India

Great blog.
I breathe in relief reeading the unsaid.
I am sick and tired of the mass and indifferent immigration of ‘indian docs’ et al – without one thought for their country and people. And then whining about the majority ad indegenous people of their country taking their rights in the so called IITs- which are producing I Bankers for Wall st now ( I know at leasst 15 people in my personal circle and scores beyondserving the latest desi trend). Even Lebanese doctors from war zoned Beirut talk about going back to ‘my people’.
Indians never talk like ‘my people’.. unless its my ‘state’/temple/caste’.
The masses of filthy and almost absent toilets and women with swollen bellies and undernourished children, begging from AC temple going upper classes will testify to the lack of humanity which is sooo pervasive in the culture. That you have to wait hours before reaching work coz stone idols pop up everyehere and human beings get trampled underfoot.
I dont understand this myth of’ Indian culture’.
its all about maintaining and worshipping the status qou- and authority. In Music, science, religion, dance..the Guru or the person who owns knowledge is god. AKa sociologically speaking the ‘brahmin’.
the masses have been blinded for 5000 years and the buddhist, sufi bhakts, sikh, christian, muslim egalitarian movments all been slowly dissolved out..wiped off from the land of their birth.
with one pretext or an other,. Funny how a 10 %minority of Aryan colonizers calls the majority of the country and its indegenous people ‘minority’, ‘scheduled’, etc. ANyone who tries to break out of the caste fold ( currently known as ‘Hinduism’- which is not the real yoga/philosophical thing) is labelled ‘minority’..or immediately made suspect.
cant you see it coming?

Ghazal, India’s problems are widespread and complex, as you probably realize. Let me give me an example, my post on eve-teasing indicated that the SC youth were targeting OBC women to ‘get back’ at OBC oppression. But for centuries, the OBCs and the SCs were both oppressed by Brahmins (who have been politically made irrelevant), while the OBCs in turn suppressed the SCs ! It is a similar tale almost all over the sub-continent, not simply a 10 % minority suppressing the rest but a chain and a web of suppression and exploitation. What worries me the most is that many urban Indians do not realize that simply ignoring caste will not make the inequality go away.

Indians do not say ‘my people’ because there is no Indian people really. India is not a traditional nation in its make up, there is no logical reason why Punjabis and Malayalis should be part of the same nation, they are more different than Italians and the British. But due to some inspirational thinking and historical accident they are, for better or worse, read my response to odzer’s comment on this post. India is however a very real nation in its ability to empower (perhaps not satisfactorily) the weakest fragments of its society and also to inflict severe, brutal violence on its own constituents and outsiders.

Hi Vikram,

I am happy to have come across your blog.

Your review of various topics relevant to India will be worth reading.

It is very fashionable to rubbish anything Indian and be very cynical about ourselves. I do not know if this is a hardwired habit or an acquired malaise.

We will keep meeting in this new e-universe

Sure thing, Mavin. I am trying to be as ‘scientific’ as I can, although occasionally I will divert from the theme.

Cheers!!!

Nice to come across your blog.

Thank you trailblazer, your comments and inputs are welcome.

Vikram isn’t there an email address on which we can get in touch with you?

What are you studying, if you don’t mind me asking?

You have a brilliant blog here, Vikram. I came here throuh the comments you left on Nita’s blog. With more people like you, I am hopeful for a new, better India.

Thanks wishtobeanon. Welcome to my blog. Yes, a new, better India will require all of us to be better Indians.

Hi Vikram,

Came across your blog today, through searches on the NREGA. Have been reading and researching on this topic for a while now, and more so after Budget 09-10. Do take a look at http://governindia.org

The webpage also connects you to a discussion forum on Facebook, whereby we are trying to come up with

(a) Clear definitions of the problems that the NREGA is facing today

(b) Concrete suggestions and improvements, which can be forwarded to the concerned authorities

Do let us know your thoughts.

I am looking for a short list NGO related issues in India – contemporary ones. Please give the list or a web site

Hi

I think you could enrich your blog by citing some references or suggested reading for your followers.

Regards
Nicol

Vikram
I just added your blog to my roll. I’m in the midst of a re-jiggering of mine. I’m expanding my focus to be about contemporary India, as well as my journey as an Indian adoptee, along with focusing on conflict resolution, peace building and similar international development topics, as that’s my field.

I really like your blog and your voice on it. I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as you are about the land of my birth, but that’s ok.

Was curious if you’d be interested in letting me interview you, with questions about current Indian events on my blog? Would be good exposure for us both. Not exactly sure the format, but wanted to see if you’d be into the idea at all first. No rush as I’m just re-starting mine after a 1 year hiatus contributing for another adoption blog.

Feel free to get back to me on my personal email, as you can see it.

Thanks
A.J.