Virendra's Blog

Frankly I don’t feel much sympathy with students being attacked in Australian cities.
Ok, this sounds too insensitive. Actually I mean, I have feeling of apathy. This is the commonest trait amongst us Indians. We are indifferent to extent of being inhuman. A helpless boy, thousands of miles away from his home, away from his kins, studying and working together to meet ends being mugged up by some white ruffians for booze – a typical sob story in media these days!!
Don’t get me wrong people, but isn’t it all too common in our own India. It is very easy to call every attack racist and to feel like victim of one when you have been under colonial rule for over two centuries. But Indians have been racist since time immemorial. Only the form in which the racism is practised has changed (evolved) continuously.

We are the only society where one can see matrimonial ads openly demanding gori (fair) bride. Only country where castiesm is practised and only country where untouchability exists (or existed, going by “official records”). Only country where fairness cream sells more than a soap. You can be knocked down on a street by a vehicle and you will lie there in your blood, crowd watching you and nobody helping you. You can visit a city in other state and taxi/rickshaw/hotel people will fleece you till your under-pants. You will be barred entry in many temples (and mosques) for being non-Hindu, non-Muslim or low caste Hindu. Try getting job in a different state and most likely people/parties like MNS will beat you back. Try wearing clothes you like and people/parties like Ram Sene will teach you morality for life.
Somehow the Indian victim, don’t seem to fare much better than the “mean, racist” Australians.
Our government did all it could to ensure India was excluded from Durban Summit of 2001 (refer – http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/durban-meeting-fiasco-start )
Unfortunately, if you get mugged in streets of Delhi it will remain another chain snatching. Our media won’t even report it. Well who cares for a thing that happens in hundreds everyday in every city. But when there are seven muggings in a month it is time to call Australia racist.
You know what, Australia will ensure, atleast now onwards Indians get more security (this, even a most die-hard Aussie hater will agree). But will Indians ever get similar secure feeling within their own country?