The other day, I was watching "saregamapa-lil champs" with my mom n dad. There was this sweet little girl, hardly 7-8 years old, wearing a cute pink dress n all.
Before her performance, she was introduced by the anchor as "hi itki "deshpremi " ahe mhanun sangu ... ekda hichi mavshi England la challi hoti..tar jatana hi mavshila mhatli=> mavshi, jar tula tikde koni British manus disla tarr tyala jorrat chimta kadh ... tya dushta British lokkanni aplyavar rajya kela na..mala tyanna shiksha karaychiye!! "
The anchor of the program was so impressed by this "brilliant idea" that she said => " pudhchya velela tuzi mavshi England la geli na ki tila sang, mazyakadun pann ek chimta kadhayla!!" And there was a huge round of applause.
Poor kid. Obviously!! She was taught history in school, she was taught that the British ruled our country for so many years, she was taught to believe that British people are cruel, evil. She had mugged up lessons describing "Jallianwala Baug". No wonder she thought British people were monsters. We have not left any other option for her; have we?? Why wasn't she ever taught that there are little kids, who are just as sweet as she is, even there in England?
Right from school, we are taught to say "India is MY country". What does a 5 year old understand by the word "MY" ? Does a 5 year old understand the meaning of "country"?... I doubt even a 50 year old understands that!! We are taught to love our own country, and hate someone else's. We burst crackers when we win against Pakistan, merely because it's not our country, just because it's separated from "our" land by a border that we made ourselves. The border, which is so fiercely guarded by thousands of soldiers.
What is it, that makes them risk their lives? ... and makes them fight against those who are so much like themselves? Can you say that a Pakistani soldier loves his country less than an Indian soldier? ... Both are fighting for the same cause, yet they are fighting against one another.
Why have we never thought about this?...Are we too scared to think about this or we simply don't care?
There are people, who are so much like us, in every country. England, America, China, Pakistan...everywhere!! Every country has students like us ... every country has parents who care for their children ... and every country has their own bunch of criminals, politicians and terrorists too...
We should consider ourselves lucky that we are growing up in peace. We are given a choice not to hate one another. Imagine being born in the 1930s ... well then even I would have been a freedom fighter. But now, in 2008, we use laptops and branded accessories which are imported and yet we pretend to love our country ... yet we hope India makes it big someday...
My question is ... why India? ... why not the world? ... Why can't we all work for the world ... Don't we all have the same two eyes, ears and tiny little brain? :p
So what makes us different? ... skin colour? ... lifestyle? ... religion? ... If it was just that, then why do we have the problem of "north Indians in Mumbai"? We are always searching for differences. We want to live in groups and make our own group better, make our own group win!! While watching cricket, we want "our" team to win just because it's "our team"...(though we know that the other team is probably better :D)
I think this topic is worth a thought...it's all about giving ourselves a chance to choose not to hate someone for nothing...to think twice before saying "India is MY country"...
Can't we all be "Citizens of the World" and just say "India is A country"???...
(Imagine no green cards and visa...:D;)...whoaa)
...relax guyz...its okay...you won't be forced to say "all people of the world are my brothers and sisters" :p:D
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42 comments:
Worth giving a thought.... really!!
nice 1...great thought
mala kahi navin nahi vatla...apli nehmichich charcha ahe hi.. :p :p ;)
changla vichar ahe....pan jyanna vachaychi jasta garaj ahe te net vaprat nahit jasti karun... ;)
news paper madhe lihila pahijes... :)
nice!.....
awsome!! :D
here's a thought..would you like to live in a common dorm with other families or would you rather stay in separate place of your own? your own , wouldn't you? "my country" thing is something similar i think..
hmmmm pallutai...... hard to digest for people who keep on reading those technical blogs.... I agree with gaurav that u have some things of your own from birth... and u'll have those 'Citizens of the Earth' when people will migrate to other planets.... :p
Nice thought :) Muze pata nahi tha ki tum likhati bhi ho cool keep it up :)
hmm....nice thought....full of optimism...second thoughts....a bit too much optimism i think...
@gaurav,mayur...well...you could live in a common dorm and yet fight over some silly things or you could live in separate homes and yet be a family...it all depends on how you look at it...
and yes, I'd love to live in a dorm :)..(rem hogwarts??)
Too Long essay...
