Musing from Stockholm - As I Please

Musing from Stockholm - As I Please

I am in Stockholm on a family visit. Yesterday, January 20, was the swearing in of the US President Donald Trump. I was watching the special coverage of the event by the Indian TV Channel, Aaj Tak anchored by Anjana Om Kashyap from Washington. While seeing the show, an usual aspect came to my mind, the issue or point of Indian identity.

I felt that, of late, we are perhaps losing our national identity as Indians or Bharatias giving way to our denominational identity as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Muslims etc. Are we heading in the right direction? The answer is ‘No’, to my mind. The next

obvious question which arises is as to what is the reason that our national identity as Indians is being eroded? In the Aaj Tak show, Anchor Anjana spoke to some Indian prominents living in the US. One Sikh turbaned gentleman spoke and underlined his Sikh identity as ‘Sikhs for Trump’. One clean shaven Hindu, emphasised his Hindu identity in support of Donald Trump. An Indian origin politician of the Republican Party, Lady Nath also spoke about her denominational identity rather than her national identity. I could not understand the logic and reason for this narrow approach undermining our national identity as Indians or Bhartias. One immediate and off the cuff response to assess the situation comes to my mind - our Caste based social hierarchy and increasing denominational divide back home in India. On one hand, we profess our traditional thought and philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ but on the other we easily succumb to our narrow identity as Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians etc.. Our identity as Indians get lost in the process. I leave it here as some ‘Food for Thought’. The father of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar said and rightly so that we should be Indians first and Indians last to save and nurture the concept of Bharat.

It was a matter of gratification to note that EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar, while representing India at the ceremony, was

given all due respect by the Trump Administration. It bodes well for India-US relations.

Yet another point which came to fore while seeing swearing in ceremony of President Donald Trump was - we feel proud and elated as Indians when Kamala Harris, Usha Vance, Ramaswamy among others find mention in the corridors of power and rightly so but turn the other way when back home, Sonia Gandhi claims her right to the top of the hierarchy as an Indian. It is time to remove this contradiction. I conclude with a poetic assertion of Allma Iqbal -

Aa ġhairiyat ke parde ik baar phir uThā deñ

bichhḌoñ ko phir milā deñ naqsh-e-duī miTā deñ

Suunī paḌī huī hai muddat se dil kī bastī

aa ik nayā shivāla is des meñ banā deñ

Duniyā ke tīrathoñ se ūñchā ho apnā tīrath

Dāmān-e-āsmāñ se is kā kalas milā deñ