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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Hum Aise Hi Hai

All these days i had heard from people/watched on television channels about Indians being discriminated against.I had seen some great people make racist comments against indians.I am trying to understand the reason behind such incidents and what is it that makes some people look down upon us indians as a whole.In this post i would like to share some of the instances that  have come across personally, which might bring out the answers to my questions.

Cooking inside a Hotel Room is banned,especially if it is a 3-star hotel..you know what i mean.I heard of an incident  where one indian guy was found cooking inside the hotel room(3-star).He had been doing this from the past 1 week, despite knowing the fact that it should not be done.So, The Hotel took up the issue with the employer and put a blanket ban on indians from entering the hotel.They have virtually put up a board "Indians Not Allowed".The question is -"Is this the right way of dealing with the issue.Does it mean that if one indian does something wrong, does it mean that all the indians will do the same? Is it correct to generalise the issue from an individual to the whole?

We indians are very good at crossing the roads.We dont look for the Zebra crossing to get to the other side of the road.Whenever we feel like crossing the road, we just cross.Some of us look on the either sides and then go ahead, while some of us just go ahead without giving a dam for the oncoming Traffic.Some of us are even right in crossing the roads in this manner because, the concept of pedesetrian crossing is completely absent .Another thing is if wait for the incoming traffic to slow down to cross the road, it might just be impossible to get to the other side in our country.There are  offcourse exceptions to the above.So, if we have have a particular road culture, there is a strong reason for that and it is hard to let go of it.We carry the same thing when we visit some other countries where people are hypersensitive to issues like this.

Another issue that deserves mention here is that of personal space.We indians are used to crowded places, where you cannot even think of maintaining personal space. Think of travelling in local Trains, buses where your hand will be on someone else's shoulders and his legs will be over yours. And i need not talk about the various scents and smells in such conditions.But , people else where have a completely different definition for this personal space. I personally came across a situation like this very recently.I came into the changing room after the gym.I found that some guy was standing in front of the my locker. There was very  little space behind him.But, i just managed to squeeze myself in that space to reach my locker."Stay There..."- the guy said with angry look.It was then i realised that i had got too close to him(As per his definition.As per my standards, i was maintaining a good distance from him, as i had not touched him).

We love anything and everything that comes free.We grab whatever that comes free .Whether it is of any use to us or not is a different question.I heard of instances where some of our indian friends being sent back to the parent company from the client location for taking the small milk cans in the pantry to use them later, taking a bunch of office stationary for personal use at home.

And , last but not the least it is a fact that we indians are making in roads in every field leaving every one behind. We are good technically, we can speak good English and more than anything the way we were brought up and the kind of environment in which we have grown up makes us see the positive aspects of everything and we feel that everything is so easy out here.Take for example, driving a car in a western country.If you have driven a car in any of our metros , then driving on silk smooth roads where every one follows the traffic rules should not be a big deal.The same is the case with many other things.

Therefore, i believe it is our -"Hum Aise Hi Hai" attitude and others feeling jealous of our progress that makes outsiders look at us in the way they do.Some of them go to the extreme and become racist.

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