The Aggressive Indian

pemstrongWhat's the big deal with Indian flag doormats and Ganesha skateboards?/strong/em/p pemstrongbr //strong/em/p pThere is a beautiful story about Guru Nanak that I grew up with. The Guru, it is said, was once told by a group of hardline clerics that he must not sleep with his feet pointing in a certain direction because it was there that their most sacred place lay. He, in his infinite wisdom, asked them to show him the direction where there was no God, so he could point his feet there. Ashamed at their narrowmindedness, the clerics left the Guru to preach, pray, and sleep in peace./p pandnbsp;/p pToday, it seems, we have lost that peaceful wisdom. Man-made products like goddess-print bikinis, flag printed doormats, and more recently, Ganesha skateboards, are enough to make us feel insulted on behalf of our country and our religions. Why? These are mere things./p pandnbsp;/p pThere is so much angst among us now that these inconsequential objects have become the focal point of our national and religious honour; a classic case of the symbol becoming more powerful than what it symbolises. In Delhi alone, there are stretches of walls plastered with bathroom tiles printed with pictures of Hindu gods and representations of the crescent moon of Islam as well as the Christian Cross, at regular intervals. Their purpose? To stop people from pissing on the walls. I mean, where we should be educating people on the detriments of urinating in the open and investing in more public toilets, we have now reduced our gods and holy symbols to deterrents against public pissing. Why no angst against this?/p pandnbsp;/p pI remember, in the year 2000, designer Malini Ramani came under heavy fire because she wore a dress modelled on the Indian flag. Heck, even the placement of our flagandmdash;as happened with actress Mandira Bedi when she wore a sari printed with the flags of all the countries that participated in a cricket tournament; the Indian flag happened to fall below her knee in the way the sari was drapedandmdash;is a touchy topic. Why? Not that I condone such design or usage, and will certainly never buy or use these items personally, but whatandrsquo;s so great about a piece of fabric with a certain colour scheme? Yes, it is a symbol and yes we should respect it. But why does it bring on a blind rage when we perceive itandmdash;or our gods, for that matterandmdash;has been disrespected?/p pandnbsp;/p pYes, I use the word perceive. More often than not, rudeness and disrespect are only perceived. And that happens mostly when there is shame or guilt within us. How we behave outwardly is a direct consequence of how we feel inside. So what is the shame and guilt that we Indians (for indeed, I am one among you) are carrying collectively that makes us so protective of the mere symbols of our country and religions? Is it that these symbols are the only tangible link we have with our country and our faiths today? That seems possible, considering how far removed our worldview is from what the Hindu faith teaches, or what our founding fathers envisioned our country to develop into./p pandnbsp;/p pMaybe the answer lies in reconnecting with what it means to be an Indianandnbsp;or a Hindu. Maybe it would serve us well to read the holy books we pretend to uphold and serve: the Srimad Bhagvad Gita as well as the Constitution of India. Because respect, when misplaced, can be far more dangerous than a rule thatandrsquo;s been flouted in innocence. And it doesnandrsquo;t take a genius to know that. Remember Nazi Germany? Yes. As Howard Jacobson once submitted as a slogan to a childrenandrsquo;s book festivalandmdash;andldquo;Read, you little bastards. Read.andrdquo;/p pandnbsp;/p pBut even more than reading or learning by other meansandmdash;not everyone may have the patience or the wherewithal to read these two hallowed textsandmdash;I feel a simpler answer may lie in introspection. Before allowing out anger to burst out, we must detach ourselves from the emotion and consider its nature. Is it warranted? Is it true? And lastly, is it helpful? Whom does it serve? And how can I expend it fruitfully? When I saw the Ganesha skateboard, even I felt it was a tasteless design executed by someone who hasnandrsquo;t a clue about what that particular representation of a beloved deity means to millions of people across the world. But does that personandrsquo;s ignorance merit our reaction? Moreover, is my faith and pride dependent on anotherandrsquo;s acknowledgement and participation in the same?/p pandnbsp;/p pIn short, do I need the agreement of others to feel strong in my religious beliefs and my country? For me, the answer is a resounding no. How about you?/p pandnbsp;/p pstrongMore On andgt;andgt; a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.luxpresso.com/lifestyle" target="_blank"Lifestyle/a/strong/p

from Luxpresso http://www.luxpresso.com/news-lifestyle/opinion-the-aggressive-india/17020220
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