Calling us Indians, Typecast, is wrong, Right?? We are after all the people who fought off the British who used to treat us as second class citizens in our own country. The ‘Goras’ we fought and we defeated when we became one. So we do not judge people based on their race, language or their appearance. Am I right?
Wrong.
As much as it may hurt us all, but the above words suits us perfectly. As a nation we are full people who have strange, idiotic and sometimes vague ideas about the cultures of others. It is very okay for a Punjabi to imagine that all people from the south are well, Dark and speakers of an un-understandable language. Likewise, a south Indian guy has no problems admitting in his own circle that all Punjabis are brats, drinkers and slang-throwing machines. A person hailing from Bihar is taken to be a guy who does all sorts of crimes at night and does odd jobs at daytime to hide his identity, in the north.
A person hailing from Bengal is throughout his life taunted with jokes about fish in all parts of the country except Bengal. All South Indians throughout their lives have to point out that Kannada and Telugu are different to their friends, companions and colleagues.
This is just the beginning, calling your best friend ‘Gujju’ and thinking he is a miser just because he comes from Gujarat may be OK for you, but then have you thought about how he does feel about it??
Stopping with regions now, starting on appearances. A fat person may not be okay with you calling him Mota, Fatso, or the ever popular Fatty just in the same way in which a thin guy doesn’t want to be called Sukhandi in a mall full of hot girls. They all have a name, why don’t we just refer to them using their respective names and not by the slangs which we heap on them under the pretext of being best friends. A guy wearing spectacles does not wish to be called chashmuddin, even if he gives a smile when you refer to him as such, also asking him to take off his specs and then asking him to tell how many fingers you have raised is not cool. A person having a limp is not okay when we call him langda, limpy. These are just examples, there are many more to come.
And all this happens inside India, among us. Just think about how we brand foreigners, a black person becomes Negro (yes, in India we still use it), a white guy becomes Angrezz (regardless of his nationality, ethnicity), and while our Prime Minister welcomes the Chinese leaders in India we call them Chinkies, Oh wait!! That is how we refer to all people having Mongolian traits, be it a person from the far countries such as Thailand, China, and Japan or from our very states of Nagaland, Mizoram or any other North-Eastern region.
It is now high time that we stop Typecasting people, whether this be achieved by preaching or force is irrelevant. We would love to see people standing up against people using such terms in the modern day world. People who help others when they are being typecast should also be appreciated and lauded. India has had this problem since the ancient times. If we can’t get rid of it now, how can we say that we are a changing and developing country?? The answer lies in us, Youths.
There is a greater interaction among different races, cultures in India. The kind of which has never happened before. As we grow closer and old myths are busted maybe we will start respecting others as well as ourselves more. More and more of us should come out to reach others and teach one another that we are all Equals. And one day Inshallah we will feel proud that India is one and so is the World.
Till then listen to this song from Manoj kumar in Purab aur Paschim –
Kaale gore ka bhed nahi, har dil se humara naata hai..
Kuch aur na aata ho humko, humein pyaar nibhana aata hai..
And Keep calm…
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