I have been been putting off this article for months now… a part of me just want to get everything I want to say out there, but another part of me is scared of the tiny chance this could get me in trouble. That’s the thing, every Indian has the right to speech and freedom, but does it actually matter if you can’t actually use them? With plethora of cases of killings, harm and groups ostracizing others over voicing their opinion, it is a reasonable fear to have in India. So before I start, remember these are my personal opinions and you don’t have to agree with me, all I ask of you is that you respect my opinion as I have yours. And I know there are better metrics to judge a country by and some of the things I say may be viewed as petty or irreverent in the grand scheme of things, but these are the things predominant in my eyes as of now, so I’ll be sharing them.
India is all about cultural heritage, which is its biggest friend and biggest foe. Having a vast diverse history is great as it teaches the ways of the old, but still believing and acting on the harmful ones like sexism, racism, cast system is just wrong. India houses a wide variety of cultures and diverse group of people, but it comes at a cost, because India is divided on a lot of fronts. Let it be how co-workers are treated in the workspace, opportunity and overall value given to a person, there is prejudice in every action.
Religion is one aspect that I want to tread lightly on. I don’t believe in God, but I don’t look down on the people who do. But religion is such an integral part of why India is so divided. For a country having a whopping 80% majority believing the same religious; Hinduism, its easy to see how the minorities get stepped over. Attack on Muslims groups is a frequent headline and it isn’t even looked down by a major portion of the population. This is partly because most of these people in the majority are uneducated and miss guided people, but still their actions are unjustifiable.
Sex is a taboo even after being the country who introduced Kama Sutra (An ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life). Likewise, for being the second largest populated country in the world, it is evident that we like to fuck, we just won’t admit it. Sex, sexuality and everything in between is such a beautiful and innate part of life, that I truly wish it wasn’t frowned upon as it is. Premarital sex, porn, sex toys, anything fun you can think of, India opposes. Thankfully I can see a revolution around the horizon, with a rise in LGBTQ+ related movements and people expressing themself more, all hope is not lost in this front.
The education system is a monotonous rat race which kills creativity. It priorities getting grades over learning a skill and does little to prepare students for the real world. But I’m gonna save a breadth here as I have gone in depth on my opinions on India’s education system on a separate post, which you can read HERE. Mix everything I said up until now with, corrupt politicians, struggling middle class, extreme nationalism and more you have India.
Woah hold on, before you pick up your pitch fork and come to burn down my house, I have a few good things to tell about India (yes actually). The culture, irrespective of the region or religion, all have a common thread of having good family value; which includes respecting elders, taking care of your parents and having a good relationship with your wider family, which are all appreciative. Also as tiresome as India’s educational system is, it has succeeded in providing relatively cheap education to ones who might not have received any. And finally the views are nice (if you can look past all the pollution that is. Sorry had to)
