yazadjal.com

The TOI’s lead edit today has an interesting take on Indianness. While critiquing the hype over Bobby Jindal, it makes the point that foreigners who made India their home are somehow considered less Indian than those who were born here, but now live / work / stand for elections abroad.

This fascination with a drama unfolding in an obscure American state becomes even more pronounced when juxtaposed with the kind of indifference, even latent hostility, that many middle class Indians reserve for those “foreigners” who’ve chosen to make India their home. From Mother Teresa in her pre-Nobel avatar to Gladys Staines and, of course, Sonia Gandhi.

The question — Who is an Indian? — has never been easy to answer, but in the age of globalisation, with massive cross-border flow of humans as well as cultures, it can be decided even less by a simple reference to the colour of one’s skin or the place of one’s birth.

Time was when nationalist India lived easily with the idea of an inclusive Indian identity, which regarded foreigners such as A O Hume, the first president of the Indian National Congress, and Annie Besant, of the Theosophical movement, as no different from those who were born here. The example of Mr Jindal suggests that it is time to reflect on that old innocence, where identity was a state of mind rather than a fact of biology or geography.

I so agree and I could add many more names: Mark Tully, Francis Wacziarg, Sally Holkar. Time to cherish those who left their countires of birth and are in India adding to the richness of our land.