Let us talk about something which very few people want to talk about.  There are some who are even scared of talking about it.  For others, it is simply a taboo subject to talk about.  What can that possibly be?  It isn't illegal to talk about it.  It isn't surprising if someone does talk about it either with him or herself or a trusted friend or relative.  Yes, what can this possibly be?  The reality is that we hesitate to talk about our identity on a daily basis.  I'm not talking about your financial identity that you can open up to possible identity theft so someone can steal your credit history.  No, not that at all.  It is the identity by which you -- and only you -- know yourself.  It is the identity that others sometimes mistake for something or someone you may or may not be.  

  You see, there are so many children of immigrants in the US and perhaps other places as well who live with what is known as a hyphenated identity.  You nearly have to grow up with that class of individuals to really understand where they come from and how they think.  Only then will you fully realize their intrinsic and extrinsic selves and how they add up.  Personally, for instance, my family is from India while I was born and raised in the US.  So what? Why does this matter?  Yes, why does it matter that a person who was born in the US is condescendingly told by some unknown person driving down a street just after 9/11 to "Go home!" just on the basis of my appearance?  

Likewise, why does it matter that in India, people here have various acronyms to describe how "Indian" someone is?  The acronyms are: NRI for Non-Resident Indian; PIO for Person of Indian Origin; and even RNI for Returning Non-Indian.  NRI and PIO are ok...after all, you are still somewhat acknowledged as an "Indian".  But this is self-serving because the second you come back to India to actually live in India, you are no longer an Indian in the true sense of the word.  This suddenly means that if you achieve any kind of status in India after spending a significant amount of time (I would put this "amount of time" to at least 5-7 years) outside of India -- unless you only went abroad from India as a student, you have no right to be considered Indian.  This also means that while you are in the US, you are considered an "Indian-American" but once you return to India, you are thought of someone who shouldn't even be here.  This essentially means that you have no place in either country -- although once you return to the United States, you will likely be welcomed with open arms by your friends -- likely because there is a greater variety of cultures in the US than in India despite India's huge population explosion. 


For those who are brought up with a hyphenated identity, this presents a few issues.  For example, if you are brought up in the US (or any other host country -- i.e. if you're in UK, you would be thought of British-Indian, and so on), you are thought of as American.  But then, you are also thought to be a reflection of the culture of your parents and ancestors.  I once had a friend in high school who came up to me one day and asked me if I was in all AP classes (college-level classes) because I am Indian and happened to be wearing glasses.  Despite most presumptions in people I've interacted with and places I've been in the US, I've found that there are very few people willing to accept you for who you really are.  Then, on coming to India, I find this ridiculous nonsense of RNI.  I don't plan on moving to India, but I find that people here like to tell everyone else what to do, but don't like everyone else to tell them what to do.  


People enjoy complaining, but don't like to actually do anything about it.  Everyone will tell you to "leave it to the government."  But seriously, how much do you really expect the government to do? If you see trash on the street, then first stop putting it there to begin with.  Then make sure that some organization starts putting trash bins on the street -- or rather than trying to make sure that some organization does it -- START the organization that does it.   The government can be expected to do something like this, but it isn't an action that explicitly requires the government.  What would require government intervention is actually constructing gutters that stem flooding, especially during monsoons.  


But I digress..well, sort of. I see that people here want change.  But when someone from "outside" comes and starts to try and implement the change, citizens protest on the grounds that the implementer is an outsider and doesn't understand the locals.  That position may have some merit to it, but one can't keep making excuses either.  If you feel that an "outsider" doesn't understand you, then start a conversation with that person -- not a fight.  And what is it about us that when it comes to "outsiders" who happen to be Indian, that locals have higher standards of "Indian outsiders" than "outsiders" of other cultures?  One guy once came over to me for directions.  The address was written in Gujarati, so I asked him to read the address aloud to me.  He insisted that the address is written on the paper.  I then ended up having to tell him in Gujarati, which I can speak, that I am from the US so I can't read or write in Gujarati.  His arrogant response was that "I thought I was asking another Gujarati" and angrily walked off.  Wow.  Never mind that there are plenty of citizens who live in Gujarat itself who cannot read or write in any language despite being able to speak at least one.  So people on the "inside" want the change, but no one is willing to do it.  So people on the "outside" want the same changes as people on the "inside" but the second the people on the "outside" start even trying to implement those changes, the people on the "inside" protest and do everything they can to stop it -- and then continue the cycle of complaining and doing nothing about it.  Go figure.  Am I missing something?