Diversity is our way of life

Diversity is a hot topic in global corporations with headquarters in the West. The home bases of these corporations, traditionally homogeneous societies, have begun to witness and finally acknowledge a change in their racial and religious demographic. And, as a result, have discovered diversity.

Of course, as with everything new that the west discovers, be it human rights or diversity, the issue becomes the hottest and most urgent topic around. Kind of like a new toy that a child discovers and then wants desperately until the toy loses its charm. So, diversity continues to be blared from every loudspeaker backed by huge budgets.

And I am fine with that until you come telling India how to conceptualize diversity in its own social context i.e. maligning hindutva. This is India you are talking to. And before you tell us what to do with hindutva, take the time to understand what it means (check out this super long post by Arun Shourie). Like many other things you consider yourself an authority on, but actually know very little about, you probably have no clue that hindutva is synonymous with life in India. Because hindutva and hinduism are ancient concepts that recognize that nature itself is diverse. And by corollary, that people are diverse.

I am going to stretch this a little further. If India were ever to be defined in a dictionary, the only word that might capture it, would be, diversity. There is nothing that one Indian has in common with another except that we are citizens of the same country. Though, full disclosure, we identify with our community and state way before we do with our country. We do not speak the same language or more often than not do not worship the same god. And very importantly, because we live it, we also realize that diversity isn't always a good thing. Maybe, that's why, at some point, someone tried to make up songs on national TV about Unity in Diversity. I don't think we paid much attention to that either.

As usual, I digress. But here's my final call to the west - stop trumpeting the virtues of diversity and decrying hindutva in the same breath. It just makes you look ignorant. 

Finally, look ahead

I am trying to be rational and positive but the cacophony is getting to me. Here is our first chance at things changing, at growing a backbone after decades of being a doormat and there are too many whiny voices. And the complaints are laughable and most times, extremely self-centred.

I will be the first to admit that Narendra Modi's appeal to the people of Varanasi to start cleaning up the city made me selfishly happy. All our lives, especially when city dustbins haven't been easily available, our parents have drilled the value of not littering, into us. As a result, I continue to hold on to greasy wrappers and juice tetrapaks for hours (and days, if needed) until I find a dustbin. I absolutely hate it when others litter and don't understand the kind of person that can just throw garbage on the side or middle of a street. So, Modi's call, in a sense, was vindication of a personal principle for me.

But I get really annoyed when people whine on social media about how a BJP government might end India's freedom to wear jeans or infringe upon the rights of Indians to live with a partner of their choice. Are you serious? Do you really think, instead of tackling the inherited legacy of more potholes than roads and a state of permanent hunger and crippling destitution, the new government will expend effort on stifling an upper middle class Indian's right to don jeans? When it needs to prevent the rampant acts of terrorism and punish those who dare commit those acts, it will spend time hunting down those who choose to live with a same-sex partner?

Really? That's what is top of mind for you when a huge chunk of your compatriots live without any basic civic amenities or dignity despite working harder than you or I, in our middle-class existence can ever imagine? Contrary to whatever dynastic mouthpieces may say, poverty is not a state of mind. It is a very hard fact. It is crippling and we have to work very very hard to make it go away. Because when you watch your children starve to death or watch your wife die in childbirth in extremely unsanitary conditions, neither your religion or your sexual orientation matters.

And lest I be misunderstood, nobody should ever be persecuted because of their way of life if they are not hurting others. But we are not a developed country and do not have the luxury of only focusing on the rights of the middle or upper classes. As Indians, we owe it to our country to make it a more equal place. And a huge part of that is pulling our countrymen (and women) out of the crushing poverty that has become their lot.

So, keep those jeans on and live with your partner, married or otherwise, gay or straight. Just make sure you think about your country first. Because only when we are developed and people don't live in desperate want, will any of us really be secure. Even building our little gated Elysiums won't save us from the wrath of real poverty.

So, let's look ahead and give it our best shot. Let's work with this government that wants to change things for the better and see how their work measures up to their promises. We will be stupid if we don't.