Re-write in hinglish.
good thought pan jara wichar kar swatach.citizen of the world wegere!ideology!not practical.nyways good beginning.keep it up![:)]
last sentence rocks![:)]
I really like the direction of your thinking....I mean if your thoughts get implemented it could be the next step to evolution for human being[which i seriously doubt]
I guess if we are citizen of the world...we can probably escape caste system too[and then all politians will have nothing to do:)]...and we might have more access to anything in this world[ex:schools,workplace or propeties..]
with trvelling around the world getting so easy...I guess it wont be long we can have just one system for all world citizen's in place..or should I say its your wishfull thinking [and mine too]
Btw last sentence takes the cake!!!
awesome girl...
whats next ?
what did joe kaka say on this ?
our names, where we live,work, our country are a part of our identity. By being citizens of world, you are asking us to forget our identity.. Moreover, human emotions and passions are at the crux of the hate and discrimination in the world.It will never be wiped out..Maybe only if human emotions themselves are wiped out..I think therez a movie on this..sense offenders thing.@cdk, help out with the name please..:)
am i rambling along some stupid thoughts here? if so, please excuse me..:)
kahi kahi vichar changale ahet..but i don't agree wid u completely...unless u have competition how r u going to improve?there should b some motive na...also can't think of d concept like citizen of world etc...take for an example our country is known by our rich heritage n culture..we are different thats why we stand out..people look upto us(in dis department)..cmmon pallavi its fact that even no two people will agree completely over each n every issue..thats human nature..so expecting everyone to work for a single cause is something impractical..differences r bound to occur..r u going to call ur favorite dress or your laptop "our" laptop...i think here lies ur answer...neways good imagination..keep blogging!...mitali
@gaurav...no re..comments r most welcm:)
cmin 2 da point...is ur name, country ur identity?...i agree that identity is related to emotions...but should they be so stuck to some name?...u have every right to be proud about great people,culture...but there are great people everywhere, in every country!!...u should be proud of all of them...why get so stuck to geographic locality and overlook so many things we can learn from them?...why cheer sania mirza when serena williams is much better and works harder?
it's not about wiping emotions...it's all about enriching them...making them more pure, transparent, fair and complete :)
then who will cheer for sania mirza.. ;)..Everyone will like only the best..as mitali said above, no competition..the incentive to improve takes a backseat..i m happy with the way australia plays cricket..i cheer for them..say everyone does..so the opposing team is doomed!!no supporters...actually..the indian team will say--ohh australia is our friend...n we are so happy that our friends are winning!!!!
first of all... i don't think soldiers fight for a same cause... there's always one attacking and other one's defending...
other thing is about some good ppl suffering bcoz of the govt of that ccountry... i know there surely are good ppl in all other country but afterall they have chosen some 'not-so-gr8' ppl as their leaders... speakers on behalf of those ppl... so its upto you... to choose ppl who represent you... who represent your thoughts correctly...
last thing is about countries... u know i've waste quiet some time on this thing... u know... world without countries at all.. but it was supposed to happen... no one can rule these many ppl in unbiased way... so if not countries... ppl will go for states... for cities... for areas... this is never ending... and actually... strange... but i think its serving them better than ruling the whole world as one country... we prefer some local heroes in hindi movie rather than some better hollywood actor coz i dnt think he'll act better than that local one coz the hollywood guy doesnt know hindi...
(even if it seems like i dnt approve this thought... but from the size of reply u can say that ur post really made me think hard (and loud :) nice post btw... keep'em comming)
i agree wid mitali that each n evry person wont agree to the same thing, so you cant just make everyone agree the same thing..you can just put forward whatever u hav in ur mind. This citizen of world concept i really appreciate, but u know pallavi, 60% people will not agree wid you, atleast 20% people just wont say nething, they will say, "me rahoty na sukhat then why to think about something like this?" and mitali, ofcourse differences will occur bt whats so different in that, they occur sumtimes in our own family too..isnt it?
@ swapna...support baddal dhannyawaad :)
@mitali n swapna...n he pann kharay ki apan sukhat ahot mhanun nusti charcha karto...swatavar ala asta tarr kadachit politics madhe gelo asto...
n abt da differences,...ofcrse 2 ppl are bound to hav them...bt why should they be based on barriers like racism n caste system or even nationality?...let there be a solid reason for the difference!!
