say, Kerala, he would
discoverthatamajoritythereisnotevenmale.
Worse,ourarchetypalUPHinduhasonlytominglewiththepolyglot,multicolouredcrowds(andI'mreferring
tothecolouroftheirskins,nottheirclothes)thronginganyofIndia'smajorrailwaystationstorealisehowmuch
ofaminorityhereallyis.
EvenhisHinduismisnoguaranteeofmajorityhood,becausehiscasteautomaticallyplaceshiminaminorityas
well:ifheisaBrahmin,90pcofhisfellowIndiansareifheisaYadav,a"backwardclass",85pcofIndiansare
not,andsoon.
Ortakelanguage.TheConstitutionofIndiarecognises23today,butinfact,thereare35Indianlanguageswhich
are spoken by more than a million people and these are languages, with their own scripts, grammatical
structuresandculturalassumptions,notjustdialects(andifweweretocountdialectswithintheselanguages,
therearemorethan22,000).Eachofthenativespeakersoftheselanguagesisinalinguisticminority,fornone
enjoysmajoritystatusinIndia.
ThanksinparttothepopularityofBombay'sHindicinema,Hindiisunderstood,ifnotalwayswellspoken,by
nearly half the population of India, but it is in no sense the language of the majority; indeed, its locutions,
genderrulesandscriptareunfamiliartomostIndiansinthesouthornortheast.
Ethnicity further complicates the notion of a majority community. Most of the time, an Indian's name
immediately reveals where he is from and what his mother tongue is; when we introduce ourselves we are
advertisingourorigins.Despitesomeintermarriageattheelitelevelsinthecities,Indiansstilllargelyremain
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endogamous, and a Bengali is easily distinguished from a Punjabi. The difference this reflects is often more
apparentthantheelementsofcommonality.
AKarnatakaBrahminshareshisHindufaithwithaBihariKurmi,butfeelslittleidentitywithhiminrespectof
appearance,dress,customs,tastes,languageorpoliticalobjectives.AtthesametimeaTamilHinduwouldfeel
thathehasfarmoreincommonwithaTamilChristianorMuslimthanwith,say,aHaryanviJatwithwhomhe
formallysharesareligion.
WhydoIharponthesedifferences?OnlytomakethepointthatIndiannationalismisarareanimalindeed.
Itisnotbasedonlanguage(sincewehaveatleast23or35,dependingonwhetheryoufollowtheConstitution
ortheethnolinguists).Itisnotbasedongeography(the"natural"geographyofthesubcontinentframedby
themountainsandtheseahasbeenhackedbythepartitionof1947).Itisnotbasedonethnicity(the"Indian"
accommodatesadiversityofracialtypesinwhichmanyIndianshavemoreincommonwithforeignersthanwith
other Indians Indian Punjabis and Bengalis, for instance, have more in common with Pakistanis and
Bangladeshis,respectively,thantheydowithPoonawalasorBangaloreans).
Anditisnotbasedonreligion(wearehometoeveryfaithknowntomankind,withthepossibleexceptionof
Shintoism, and Hinduism a faith without a national organisation, no established church or ecclesiastical
hierarchy,noHinduPope,noHinduMecca,nouniformbeliefsormodesofworshipexemplifiesasmuchour
diversityasitdoesourcommonculturalheritage).
Secularismmeant,intheIndiantradition,multireligiousness
Indian nationalism is the nationalism of an idea, the idea of an everever land emerging from an ancient
civilisation,unitedbyasharedhistory,sustainedbypluralistdemocracy.
Thislandimposesnonarrowconformitiesonitscitizens:youcanbemanythingsandonething.Youcanbea
goodMuslim,agoodKeraliteandagoodIndianallatonce.WhereFreudiansnotethedistinctionsthatariseout
of"thenarcissismofminordifferences",inIndiawecelebratethecommonalityofmajordifferences.Tostand
MichaelIgnatieff'sfamousphraseonitshead,wearealandofbelongingratherthanofblood.
