Patriotism At 28, Why Now?

It is page 156 of the book An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor. I see the words Quit India. A sense of curiosity, a sense of urgency. I’m not patriotic, shouts the mind within. Patriotism doesn’t work for you. Money is what matters. I’ve been telling to myself a lot more than I’ve ever intended to.

But I can’t stop what my heart says. I can’t stop the feeling within. I can hold it for a moment just as how it has always been but trust me, it doesn’t help this time around. Why am I like this lately? Why do I have this intense attraction to my own nation? Am I reading the wrong stuff? I don’t know anymore.

Britishers have done enough. They have done much more than all the words can ever reverberate. It hurts to know that the Indians are not even aware of it. Is it the sense of this mere forgetfulness that has evanesced the struggle of all the freedom fighters? Is our education so useless that we don’t value the struggle of our forefathers anymore? Probably, yes.

Of course, India has many problems. Does it mean that we just give up?

No one talks about these in common discussions. It’s as if this never existed and patriotism isn’t in their dictionary anymore. I guess that’s what the British ever wanted. They wanted us to look at each other and categorize ourselves into Hindus, Muslims, Brahmins, etc. so that people can exploit us easily while such differences were never thought of before.

I remember studying fraternity and secularism in school. They told us to not find the differences amongst each other but rather embrace such differences. But India always did this before the British came and destroyed everything with their nonsensical colonies. So we had to unlearn religious acceptance and relearn it over.

I sound frustrated, don’t I? There is a reason why!

Learning history is a joke in the Indian school curriculum. People make fun of it and you hardly see people motivated to learn about Indian history. I understand that people need to make a livelihood and studying more about history is not the way to do it.

But what if a smart guy/girl who learns a lot of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses realizes that there is no future in India and tries to leave abroad? He/she will do that because they don’t even understand what India is and why India is the way it is.

In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it. — Barack Obama.

Now is the time to study Indian history

If you are a fellow Indian reading this, it isn’t the end of the world. Better late, than never. That’s what I felt when I was reading this book. All the things that I read during school made sense. I know patriotism is a tricky business but I’m down. Let’s see where this leads me to. I know it can be a tough path but I am in for it.