THE PRICE OF ASSIMILATION by Mona Vijaykar
Analysis/Opinion
I have never been known for my tact in
matters that consume my passion and this time I am sure to earn the equivalent
of the fatwa. Yet, there comes a time when one needs
to dig up a little dirt in order to plant a fresh new seed and that is the
purpose of my article. Hopefully it will bear fruit.
For hundreds of years, India, the land of my
birth has been more of a mystery for most Americans. She is like a beautiful
woman, intelligent but fettered indoors, saree drawn
over her face, anonymous, unsung and insignificant. Not only has she been
abused time and again, by invading foreigners throughout her 5000 plus year
history, but sadly , her deepest wounds are those
inflicted by her own progeny. For if they had the confidence to take pride in
her significant achievements that contributed to our modern civilization, she
would have received the recognition that she rightly deserves.
That like the Statue of Liberty she gave
refuge to those who faced persecution at home, embracing and fostering them as
her own. Yet, like confused teenagers, embarrassed to acknowledge their
parents, Indians in general are reluctant to be proud of their motherland. They
often choose to belittle her instead, afraid that any contradiction to
established Western ideas may be perceived as a challenge and create
disharmony. This is particularly true of many Indian Americans who, in their
eagerness to be accepted in American society are unwilling to correct age old
misconceptions and repeatedly allow brazen misrepresentation of world history
as well as Indian culture through a distorted sense of tolerance.
This is why few Americans including many
Indian offspring, may never know what Albert Einstein
asserted, "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count,
without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made".
Or as Mark Twain remarked, "India is the
cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of
history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of
tradition". While we are familiar with the names of Darwin, Galileo,
Archimedes, Einstein and Pythagoras, the names of
those who had in fact made the very same achievements much earlier in time are
surprisingly absent from our curriculum. BUDHAYANA, who first calculated the
value of pi and who first explained the concept now known as Pythagoras Theorem
in the 6th century, is unknown to our educators. SUSHRUTA, the father of
surgery, who first conducted caesarean operations, treated fractures, cataract,
urinary stones, all with anesthesia and yet his name does not appear in any
school curriculum. JAGDEESH BOSE, the pioneer of wireless communication. These
are just a few of the many Indian geniuses who have been ignored by historians
and allowed to be forgotten by generations of Indians, demoralized by historic
circumstances. It is hardly a matter of pride that the only names that come to
mind when Americans think of India are Gandhiji and Ravi Shankar.
If Indians are anonymous, Hindus are
invisible. There are innumerable cases of Hindu icons being misrepresented and
abused. Yet Hindus turn a blind eye to these insults without proactively
educating the American public, for fear of drawing negative attention. Exposure
to Hindu culture will forever remain superficial without meaningful discourse.
For a community that is highly talented, intelligent and economically powerful,
we sadly lack the guts to assert ourselves. That is why even today most
Americans are unaware of the auspicious symbolism of the beautiful Swastika,
since its corrupted image is predominantly accepted.
Who would dare abuse the Holy Cross let alone
allow any ugly association to linger for years on end? Who would accept that a
mistake made five hundred years ago by a wayward sailor would rob them of their
identity? Yet, to this day, Americans continue to disregard Indian sentiments
by referring to Natives Americans as Indians! If we don't respect ourselves who
will ? This deep rooted sense of insecurity and
inferiority amongst Indian Americans has resulted in the next generation
phenomenon of the 'American Born Confused Desi' a
term for the self deprecating species that has been projected on celluloid in
the movie, 'ABCD'. Nothing could be more unfair to these young Indian
Americans.
What sense of identity have the IBCDs, Indian Born Confused Desis
given their children, that they may take pride in themselves as Indian
Americans? Today we have a generation of ABCDs who
are uncomfortable with their 'Indian selves', wishing that they were born of
white stock instead. What message do the IBCDs give
their children when they are careful not to exhibit their Indianness
in public so they may blend in; when they are ashamed to speak their language
and treat their dress as a costume only to be worn on special occasions, unless
endorsed by the western world. The mask which they
believe presents them as sufficiently Americanized, appears more ludicrous than
what they aim to cover. By remaining closeted, the IBCDs
have denied their children deeper cultural and religious recognition in mainstream
American society.
What prompts me to make such harsh
allegations? Time and again, I have found that Indians have an overwhelming
inclination to undermine the efforts of their fellow Indians who try to make a
difference and hope to give our children a better sense of identity. For all
those famous and not so famous individuals, tirelessly engaged in creating a
deeper appreciation of the Indian culture, there are as many cynics who feel
strangely threatened by their actions and make the task all the more daunting
for the enthusiasts. I have encountered Indians in positions of influence,
unwilling to join hands for a common purpose. Often, it stems from petty
ambition and jealousy. One is reminded of that shameful part of our Indian
history, when the British colonized India. It took two hundred years and one
small man (Gandhiji) to speak out. But thanks to
those Indians who pandered to the white rulers and sabotaged the efforts of the
freedom fighters, India's struggle for independence became all the more
arduous. The lack of unity amongst the Indians suited the British policy of
'divide and rule'.
History continues to repeat itself. A recent
situation at a middle school in Saratoga illustrates how Indians are their own
enemies. Considering that students received in-depth exposure to world
religions through their history class, a couple of parents suggested an
introduction to Hinduism, since the teachers are not too familiar with the
subject. Many parents at school welcomed the suggestion as an eye-opener for
their kids but it was most of the Hindu parents who balked at the very idea!
Apart from awkwardness, and a lack of healthy self respect, it is a twisted
sense of secularism that drives Hindus to a point of public denial of their own
faith, as a mother who would neglect her own son in favor of other kids, only
to appear impartial. It is therefore less intriguing to note that the most
vociferous in her protest was a Hindu president of the PTA! Mortified by this
request, her immediate reaction was to recommend avenues, other than the
school, through which the parents might share their information. Her
embarrassment presumably arose from her concern that she must not be perceived
as promoting anything Indian even if it should benefit the students. In keeping
with the general perception that Indians in the school environment, are
'workers rather than leaders', (as mentioned to me by a
What causes such intimidation amongst the Indians ? Surely American society is open and willing to
broaden its understanding of all cultures. Most communities have taken steps to
create that awareness and respect for their own culture. Stanford and Berkeley
Universities have departments that conduct seminars for middle school and high
school teachers on China and Japan. The Muslims have an organized network of
speakers who ensure that consistent and comprehensive information is presented
to all students and history teachers. But India, along with Hinduism falls
through the cracks. On to high school and the principal makes the following
excuse for his delinquent teacher, 'The kid just doesn't know enough about
India, so he drops it'. Who cares anyway? The Indians are not complaining. All
due to apathy and a community with alarmingly depressing self esteem. It is
finally our children who pay the price of their parents' quest to assimilate in
American society. The schools will take no responsibility. It is only when
Indians overcome their inhibitions and hold their heads high (Rabindranath Tagore's words
reverberate in vain, "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held
high...Into that heaven of freedom, Father mine, let my country awake"),
that future Indian Americans will proudly call themselves ABCDs-
American Born Confident Desis and finally, they will
be on the same page as their peers.