Sothe"ideaofIndia",touseTagore'sfamousphrase,isofonelandembracingmany.Itistheideathatanation
mayenduredifferencesofcaste,creed,colour,culture,cuisine,conviction,costumeandcustom,andstillrally
around a democratic consensus. That consensus is around the simple principle that in a democracy you don't
reallyneedtoagreeexceptonthegroundrulesofhowyouwilldisagree.ThereasonIndiahassurvivedallthe
stressesandstrainsthathavebesetitfor65years,andthatledsomanyobserversinthe1950sand1960sto
predictitsimminentdisintegration,isthatitmaintainedconsensusonhowtomanagewithoutconsensus.
My generation grew up in an India where our sense of nationhood lay in the slogan, "unity in diversity". We
werebroughtuptotakepluralismforgranted,andtorejectthecommunalismthathadpartitionedthenation
when the British left. In rejecting the case for Pakistan, Indian nationalism also rejected the very idea that
religion should be a determinant of nationhood. We never fell into the insidious trap of agreeing that, since
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PartitionhadestablishedastateforMuslims,whatremainedwasastateforHindus.ToaccepttheideaofIndia
youhadtospurnthelogicthathaddividedthecountry.
Thiswaswhatthatmuchabusedterm,"secularism",meantforus.Westerndictionariesdefined"secularism"as
theabsenceofreligion,butIndiansecularismmeantaprofusionofreligions;theStateengagedwithallofthem
butprivilegednone.SecularisminIndiadidnotmeanirreligiousness,whichevenavowedlyatheistpartieslike
theCommunistsorthesouthernDMKfoundunpopularamongsttheirvoters;indeed,inCalcutta'sannualDurga
Puja,theCommunistpartiescompetewitheachothertoputupthemostlavishPujapandals,pavilionstothe
goddess Durga. Rather, secularism meant, in the Indian tradition, multireligiousness. The Calcutta
neighbourhoodIdescribedearlierepitomisedthisIndia.
Throughout the decades after Independence, the political culture of the country reflected these "secular"
assumptionsandattitudes.ThoughtheIndianpopulationis81pcHinduandthecountryhadbeenpartitioned
as a result of a demand for a separate Muslim homeland, three of India's thirteen Presidents have been
Muslims; so were innumerable governors, cabinet ministers, chief ministers of states, ambassadors, generals,
andSupremeCourtjustices(includingthenextchiefjustice).
DuringthewarwithPakistanin1971,theIndianAirForceinthenorthernsectorwascommandedbyaMuslim
[Lateef]; the army commander was a Parsi [Manekshaw], the general officer commanding the forces that
marched into Bangladesh was a Sikh [Aurora], and the general flown in to negotiate the surrender of the
PakistaniforcesinEastBengalwasJewish[Jacob].ThatisIndia.
NotallagreewiththisvisionofIndia.TherearethosewhowishittobecomeaHindurashtra,alandofandfor
the Hindu majority; they have made gains in the elections of the 1990s and in the politics of the street.
SecularismisestablishedinIndia'sConstitution,buttheyaskwhyIndiashouldnot,likemanyotherThirdWorld
countries,findrefugeintheassertionofwhattheycallitsownreligiousidentity.
Wehaveallseentheoutcomeofthisviewinthehorrorsthathavecostperhaps2000livesinGujaratadecade
ago.
Iamthefatheroftwinsons,borninJune1984.ThoughtheyfirstenteredtheworldinSingapore,andthough
thecircumstancesofmylifehaveseenthemgrowupinSwitzerlandandthentheUnitedStates,andtheyhave
livedinHongKongandLondon,itisIndiatheyhavealwaysidentifiedwith.Askthemwhattheyare,andthat's
whatthey'lltellyou:they'reIndian.Not"Hindu",not"Malayali,"not"Nair",not"Calcuttan",thoughtheycould
claim all those labels too. Their mother is herself halfBengali, halfKashmiri, which gives them further
permutativepossibilities.Theydesirenone.TheyarejustIndian.
YetinrecentyearstheyhaveseenanIndiainwhichthatanswernolongerseemsenough.Politicalcontention
has erupted in violence: one can cite the destruction in December 1992 of the Babri Masjid, by a howling,
chantingmobofHindufanatics,andthemassacreofperhaps2000innocents,mainlyMuslim,acrossGujaratin
early 2002, and most recently the intercommunal riots in Assam, as emblematic of this tragedy. Headlines
spokeofriotsandkilling,HinduagainstMuslim,ofmenbeingslaughteredbecauseofthemarkonaforeheador
theabsenceofaforeskin.ThisisnottheIndiaIhadwantedmysonstolayclaimto.
