Thanks for sharing! Kushwant was a spinner who till last was pessimistic in his approach and a play boy image always projected. Illustrated weekly was quite Good to read then K R IRS
On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 at 14:58, Ravi Mahajan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > *(Chanced upon the following article written by Khushwant Singh. I am sure > it would interest you) * > > *From: Khuswant Singh, Illustrated Weekly of India. Sent: Feburary 15, > 1970* > > *Indian-ness of Khuswant Singh, Editor-in-Chief * > *of the then Illustrated Weekly of India, 1970* > > *Q: "Why I am an Indian?"* > > *A: I did not have any choice; I was born one. If the good Lord had > consulted me on the subject I might have chosen a country more affluent, > less crowded, less censorious in matters of food and drink, unconcerned > with personal equations and free of religious bigotry.* > > > *Q: Am I proud of being an Indian? * > *A: I can't really answer this one. I can scarcely take credit for the > achievements of my forefathers. And I have little reason to be proud of > what we are doing today. On balance, I would say, 'No, I am not proud of > being an Indian.'* > > > *Q: 'Why don't you get out and settle in some other country?'. * > *A: Once again, I have very little choice. All the countries I might like > to live in have restricted quotas for emigrants; most of them are white and > have prejudice against coloured people. In any case, I feel more relaxed > and at home in India. I dislike many things in my country--mostly the > government. I know the government is never the same as the country, but it > never stops trying to appear in that garb. This is where I belong, and this > is where I intend to live and die. Of course, I like going abroad. Living > is easier, wine and food are better, women are more forthcoming--it's more > fun. However, I soon get tired of all those things and want to get back to > my dung-heap and be among my loud-mouthed, sweaty, smelly countrymen. I am > like my kinsmen in Africa and England and elsewhere. My head tells me "it's > better to live abroad", my belly tells me it is more fulfilling to be in > 'phoren' but my heart tells me 'get back to India'. Each time I return home > and drive through the stench of bare-bottomed defecators that line the road > from Santa Crux airport to the city I ask myself:* > > *"'Breathes there a man with soul so dead** who never to himself hath > said this is my own land, my native land?"* > > *I can scarcely breathe, but I yell, 'Yeah, this is my native land. I > don't like it, but I love it!'* > > *Are you an Indian first and a Punjabi or Sikh second? Or is it the other > way around? I don't like the way those questions are framed. I am all three > at the same time. If I was denied my Punjabiness or my community tradition, > I would refuse to call myself Indian.** I am Indian, Punjabi and Sikh. > And even so I have a patriotic kinship one who says I am 'Indian, Hindu and > Haryanvi' or 'I am Indian, Moplah Muslim and Malayali' or 'I am Indian, > Christian and Assamese'. I want to retain my religious and linguistic > identity without in any way making them exclusive.'* > > *"I am convinced that in our guaranteed diversity is our strength as a > nation. As soon as you try to obliterate regional languages in favour of > one 'national' language or religion, in the name of some one Indian credo, > you will destroy the unity of the country. **Twice was our Indianness > challenged: in 1962 by the Chinese; in 1965 by the Pakistanis. Then, > despite our many differences of language, religion and faith, we rose as > one to defend our country. In the ultimate analysis, it is the > consciousness of the frontiers that makes a nation. We have proved that we > are one nation"**.* > > *(Khushwant Singh's Editor's Page, Edited by Rahul Singh, IBH)* > > *Edited and Forwarded by Capt. Ravikant Mahajan (Vetern) * > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZootESLm3csu4XL0useqCdZM-UWdd58r%3D%2BWDpw%3D_x11ULw%40mail.gmail.com.
