Papillon:
May I, as a "poor" Indian villager, address some of your points as objectively as I can.
Indian mind
1. If one were to judge the Indian mind, then it is fair to compare this mind with those from the rest of the world reared in the same environment. This means we have to exclude the "illiterate" lot living in the "poor" Indian villages and assume that a sample of the rest come to the US. The Indians in the US comprise about .4% of US population. [Correct me if someone has the latest on this number.]
The most prestigious "mind search" in the US is the Westinghouse Science Talent Search at the High School level. [My son won one of the top 300 semi-finalist spots in the US in 1996 and I know how the high-achievers in all ethnic groups (especially Whites) strive to compete in this search.]
This year 2 (20%) of the top 10 winners were from India; including the #1. In most years there is a winner from India. Of the 300 semi-finalists chosen every year, a far greater percent than .4% are of Indian origin.
2. The average SAT score of Indian Americans is the highest among all ethnic groups and higher than whites in this country.
3. Take even the spelling bee competitions to find several Indians have won the top spot.
4. The average income of Indians in the USA is among the highest of all ethnic groups.
I totally disagree that Indians have inferiority complex. It is quite the opposite. I have observed from many instances, however, that Indians are not recognized for their true worth, because they are viewed as "Oriental blackies" from a "poor" country. In the West, especially US, there is a high degree of correlation between wealth and intellectual success. That is not true in India. I grew up in a very "poor" village; but I have a vivid recollection of my childhood buddies outsmarting me. Many of these villagers may not have formal education and so are branded as "illiterate," but they are certainly not dumb. The only difference between them and someone like me who came out of such a village is the drive or perseverance to attain some goals in life.
Intelligence and Literacy
If a villager feels relaxed and enlivened without having to struggle to attain material assets (which is the barometer of Western "success"), then I do not see how the villager can be less intelligent or less smart or less wise than someone who struggles his entire life to attain material assets and perhaps is never relaxed or enlivened. The Western barometer of "intelligence," "smartness" or "wisdom" is based on total ignorance.
Hindutva
I am not a member of any political party in India or elsewhere, but I have observed that the media has characterized the main theme of BJP as "Hindu-nationalism." BJP's theme of "Hindutva" actually refers to Bharatiya not Hinduism. "Hindutva" is not religious. The Congress party has generally exploited the tension between Hindus and Muslims and granted special privileges to Muslims to get the Muslim vote. In a secular country like the US, we do not have separate civil codes for different religious groups.
The BJP stands for a secular India. That does not mean that BJP members will not visit Churches, Temples or Mosques. The highly corrupt Congress party had made a specter of the BJP to continue to remain in power. Period. I do not imply that BJP does not have members with extreme views. During Indira Gandhi's days, Congress was known as a party of "goondas."
Conclusion
In conclusion, you seem to have an extensive experience of India's poverty, illiteracy and dirt. But you do not seem to have sufficient intelligence and/or willingness to absorb the essence of Indianess ("Bharatiya") among the villagers which is to attain nirvana without struggling to acquire material assets. This Indianness is antithesis of the Western approach of attaining happiness through acquisition of material assets, even by killing others as a famous Harvard professor of History writes.
Vivekananda has said that the goal of every human is the same (pursuit of happiness), but the approaches are different. Presuming that this goal can be more easily attained through acquisition of material assets, even by killing others, than by that of an Indian villager is pure naivete. Most Westerners can be considered naive and unintelligent precisely because of their inability to grasp the true essence of life and their mindless pursuit of happiness through acquisition of material assets even by killing others.
Rational |