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India'snortheasthaswitnessedthebiggestexodusofpeople
Theconsciousnessofminorityhoodhassadlyresultedinhorrificviolencesometimesbyoneminoritygroup
againstanotherandresultedininternaldisplacement.Weare,asaresult,hometotheworld's11thlargest
populationof'InternallyDisplacedPeople'(IDPs).Unlikerefugees,IDPshavenotcrossedaninternationalborder
andarethusstilllivein,andaretheresponsibilityof,thecountrytowhichtheybelong.
There are a variety of factors which cause internal displacement: armed conflict between the state
(government) and nonstate actors (armed militant groups); natural disasters such as a cyclone, a flood or an
earthquake;andviolencebetweenethnicgroupsandreligiousminorities,oftenduetocontentionoverissues
suchaslandrightsandmineralresources.Fleeingsuchproblems,IDPsareforcedoutoftheirhomesfearingfor
theirlives.Whilethisphenomenoniscommoninconflictrackedsocietiesandcivilwarsituations,itshamesus
as a prospering democracy that we have so many IDPs. Of the 12 nations which have suffered the forced
migrationofamillionormorepeoplewithintheircountries,onlytwoareclassifiedas'stable'countriesIndia
andTurkey.
Though numbers are not entirely reliable, we have some from the IDP database created by the Norwegian
Refugee Council, which tracks IDPs around the world on behalf of the UN. With about 5 lakh IDPs, India's
northeasthaswitnessedthebiggestexodusofpeoplewhowereforcedtoleavetheirhomes.In2010,alongthe
AssamMeghalaya frontier, 4,000 Nepalispeaking people were displaced by violent clashes in which their
communitywastargetedbymembersoftheKhasitribe.In2011,atleast50,000peoplelosttheirhomesafter
intertribal clashes between the Rabha and Garo people in Assam and Meghalaya, and this year the violence
betweenBodosandMuslimshasdrivenlakhsintocampsandshelters.
TheKashmiriPanditdiaspora,estimatedat2.5lakh,constitutesIndia'ssecondlargestIDPgroup.Myownwife's
familyisamongthem;theirancestralhomewasburneddownin198990byterrorists.(Wevisitedtheruinsjust
two weekends ago; nothing remains but memories.) They were among those fortunate enough to find new
homesandlivesinJammu,butmanytensofthousandsstilllanguishincampsthatweremeanttobetemporary
but within which an entire generation has grown up. Some 59,000 Kashmiri Pandits are estimated to have
movedoutsidethestateindeedthehomeministryestimatesthereareonly808KashmiriPanditfamiliesleft
livingintheKashmirValley.Thehomesandtemplesofmanyoftheresthavebeendestroyedsothattheyhave
nothingtocomebackto.Thisisacuriouscaseofacommunitybelongingtowhatiscalledthenationalmajority
butwhichfindsitselfaminorityinonepartofthecountryandsuffersthedisabilitiesofvulnerabilitythatcan
imply.
Thereareothercases.Thecommunal carnagein Gujaratin2002displacedalakhandahalfwithinthestate.
Someofthatdisplacementseemslikelytobepermanent,aspeopleofaparticularcommunityhesitatetoreturn
tomixedareaswheretheywereoncevictimised.
Naxaliteviolence,sometimeslinkedtoclashesoverlandandtribalrightsbutquiteoftensimplebanditry,and
the subsequent government operations against the insurgents, have also caused the forced displacement of
about1.5lakhpeopleinAndhraPradesh,WestBengalandChhattisgarh.CommunalriotsinOrissain2007and
2008forcedthousandstoleavetheirhomes.ManyoftheseIDPshavebeenobligedtotakeshelterincamps,
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particularlyinthenortheastwheresomecampsgobackasfarastheNelliemassacreofBangladeshimigrantsin
the1980s.
