One
India-related term which I have never liked much is NRI. The three letters
stink of arrogant, upper-class attitudes and this really sickens me. Living in
Singapore makes me a member of this "exclusive" club and means that I get to
interact with many other NRI children who think Hyderabad is a district in
Bangalore and Visakhapatnam is in North India. The tricolour flies high during
the farcical Diwali celebrations and disappears otherwise. The NRI youth thinks
of Indian politics as being a shoddy affair, and then proceeds to praise
American politics for being much more effective and people-oriented. On a side
note, three weeks ago, the approval rating of the US Congress fell to 9%.
Most of the
content of the above paragraph is in no way relevant to what this article is actually
about. To get started on that, I will paraphrase someone I know who said
"I don't want to go to Indian university because you can just buy your way
in." Even many parents support the above line of thought. This though, is
not an entirely unimaginable conversation in a typical upper-class NRI
household.
Mummy-Papa: Beta Rahul, we don't
want you to study in India, because we are apprehensive about sending you to a
school where people buy places.
Rahul: But mummy-papa, I failed
my exam. Where can I go?
Mummy-Papa: Don't worry Rahul
beta, we have made a donation of $100,000 to a college in America. We even
bought you their official hoodie, a plushie of their mascot, and a coffee mug
with their crest and motto on it!
One thing that
puzzles me and irritates me in equal measure is the ridiculous attitude that
many Indians - NRI or otherwise - have towards India. Sensing a whiff of
political discussion? Enter the stale, recycled monologue on how a desk clerk
once asked for a ₹100 bribe to transfer a file quickly. Raise the topic of how
the second and third highest-ranked officers in the US Navy are being
investigated for bribery that allegedly allowed an Asian defence company to
secure contracts worth $200 million, and prepare to be greeted by a stale silence.
Oh, bribery happens outside India too? Let's just sit around and take shots at
a country where, let's be honest, stark inequalities exist across city streets.
I am not denying that corruption and bribery are a problem in India, but I have
a serious bone to pick with people who say "India is corrupt so I have
given up on it". To me, the implied extension of that sentence is "I
am in a sufficiently good position in life to not need anything from India so I
don't really care what happens."
Today,
patriotism is celebrating Virat Kohli square-cut a Pakistani fast bowler to the
fence at deep point, or going to a Diwali function sporting expensive ethnic
clothes and an artificial American accent. Patriotism is also going through a phase
of national self-reflection twice a year, and appearing blissfully oblivious
for the remaining 363 days. Patriotism is ignorance that recognises one rape
incident every eight months*. Patriotism is, oddly enough, pointing out faults
that exist in many countries but only seem to be a problem in India. Patriotism
is, in short, as predictable as an enraged bull elephant.
The point here is
this. People who complain that Indian university
places can be bought are possibly correct, but they are also hypocrites. The
debate about whether legacy students buy their way into the Ivy League is just
as well supported by evidence as the above argument. In the UK, the debate
about whether expensive private schools are unfairly favoured during university
applications rages on. Therefore, complaining about India alone is really quite
ridiculous, especially if it is followed by an application to a private university
in the US supported by a five-figure "donation". Education, much
though we hate to admit it, has become a business; given increased demand, one
could argue it is among the most lucrative industries. It is not just Indian
institutions that are cashing in on this. Certainly our lopsided sense of
patriotism should tell us that other countries are much better at sniffing out
money than we are.
- Chap
* In August,
when a photojournalist was raped in Mumbai, a popular page that occupies itself
with posting memes about Bangalore posted something along the lines of
"from #Delhigangrape to #Mumbaigangrape. Hope to never have to put another
city's name in this."
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