The title of this blog “In Search of India” is an allusion to “Discovery of India” by Jawaharlal Nehru (1st Prime Minister of India). He found it but I’m still searching. This is Part 1 of 4.

India is a land where one is born with identities. For starters, being an Indian from India which is named after the Indus river (which is actually “Sindh” but for the Greeks who just had to make everything sound like a character in “Gladiator”). Today, Sindh is part of Pakistan (since the partition). But we are still called Indians.

Then there is the religious identity. Of course, 80% of the people here are Hindus but India is also the 2nd largest country with Muslims. Christians have been here since almost the time of Jesus Christ. And of course Buddhism started here. And so did Jainism and Sikhism. Jews and Parsis (Zoroastrians) also found a home in India. Funnily enough, apparently till the early part of 19th century everybody in this region we now called the Indian sub-continent used to be called Hindu – the people of this land; apparently it wasn’t uncommon for a Muslim in those days to be referred to as a Hindu-Muslim. Of course, the British found it convenient to divide and rule so we all have these distinct religious identities.

It’s bizarre to think that one country such as India has probably 29 official native languages – each distinct from each other with a distinctive script. A quick scan of the back of the currency reveals at least 15. So there is the linguistic identity. A person speaking Marathi proud of his Maratha identity (from Maharashtra) is as different from the proud Bengali (from West Bengal) with their Rabindra Sangeet. A Tamilian (from Tamil Nadu) proud of his rich Dravidian heritage is as different as a Kashmiri from Jammu Kashmir. And they will not be able to understand each other if they didn’t speak in either English or Hindi (provided they know Hindi). Outside India, we may be Indians but when we are here we are Tamilians, Kashmiris, Telugu, Tamilians, Malayalees, Punjabi – the list of identities go on.

Most of the Indians (Hindus especially) are born with a caste identity – Brahmin (the priest), Kshatriya (the warrior), Vaishnava (the merchant) and Shudra (the manual laborer). The evils of discrimination faced by the lowest caste within the system may have gone away, but the caste identity still manifests itself in many ways – most prominently in the marriages which are still done within castes (mobility between castes for marriages are mostly frowned upon). And the role of the Brahmin as the priest still remains a birthright (should they choose to take that job up) although the state of Kerala has recently allowed anybody who has learnt the Vedic scriptures to be a Brahmin. And royalty (Kshatriyas) is still a birthright although many of the modern day Kings and Princes are so only for the namesake; the government appropriated many of their land and property after independence. And yes, the caste system is not restricted to Hinduism. This system managed to sneak into other religions in India as well. Such are the ways in India – whether we like it or not.

So to conclude, what does it mean to be an Indian? All of this. And some more. Like Shashi Tharoor said memorably in one of his speeches, “If America is a melting-pot, then to me India is a thali, a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast”

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