I mentioned that an entire generation of our fellow Indians has grown up in IDP camps. But many internally
displacedpeopleliveoutsidecampstoo,anditisallbutimpossibletoestimateexactlyhowmanyofthemthere
are.Thefactisthatatleastamillionofourcountrymenandwomenaredisplacedinsideourcountry.Someof
theclashesthatcausedtheirdisplacementhavepitchedtwominoritiesagainsteachother(twodifferenttribes,
for instance); sometimes it is two different kinds of minorities a religious minority against a visible ethnic
minority,ashappenedinKhokrajhar,inAssam.
LastmonthwesawpanicstrickennortheasternersfleeinganumberofIndiancitieswheretheyhadbeenliving
andworking,becauseofallegedthreatsofreprisalattacksonthemretaliatingfortheantiMuslimviolencein
Assam. Whether the threats were real or fake designed merely to intimidate and cause fear there is no
doubtthattheyhadaneffectonmanythousandsofpeople.SpecialtrainshadtobelaidonfromBangaloreto
accommodate the demand. Some of those who fled may come back as things quieten down, but their
temporary displacement raises hard questions about what it means to be a certain kind of Indian in India.
Northeasterners have often complained of discrimination and harassment based purely on their visible
differencefromthepeopletheyarelivingamongst.Suchincidentsareabetrayaloftheacceptanceofdifference
thatliesattheheartofIndiancivilisation.
AnIndiathatdeniesitselftosomeofuscouldendupbeingdeniedtoallofus
Thereisagreatdealwecandoasasocietyandastate.Clearlyprotectionforvulnerableminoritygroupsmust
beapriorityforlocal,stateandcentralgovernments.Thismayrequireanationalpolicy,thoughthelackofany
legislation on IDPs remains a serious shortcoming. The world community has issued Guiding Principles on
InternalDisplacementwhichcouldgointotheframingofasuitablelaw.TheKenyangovernmenthasthisyear
introducedanInternallyDisplacedPersonsBill,2012,toalleviatethesufferingofIDPsinthatcountry,provide
legal definitions, and allocate responsibilities to the government and funds for the purpose. India could do
somethingsimilar.
We also need to evolve a policy on IDPs aiming to get them out of camps and into productive, normal lives
either in their new environment or back home if the circumstances that prompted their displacement have
changed. Displaced people must be specifically targeted by propoor schemes such as the Public Distribution
System,theNationalRuralHealthMission,theMahatmaGandhinationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeScheme
andtheTotalSanitationCampaign.
Toimplementthesebetterandtoappreciatefullythedimensionsoftheproblem,weneedbetterdataonIDPs.
ThestatisticsforIDPslivingoutsideofcampsaremostlyunreliable.Thisdataneedstobeupdatedregularlyand
thesituationofIDPsmonitored.Fieldsurveysmustbeconductedfrequently,systematicallyandinasustained
manner.ThecreationofacentralgovernmentmonitoringagencyforIDPswouldalsohelp.
IndiahassurvivedtheAryans,theMughals,theBritish;ithastakenfromeachlanguage,art,food,learning
andgrownwithallofthem.TobeIndianistobepartofanelusivedreamweallshare,adreamthatfillsour
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minds with sounds, words, flavours from many sources that we cannot easily identify. Large, eclectic,
agglomerative,theHinduismthatIknowunderstandsthatfaithisamatterofheartsandminds,notofbricks
andstone."BuildRaminyourheart,"theHinduisenjoined;andifRamisinyourheart,itwilllittlematterwhere
elseheis,orisnot.
But the twentiethcentury politics of deprivation has eroded our culture's confidence. Chauvinism and anti
minorityviolencehasemergedfromthecompetitionforresourcesinacontentiousdemocracy.Politiciansofall
faiths across India seek to mobilise voters by appealing to narrow identities; by seeking votes in the name of
religion, caste and region, they have urged voters to define themselves on these lines. As religion, caste and
regionhavecometodominatepublicdiscourse,tosomeithasbecomemoreimportanttobeaMuslim,aBodo
oraYadavthantobeanIndian.
This is why the change in the public discourse about Indianness is so dangerous. The notion of majority and
minority,asIhavesuggested,isfundamentallyunIndianandfailstoreflecttherealnatureofoursociety.The
suggestionthatonlyaHindu,andonlyacertainkindofHindu,canbeanauthenticIndian,isanaffronttothe
verypremiseofIndiannationalism.AnIndiathatdeniesitselftosomeofuscouldendupbeingdeniedtoallof
us.