"like in our family" ...swapna...bhaari ha =));)
yes pallavi....of course...thats wht i meant ki thr shd be a very verry strong reason for the differences... :)
Hey Pallavi,Hats off to your thoughts...
Excellent thinking, mind-blowing blog....
....
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....
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BUT, how much actions have u contributed to ur thoughts upto ur current age of 21 years????
How much are you ready to give up ur work now and put urself into implementation of ur feelings??? tell me
1%.....2%......or.... (i think u know better.)
In todays competitive world, i dont find any such person who is ready to give up everything for this sole cause..
The thought indeed is no doubt noble and soothing for many hearts....but at the same time it is equally idealistic and a castle built in air.....
I read all the comments posted over here and i feel i would like to agree most with the thinking of praj....
The world is divided into boundaries not to separate them or to make them feel different...its for their good.... Development can be better when u are concentrating on a part and not whole...Tell me if there is a single government for the entire world where would it be...in Pacific Ocean i guess :P......
But the people have taken this for wrong...they have built up false-pride...and many authors like u (no offence :)) do express it in beautiful vocabulary but how much percent of them really do practice or try to change the custom??
And trust me....99% will never try anything.....
U asked me to speak frankly what i feel....
After reading your blog i felt ...... A person should only give fire to such topics in which he himself is ready to burn....not to a bornfire where he is just moving around it.....
I myself do agree to the thought but i admit that i have never tried or in straight words never taken the risk to do ne thing for this cause...
U may call me a coward or nething, but today its not about changing minds of people(ur life will be too short to accomplish it), its about how well you can take everyone towards development though they all are so different...Accept that it is, now ur work is how can u still make the world feel one...(and obviously it cant be thru a blog ;))
Some replies to my friends:
@gaurav - Hey bro,how come ur country defines ur identity??? Do you introduce yourself as i am gaurav,an indian...and even then how do u lose it if you introduce yourself as Gaurav,a citizen of the world.....
And why do you wish to restrict your family to just ur home....
We all are from the same Lord and to Him we return.. So aint we all a SINGLE FAMILY???
@Mayur - hey dear,as far as i know we come empty handed in this world without any possession and we leave the world in a similar fashion :)...No one owns anything except himself when one is born....:P
@To-all lovers and haters of Sania Mirza - Cheering her or cheering the Indian team is really good....and thats not our fault...If you dont like this cheering, then i next time the Olympics should be an open event...where people participate as individuals and not as countries...
But if you playing as teams, its good we cheer Sania or the Indian team...That is how they will get the morale to boost...Because its not Sania or Indian team playing alone...u are a part of it too.... But dont be fanatic about it...
@Praj - Great thoughts....:)...
Thats all i wish to say....Extremely sorry to everyone....I dint wish to hurt anyones feeelings...Nothing is meant to hurt anyones sentiments....Sorry if i did....
@Pallavi -- Great Thought... But just do one thing.... Stand up for ur cause....U stand and the world will be with u:)
;)
A small correction :P
@To-all lovers and haters of Sania Mirza - Cheering her or cheering the Indian team is really good....and thats not our fault...If you dont like this cheering, then i think the next time the Olympics should be an open event...where people participate as individuals and not as countries...
But if you playing as teams, its good we cheer Sania or the Indian team...That is how they will get the morale to boost...Because its not Sania or Indian team playing alone...u are a part of it too.... But dont be fanatic about it...
@gaurav :: yeah the name of that movie is Equilibrium and yes i am on ur side on this one....the results of such suppression ( of emotions ) is quite clear even in the movie...let alone thinking of it in the real world...and as i said before....its all a bit too optimistic.
OFF TOPIC:: has anyone noticed that this is the first article on this blog and it has got 26 + comments!!! Great debate going on here....
@pallavi:: add a feed for comments....will be better to follow this debate
@furquan..my family is restricted to my real family..u are again making the same point about everyone being our family as pallavi has already said. the point that i wanted to highlight was that- it's just not practical..u can say everyone's your family but in practice that is not say..saying is one thing..actually doing quite another..
btw, while therez a nice little debate going here, isnt another post coming? keep up the temppo u kno..or the visitors dry up.. :P :P :) lol..kiddin..
Not a new thing from u...
Its not that bad to encourage people of the part of the world u live in...
The parts of the world are not made for hating each other...
They are simply for the convenience of management in the world...
Its almost like different departments in the company working in co-ordination with each other...and its just for the ease of management...
