Are Indians Victims, Or Purveyors, Of Racism?

In a recent newspaper article, the author expressed his indignation about instances of racism in Britain; and suggested that the torch has all but passed from India’s former colonial masters to the country they once ruled.

The author's angst is well-intentioned, but misplaced. The cases he has highlighted are deplorable, but cannot claim to be representative of Britishers as a race. Yes, the "whites" are supercilious and sometimes condescending, but open insults and racial slurs are rare. And many Indian immigrants - especially the first generation ones - carry their "Indiannness" with them to their adopted country. This manifests itself in characteristics like breaking queues with gay abandon; and considering small courtesies like "please" and "thank you" to be beneath their dignity.

And what about the "racism" in our own country? It may not be based on skin color, or maybe - if we are to go by the huge popularity of "fairness" creams - it is. But it most definitely exists, based on caste and social status. In fact, it may be even more insidious. Can one imagine an average middle class Indian family asking their plumber or carpenter to sit down to dinner with them? However, this is not at all unusual in the West. And why do waiters and receptionists in upscale hotels and restaurants - not to mention our own national airline - act so obsequiously towards the white-skinned folk, and afford them preferential treatment over their own countrymen? People who live in glass houses would be well advised not to throw stones.

The author asks his fellow Indians to "realize the value of their country, the bounty of our land and the splendor of their civilization." I couldn't agree more. The reality is different, however. For sure, India is emerging as an economic giant; and its rate of growth is superior to many countries in Europe. But a tourist visiting Mumbai and London, for example, would be left in no doubt about which city belonged to the First World and which to the Third. And any number of monorails and skywalks are not going to change that impression. As long as we are content to live with garbage and beggars on our streets, human being living in squalor right in the heart of our major cities; and people traveling in worse conditions than cattle in our local trains, we can never aspire to be reckoned among the top tier of the world's nations.

Before we get all high and mighty about others, we need to put our own house in order.