Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

I know talking about this particular topic would be nonsensical in the 21st Century, when the world is moving towards universal brotherhood and towards becoming a global village. But then India already has 2 new states in the last 10 years, and Darjeeling is now asking for different statehood. And astrologically in the coming 50 years, I strongly feel that India will split into more states and countries based on ‘personal identity.’ And also if universal brotherhood was true, then 99 per cent of the matrimonial advertisements till date won’t be mentioning their caste, sub caste and sub sub caste.

The new Maharashtra Hero Raj Thackeray is against Biharis domination in Marathi state. Well he is perfectly right. I read in one of the interviews, where he logically says that Rajni Kanth being in Tamil Nadu, and being successful in Tamil Nadu cannot propagate Marathi culture and tradition in Tamil Nadu. He has to stick to Tamil values, and boast only things related to Tamil. Point well taken. I know we all are Indians – that is a different story and debate altogether!

Experience 1

I had a Keralite friend who had gone to watch a movie at Sathyam Cinema in Chennai. It was when Gowtham Menon’s Pacchaikili Muthucharam was yet to be released and its posters were displayed. The Bollywood actor Milind Soman had a prominent role in the movie. When all were having a dekho at the poster, a well-educated North Indian IT professional commented to his friend in Hindi saying, “dekh Milind Soman ka kitna bura din aayaa hai. Madrasi picture mein kaam kar raha hai.” (see Milind Soman distress, he has started acting in Madrasi movies). I am least bothered about what kind of bad Milind Soman is running on his career front, but I hated the derogatory tone and also the derogatory statement just the way my Keralite friend hated. If I were there in the scene, I am sure I would have said, teri maa ki choot, you have the balls to put down Madrasis living in Chennai!?

Experience 2

One of my very good Hindi-speaking friends had to forcibly work in Chennai. And he stayed in Chennai for 2 long years. We have had enough arguments on this particular topic, and we still exist as good friends. I always have told him, how I hated him when he spoke to his Tamil-born-illiterate maid in English. He would even speak to the vegetable vendors in English, and would have the slightest guilt about doing so! His stand was clear - if the vegetable vendor doesn’t understand Hindi or English, it is not his problem!

Now you try doing the same in Bihar. Try speaking in Tamil or Dutch to a vegetable vendor in Bihar, and see what happens!

My friend was successful in not learning a single word of Tamil living in Chennai for 2 long years. And the whole of North India wants us to learn, read, write, understand a language, which was formed formally only in the year 1935 against a language like Tamil, which has its existence since human civilization. Well I would say make Sanskrit as a national language. Let us all suffer learning a new language altogether. Why should the North have the upper hand? Why should the South struggle to learn someone else’s mother’s tongue, when they themselves are so closed to any other Indian language?

Experience 3

My sister was there in Belgium for a couple of years, and her husband had to attend a crash course in Dutch to manage with people around. The natives would give you a dirty look, if you start your conversation in English before making it clear that you understand only English and not Dutch.

Similarly every state in India should have their own crash courses in state language, and it should be made compulsory for all the new comers - learn the language in 6 months or you lose your job. You cannot continue to hover around shamelessly showing off your English fluency and Hindi fluency to people who haven’t even learnt to read their own native language.

There is another twist to the story. In one of the articles published recently about India, I read that the population control measures were carried out more aggressively in the South than the North. No wonder families in UP, MP or Bihar have more people than in the South. And in the next 10 years or so, there will be a drastic fall in the population of South India, which will force them to download people from the North for work. This was done deliberately to increase the Hindi belt!!

I am not against any caste, creed, community, language, statehood or religion, but I am against every kind of ‘domination’ from any caste, creed, community, language, statehood or religion!

I am with Raj Thackeray !