Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site crystal.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!uwvax!crystal!ravi From: ravi@crystal.UUCP Newsgroups: net.nlang.india Subject: Re: indians in the US Message-ID: <422@crystal.UUCP> Date: Fri, 15-Mar-85 19:31:18 EST Article-I.D.: crystal.422 Posted: Fri Mar 15 19:31:18 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 17-Mar-85 21:35:39 EST References: <1276@ut-sally.UUCP> <410@crystal.UUCP> <376@sftri.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept Lines: 64 > > It occurs to me that our attitudes may very roughly be grouped into three > > categories (or in some cases, even three stages). These seem manifest most > > > > I: Anger at negative coverage. More common among Indians who have > ..... > > II: "Indifference" to negative coverage: More common among people who > .... > > III: "Acceptance" of negative coverage: Another way of coping with > > I agree with your characterizations, though: in fact I have witnessed the > metamorphoses of my friends through the various stages. And I agree that the > period of time spent abroad is a major parameter. Others are 'rootedness' > (e.g., being well-read in an Indian language, because I believe that language > is not only a communication medium, but you also absorb an ethos and a world- > view peculiar to a group) and of course, individual differences (some people > being more adaptible and detached than others). I also think that people in > certain communities generally tend to be more open to absorbing the cultures > of their adopted homes and loosening ties with the motherland, whereas people > in others tend to always go home to retire. > The latter tend to care more, obviously, about events back home. > -- > ...ihnp4!attunix!rajeev -- usenet > ihnp4!attunix!rajeev@BERKELEY -- arpanet > Sri Rajeev, SF 1-342, Bell Labs, Summit, NJ 07901. (201)-522-6330. The point you bring up is an important one. There is also a subtler issue here, I think. "Rootedness" is really a sensitivity to cultural nuances, not neccesarily at a conscious level, and usually one that is acquired through immersal in the culture. Without such an awareness, no amount of technical erudition in the culture's heritage is of any use. As an example: A few years ago, I attended a lecture by Sir Percival Spear (an Indologist of great repute). The lecture was called "India After Independence"; being somewhat familiar with some of his work, I was looking forward to hearing the man's views on the subject. His lecture was a forecast doom and gloom. I was willing to accept that as his perspective, but his reasons were really interesting. His thesis was that to really understand India, one must really understand the Indian ethos. Germans, for instance, were distinguished by their concern for detail and perfection, and the British by their stoic nature (stiff upper lip and all that sort of thing ol' chap). Fair enough. What about Indians? Indians, he said, were set apart by their well known servility and subservience to authority. A good example of this, he added, was the traditional deference to the guru. Now that the British have left, the Indians had no one to turn to for orders, and India was doomed. A lifetime of erudition and work on India - and this is what Percy gets out of it. Some of us Indians, too may be sufficiently alienated from our culture (not "rooted" in it) not to have an appreciation of some of the subtler aspects of our cultural heritage. When we are embarassed by (a real or perceived) criticism of some aspect of India, we are unable to respond (or even resolve it all in our own minds). We may then react with anger towards India for having caused us this embarassment. When one has no answer to criticisms, one can only agree with the critics. A negative self-image results. >If you add one more stage, that of complete resignation (this is when one says, >"You know, I'm not from India: I'm from Bangladesh"), you would have an analogy >with the four stages of classical life: kaumara, yauvana, garhasthya and >sannyasa. :-) The four stages (ashramas) of life in India, by the way, are Brahmacharya, Gruhasthya, Vanaprastha, and Sanyasa. But the proposed extension is a good one!