For loving India we don't need to hate other countries...
Any intelligent person from any part of the world does not hate a common man living in any other part of the world...the hatred is for the mentality of the people who are responsible for all the wrong things happening in the world...
An educated intelligent person who is capable of thinking keeping his 'Neetimatta' alive would be as much against the corrupt politicien of his own country as a terrorist...
Its just against the mentality and not a country...
You can be a citizen of the world
and still love India the section of the world u live in...and that too without hating any other country...
Simply because for loving anything in this world we dont need to hate everything else...
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam...
hey pallavi....
i do agree with u..
really, one should give a thought on this...
hi..i read some of d comments..n i completely agree wid d fact that its for conveneience..even in school v hav divisions..everybody's speed of progress is differnt..so it becomes easy to manage a group rather than entire world!
@swapna n pallavi
abt differences in family...ya they do occur..if d issues r small they r taken care of...but if issue becomes big then v see families breaking...c earlier v used to live in joint families now v don't live like that...why d shift occured?i think that should giv ur ans..
then about cheering gr8 people n being proud of them
its easy to be proud of gr8 people..then wat about those poor people?if u r gonna cheer for gr8 ones then wat r u going to do abt poor people who also belong to d same 'world'..to bring them in flow wil automatically become ur responsibility!
@pal i agree that caste,religion wise diff r not good...but u can't deny d fact that they still exist in our society n majority of people still believe in those things..may be in next few generations they would have become extinct!
n lastly as furquan has said i would also like to know ur contribution n abt implementations of ur thoughts..talking abt smthing n bringing d same into action are two different things!(i may sound rude but its a fact)
mitali
To add my two cents worth to this ever expanding comment list,
I think you are being idealistic. But this is not to say that I don't agree with you. What prajwalit says is practical, but it leads to antagonism over reasons that are completely irrelevant in the cosmic "big-picture" sense.
We should aspire towards the idealistic thoughts expressed here in everything we do, while keeping the reality of the situation in mind.
on another note,
I do not agree with the example you used to start this discussion. The anchor was indulging the child, just like we pander our children ("Gah! So Strong! I just can't beat you at arm-wrestling!")
Now, if she had said "Shoot them between the eyes.", then we should be worried. :D
Hi Pallutai,
This is Joe, your dad. While you gave me your piece for editing, I had no idea that it would generate so much comment.
You know, I for one prefer Bhagat Singh. He died for India and somehow, at the age of 58, I cannot ignore that sacrifice. Though, I'm still game for being a citizen of the world.
I first read about "citizen of the world" when I was in St. Stanislaus High School, Bandra, Mumbai in 1962. My wonderful English teacher had given me a book of that name by Oliver Goldsmith. As a grew up, it helped that my father was a railwayman for, along the line, I learned about the other beautiful people I shared this world with.
I met one of them, Kalpana Joshi, who is your mother now. It's great learning about the world from one's own daughter and I'm proud that you aspire to be a "citizen of the world."
Mala ek prashna vichraycha ahe...This is for all who are in opinion with pallavi...Tumhi swatahun hi goshta Amlaat anata???inesti
Hey Pallavi,........nice thought!!
I think..it varies from "place to place" not from "person to person".If i m living in my home, i believe my home is best rather than neighborer's.If i m living in Amravti then i will say "my city is best". If i m living in Maharashatra then i will say
"mh is best" to OMS people.if living in India then "India is best"....n finally if i m going to meet alien then i will proudly say tht "my earth is best"...and thats the situation only when i will truly become a "citizen of world".
Hi ! Pallavi !
This is sheetal mam . it is really nice thought .Though Your discussion is over on this topic,I like to comment on it.
I am very happy that a girl at the age of 21 sharing thought like this.
I have seen many people in pune who prefer to go to doctor of same community as well take admission for their kids
to school of the same community . Even i have seen many socities in India who prefer particular community peoples only.
People in the india prefer to vote for the candidate of the same place in the reality shows like sa re ga ma....
Nothing is going to change because it totally depend on your perception and ur approach towards life
I am thankful to you for providing me to write on this. Your thought shows your family support and freedom .
Brilliant piece of writing. I appreciate because I myself am against over patriotism. While it is necessary to be proud of your roots it's equally important to appreciate the world around you.
I guess your experiences have made you a broad-minded person. I hope more and more people will learn to open their minds.
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