Mohan,
"Here is another question, how come Indians and Pakistanis get along real nice like here in the U.S but when they go back home they are at each others throat????"
Last year, during the celebration of India's 50th anniversary, I heard an interview with an Indian (Hindu) woman writer who was a young teenager in India back in 47 (she now lives in NYC, I think). She recounted how, until just a few months before Independence, she and her friends never made any distinctions between Hindi and Muslim children, nor did she recall her parents doing so. All of the sudden, however, she recalls her friends began identifying themselves with groups based on religion, and just stopped associating with the other groups. She sadly recalled feeling estranged from Muslins without knowing why or understanding it. People who were one day friends became mistrustful of each other the next (both among the children and the adults). If I recall her story correctly, she blamed the politicians and crowd psychology for this shift in sentiment. Personally, I agree with that (not that I have ever even visited India or Pakistan--just going by my experiences in the US and Europe), although the politicians couldn't do it unless there was a propensity existing in people both to follow their lead and to all too easily dislike others for [pick a reason, any reason--ranging from color of skin to what religion they profess to the way they smell or talk].
Just one more reason for fear and trembling and nausea.
Best wishes,
Sam |