The Gujarat riots of 2002 remain a searing blot on the country's conscience. Some of the Hindu zealots who
torchedMuslimhomesandbusinesses,andkilledandrapedinnocents,arefinallybehindbarssincelastweek,
thoughotherstalkdefiantlyofrevivingtheircause.Asthepastisusedbysometohauntthepresent,thecycle
of violence goes on, spawning new hostages to history, ensuring that future generations will be taught new
wrongstosetright.Welive,OctavioPazoncewrote,betweenoblivionandmemory.Memoryandoblivion:how
oneleadstotheother,andbackagain,hasbeentheconcernofmuchofmyfiction.AsIpointedoutinthelast
wordsofmynovelRiot,historyisnotawebwovenwithinnocenthands.
The reduction of any group of Indians to secondclass status in their homeland is unthinkable. It would be a
secondPartition:andapartitionintheIndiansoulwouldbeasbadasapartitionintheIndiansoil.Formysons,
andforallthereasonsthatIhavedescribed,theonlypossibleideaofIndiaisthatofanationgreaterthanthe
sumofitsparts.ThatistheonlyIndiathatwillallowthemtocallthemselvesIndians.
AndsotheIndianidentitythatIwant,inmyturn,togivemysonsimposesnopressuretoconform.Itcelebrates
diversity: if America is a meltingpot, then to me India is a thali, a selection of sumptuous dishes in different
bowls.Eachtastesdifferent,anddoesnotnecessarilymixwiththenext,buttheybelongtogetheronthesame
plate,andtheycomplementeachotherinmakingthemealasatisfyingrepast.
A few years ago, I addressed the Wharton Business School's India Forum in the US on "realising the Indian
Dream". And I told them that the Indian dream must be a dream that can be dreamt in Gujarati or in Tamil,
dreamtbyaMuslimoraParsioraKhasi,dreamtbyaBrahminoraBodo,dreamtonacharpoyoraluxuryking
bed.India'sfoundingfatherswroteaConstitutionfortheirdreams;wehavegivenpassportstotheirideals.Any
narrowerdefinitionofIndiannesswouldnotjustbepernicious:itwouldbeaninsulttoIndiannationhood.An
IndiathatdeniesitselftosomeIndianswouldnolongerbetheIndiaMahatmaGandhifoughttofree.
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Ihavealreadytransgressedonthetimeavailabletome.WearealllikeEgyptianmummies,pressedfortime!But
IdowanttosayIhavegreathopeforthesurvivalandsuccessofIndianpluralism.Ibelievenooneidentitycan
triumphinIndia.Bothourcountry'sdiversityandthelogicoftheelectoralmarketplacemakethisimpossible.
TheIndianrevolutionisademocraticone,sustainedbyalargerideaofIndia
Andthesightin2004,aftertheaweinspiringexperienceoftheworld'slargestexerciseindemocraticelections,
ofawomanleaderofRomanCatholicbackground(SoniaGandhi)makingwayforaSikh(ManmohanSingh)to
besworninasprimeministerofIndiabyaMuslim(PresidentAbdulKalam)hasaffirmed,asnothingelsecould
have,theshiningexampleofIndianpluralism,saysShashiTharoor.
Butevenearlier,thepreviousNDAcoalitiongovernmenthadalreadylearnedthatanypartywithaspirationsto
ruleIndiawillhavetoreachoutbeyondamajoritarianidentitytoothergroups,otherinterests,otherminorities.
Afterall,therearetoomanydiversitiesinourlandforanyoneversionofrealitytobeimposedonallofus.
Equally,democracyisvitalforIndia'sfuture.Forthereisnoeasywaytocopewithsuchdiversity,butdemocracy
is the only technique that can work to protect all our minorities. What is encouraging for the future of
democracyisthatIndiaisunusualinthatdemocracyisnotanelitepreoccupation,butmattersmoststronglyto
ordinarypeople.
