Accepting Differences
Aruna Roy once said “You can never evaluate anything standing from the outside, you have to evaluate yourself first.” This quote tells us a lot about how we are very superficial about matters of importance going on all around India. Matters that really concern us as a citizen but no one really seems to take action upon. Everyone seems to assume their own perceptions about matters concerning gender, castes and ethnicity. These matters are talked upon and are spoken about in a lot of places but no one has really tried to understand what they mean. Humans at every stage of their life are compared with each other and are judged from different point of views. Men are told to be manly and told to not cry like a woman. Women are told to cover up and act in a certain manner.
Why do we differentiate between man and woman and why don’t we treat them equally? Why men are told to be stronger than woman? Why woman are told to take the blame upon themselves? These are the questions that ponder me sometimes as I look in the newspaper or on a news channel. I’m pretty sure a lot of you would have the same thoughts as well. No matter how much we develop and how much of progress we achieve, if what is there on the inside can’t be changed then we have not moved a step ahead at all. Gender biases can be overcome by making people aware of their own biases and try to recognize how these views are affecting their lives. By breaking the gender stereotypes that is to allow all members of society the freedom to choose the roles most suited to them. By analysis to find gender balance. The only way we will create meaningful change is to create systems designed to eliminate bias.
Another important topic of discussion is caste biases. India is a secular country. It is known to have vivid cultures and beautiful traditions. But there are a lot of people who still believe in the age old caste system and treat people the way they want. They believe the hierarchical system of grouping of individuals, the Hindus are divide into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. Brahmins are the priests or teachers, Kshatriyas are warriors and rulers, Vaishyas are framers, traders and merchants and lastly Shudras are laborers and are untouchables. This system was followed long before we knew anything about the world. The Brahmins were superiors and the Shudras were outcasts.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948). But 260 million worldwide continue to suffer from caste discrimination. In India the body of legislation meant to protect Dalit’s and improve their situation is extensive. But political will to ensure implementation is lacking and discrimination from village level up to government level continues unabated. Caste discrimination and the human rights violations that inevitably follow can only be avoided if decision makers at all levels decide to take action. Dr. Ambedkar, “Turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path. You cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you kill this monster.” We all can be free from this monster if we stop looking at people according to their castes and treat them equally as human beings. Our nation would be merrier if we ignored the differences and understood humanity.
Ethnicity is a group of people who identify with each other, usually on the basis of presumed similarities such as a common language, ancestry, history, society, culture and nation. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups. As a kid in school we have always been taught that there is “Unity in diversity." We all have different religions, believes and we live in different states of the country India, but all of us are together Indians as a whole. We celebrate Independence Day every year on the 15th of August and feel proud to be an Indian. But there are sometimes we start fighting on the basis of religions and cultures. The most recent one has been the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. For about 300 years Hindus and Muslims have been fighting over the authority of the piece of land in Ayodhya. Very recently the construction of the temple has been finalized.
We as citizens of India can take a step forward to put aside our differences and look at each other with equal value, only then can we achieve to be the greatest. Though Britishers are long gone but the prejudices that prevail inside of us are making us fall far behind the time.
~Hrishita Nayak