Am I an Indian? Technically, yes. I hold a passport, the cover of which reads "Republic of India". But am I really an Indian? Ummm... I think so.
Is Nivruti Rai an Indian? Who??
She was the first person to be given a Overseas Citizenship India card by Manmohan Singh. My question is- does she deserve it? She seemed overjoyed in the pictures in the Sunday papers, and has moist eyes during an interview.
In that story, Rai states that she planned to acquire US citizenship.
She volunteered for work in hospitals and other places to add qualifications to acquire US citizenship.
At the same time, her husband remains an Indian citizen. About that, she says:
"We always wanted an option. It was a kind of dual citizenship within our own family. Under this arrangement, if we wanted to work in India, we could and without any hassle, work in US too."
Wow, great plan. Worked well, too. Because in September 2005, she moved to Bangalore. As Indian as she can get, I'd say.
Rai says she "feel[s] very Indian" as well. Rai was born and brought up in India, later went to study in the US, and decided to settle there. To make things easier for herself, she took up American citizenship, implying that she gave up her Indian status voluntarily. So why should she want back her "Indian" tag, if she gave it up earlier? Convenience, I bet. As she states, "...[F]rom today I myself can work in both places" (sic). So she wants to eat her cake and have it too. Now that India is not Third World anymore, she's come back for selfish reasons.
If you love someone, you will stick to that person through sickness and health, through laughter and tears. So if you love your country, you would try to stick around whether it was backward, or Third World, or whatever. (Unless you fall in love with another country, and out of love with the first one, but I digress).
If she really was Indian she would not want to give up her Indian citizenship in the first place.
I know I'd never want to give up my Indian passport, because I would hate to get a visa or permit to travel to my own country. Yep, I guess that's what being an Indian is. This may be a distorted definiton of an Indian, but I think it works.