WhereasintheUnitedStatesamajorityofthepoordonotvote,[inHarleminthelastpresidentialelections,the
turnoutwas23pc]inIndiathepoorturnoutingreatnumbers.Itisnottheprivilegedoreventhemiddleclass
who spend four hours in the hot sun to cast their vote, but the poor, because they know their votes make a
difference. So the Indian revolution is a democratic one, sustained by a larger idea of India, an India which
safeguardsthecommonspaceavailabletoeachidentity,anIndiathatremainssafefordiversity.
ForobserversofIndiaacrosstheworld,waryoftheendlessmultiplicationofsovereignties,hesitantbeforethe
clamourforethnicdivisionandreligiousselfassertionechoinginahundredremotecornersoftheglobe,there
maybesomethingtothinkaboutinthisideaofIndia.It'sadeceptivelysimpleideaofalandwhereitdoesn't
(orshouldn't)matterwhatthecolourofyourskinis,thekindoffoodyoueat,thesoundsyoumakewhenyou
speak,theGodyouchoosetoworship(ornot),solongasyouwanttoplaybythesamerulesaseverybodyelse.
If the overwhelming majority of a people share the political will for unity, if they wear the dust of a shared
historyontheirforeheadsandthemudofanuncertainfutureontheirfeet,andiftheyrealisetheyarebetter
off in Kozhikode or Kanpur dreaming the same dreams as those in Kolhapur or Kohima, a nation exists,
celebratingdiversity,pluralismandfreedom.ThatiswhyIndiacanfacethefuturewithconfidence,ifnotwith
optimism.
But then I define "optimism" as "regarding the future with uncertainty"; a pessimist says "everything will go
wrong",whereasanoptimistbelieves"everythingmightgoright".IbelieveIhavegivenyouenoughreasonsto
imaginethateverythingmightgoright.
Westillhavehugeamountsofproblemstoovercome.Someclaimweareasuperpower,butwearealsosuper
poor.Wecan'treallybebothofthose.Wehavetoovercomeourpoverty.Wehavetodealwiththehardwareof
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development, the ports, the roads, the airports, all the infrastructural progress we need to make, and the
software of development, the human capital, the need for the ordinary person in India to be able to have a
coupleofsquaremealsaday,tobeabletosendhisorherchildrentoadecentschool,andtoaspiretoworka
jobthatwillgivethemopportunitiesintheirlivestotransformthemselves.
Butit'salltakingplace,thisgreatadventureofconqueringthosechallenges,thoserealchallengeswhichnoneof
usinIndiacanpretenddon'texist.Andit'salltakingplaceinanopensociety,inarichanddiverseandplural
civilisation,inonethatisopentothecontentionofideasandinterestswithinit,unafraidoftheprowessorthe
products of the outside world, wedded to the democratic pluralism that is India's greatest strength, and
determinedtoliberateandfulfillthecreativeenergiesofallitspeople.ThatisthetransformedIndiaoftheearly
21stcentury,andthat'swhyIndianness,intoday'sworld,iswellworthcelebrating.
SinceyouhavebeentoldIamanIndianwriter,letmetellyouanIndianstoryatalefromourancientPuranas.
ItisatypicalIndianstoryofasageandhisdisciples.Thesageaskshisdisciples,"Whendoesthenightend?"And
thedisciplessay,"Atdawn,ofcourse."Thesagesays,"Iknowthat.Butwhendoesthenightendandthedawn
begin?" The first disciple, who is from the tropical south of India where I come from, replies: "When the first
glimmeroflightacrosstheskyrevealsthepalmfrondsonthecoconuttreesswayinginthebreeze,thatiswhen
thenightendsandthedawnbegins."Thesagesays"No,"sotheseconddisciple,whoisfromthecoldnorth,
ventures: "When the first streaks of sunshine make the snow gleam white on the mountaintops of the
Himalayas,thatiswhenthenightendsandthedawnbegins."Thesagesays,"No,mysons.Whentwotravellers
from opposite ends of our land meet and embrace each other as brothers, and when they realise they sleep
underthesamesky,seethesamestarsanddreamthesamedreamsthatiswhenthenightendsandthedawn
begins."
TherehasbeenmanyadarknightforIndiainthecenturythathasjustpassed.Bypreservingthediversitythatis
itsessence,IbelieveIndiacanensurethatallitspeoplecanenjoyanewdawnintheyearstocome.

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