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.
1 comment:
I am disappointed to read such a narrow and judgemental assessment of Nivruti Rai's desire to be free to live and work both in the U.S. and India. Can't a person love two countries at once? Can't a person love the country where he/she was born, and also love the country where his/her children were born? Shouldn't that person be free to live in either place, without being judged as "disloyal" to the other? This is an emotional decision, a matter of the heart and not a cold and calculating choice as you make it out to be.
Just because Nivruti left India to be educated and start a family in the U.S. doesn't mean she doesn't love India. Someone (ie her parents) worked hard to enable her to do that. It didn't come easily. Someone sacrificed. She worked hard to earn her status in society.
I am a U.S. born citizen (white female) who married an Indian who was born and raised in India. We have brought our children up to love both countries equally, and to feel comfortable in both cultures. For years I asked my husband to postpone applying for U.S. citizenship because I hated to see him have to give up citizenship to his beloved India. How can you pass judgement on a person and her motivations when you hardly know her?(If you know her at all).
I was fortunate enough to know Nivruti Rai very well some nine years ago when we lived near Portland, OR. Her work ethic and family values are exemplary and to be admired. She has worked hard and contributed to society much more than she has taken. I am sure that her work experience and U.S. education are a tremendous benefit to India Intel in Bangalore, and to India as a whole. She is a highly educated, hard-working person who has brought back what she has learned to benefit the country where she was born. Such people are a benefit to the world at large, and they see past the limits of borders and communities to the bigger picture. There is absolutely no reason why a constructive member of society should not be free to live where she was born, OR where her children were born if she chooses. To say otherwise smacks of jealousy of a person who may not have had the same opportunities. I am sorry if that is the case, but that is no reason to pass judgement on another good person's motivations.
Wake up and smell the coffee. This IS a global economy, and those who recognize that fact will succeed. Those who think small will be left behind.
I do hope you will think twice before passing judgement on a good person, and trying to assess the motivations of someone you clearly know little of.
Post a Comment