Along with the objective of being a way to finish saying what I want to (since all my friends shut me up half way through my conversation), today I am going to use this page to talk about something that has shown its ugly face a million times the last few days...Misconstrued ideas about Indians!
Yes we have arranged marriages...and it’s NOT STRANGE! As I see it, it’s prevalent all over the world including the "very progressive" USA. C’mon, how is it ok to go on a blind date set up by your friends but the moment your parents set it up...it’s an "arranged marriage"! India is changing and the boy and girl involved in the meeting have the right to speak their mind and decide if they want to marry the other person. And contrary to popular belief, there is generally more than one meeting involved!
Of course, here I am also going to be quick at pointing out that India is a country of extremities and has all classes of people living within this huge mass of land. And this is where cultural differences set in. And not to forget, there are also generational differences. So in bigger cities, the approach towards arranged marriages is different from how it is in smaller towns and villages. Literacy levels in the family matters to a great extent and so we have to take that into account. In some cases caste and religion comes into the picture. But that’s another story. Now I am not going to get into the dynamics of how they differ. The main point is: Families care about their children and want them to lead a happy life (and not a lonely life). Therefore, if one has not found a partner, they intervene to help find one.
Now the reason I bring this up is cause the other day I met someone who said that Indians were not open minded and based his entire opinion on three things: Arranged Marriages, Sikhism and its practices and the depiction of our Gods. (He definitely crossed the line on the last one).
Now when we talk about being open minded and when we start comparing our country to other countries in the world, we have to take culture into account (Like we do in any business organization as well). So we respect all the cultures and religions prevalent in the country. We respect the class divide and understand that there is a difference. We respect that Indians are going global and therefore, there are bound to be some changes in the lives of our loved ones. We are coming to terms with it. And by “we”, I am including people from all walks to life. Now that is being OPEN-MINDED!
We have a number of ways we depict God. Each has its own significance. We may not pray to a particular deity but we definitely don’t disrespect it. And we DONT make fun of any God. Cause it’s about people and their faith. Who are we to question it? Now that is being OPEN-MINDED!
Like every other religion prevalent in the country, Sikhism is one of them. They have certain beliefs and practices. Sikhism believes in leading a disciplined life. The long hair, the kadha and everything else in their culture is inline with their beliefs. So before, you make fun of any culture, read about it!
So now I come to the main point, interpretation of the word "Open Minded". Open Mindedness is not about live in relationships or even free love. Open mindedness is not demeaning cultural differences just because you cant handle it. Open mindedness is not passing judgement like Indians are loud be nature. Open Mindedness is not blaming inflating food prices on Indians “improved dietary needs” (Let’s get back to economics Mr. President!).
Open mindedness is about people and opinions. Open Mindedness is about accepting we all have our own understanding of right and wrong. Open Mindedness is accepting the person with his or her flaws. Open Mindedness is about moving away from the superficial things and accepting people for who they are. Open Mindedness is about questioning age-old beliefs and changing them if required. And India is very successfully doing that (Remember that Third Sex is official in Tamil Nadu in India).
So if the message hasn’t reached you, it’s because u have been so happily sitting in your ignorant cocoon not caring about the world. So let’s talk…who is regressive now?
Yes we have arranged marriages...and it’s NOT STRANGE! As I see it, it’s prevalent all over the world including the "very progressive" USA. C’mon, how is it ok to go on a blind date set up by your friends but the moment your parents set it up...it’s an "arranged marriage"! India is changing and the boy and girl involved in the meeting have the right to speak their mind and decide if they want to marry the other person. And contrary to popular belief, there is generally more than one meeting involved!
Of course, here I am also going to be quick at pointing out that India is a country of extremities and has all classes of people living within this huge mass of land. And this is where cultural differences set in. And not to forget, there are also generational differences. So in bigger cities, the approach towards arranged marriages is different from how it is in smaller towns and villages. Literacy levels in the family matters to a great extent and so we have to take that into account. In some cases caste and religion comes into the picture. But that’s another story. Now I am not going to get into the dynamics of how they differ. The main point is: Families care about their children and want them to lead a happy life (and not a lonely life). Therefore, if one has not found a partner, they intervene to help find one.
Now the reason I bring this up is cause the other day I met someone who said that Indians were not open minded and based his entire opinion on three things: Arranged Marriages, Sikhism and its practices and the depiction of our Gods. (He definitely crossed the line on the last one).
Now when we talk about being open minded and when we start comparing our country to other countries in the world, we have to take culture into account (Like we do in any business organization as well). So we respect all the cultures and religions prevalent in the country. We respect the class divide and understand that there is a difference. We respect that Indians are going global and therefore, there are bound to be some changes in the lives of our loved ones. We are coming to terms with it. And by “we”, I am including people from all walks to life. Now that is being OPEN-MINDED!
We have a number of ways we depict God. Each has its own significance. We may not pray to a particular deity but we definitely don’t disrespect it. And we DONT make fun of any God. Cause it’s about people and their faith. Who are we to question it? Now that is being OPEN-MINDED!
Like every other religion prevalent in the country, Sikhism is one of them. They have certain beliefs and practices. Sikhism believes in leading a disciplined life. The long hair, the kadha and everything else in their culture is inline with their beliefs. So before, you make fun of any culture, read about it!
So now I come to the main point, interpretation of the word "Open Minded". Open Mindedness is not about live in relationships or even free love. Open mindedness is not demeaning cultural differences just because you cant handle it. Open mindedness is not passing judgement like Indians are loud be nature. Open Mindedness is not blaming inflating food prices on Indians “improved dietary needs” (Let’s get back to economics Mr. President!).
Open mindedness is about people and opinions. Open Mindedness is about accepting we all have our own understanding of right and wrong. Open Mindedness is accepting the person with his or her flaws. Open Mindedness is about moving away from the superficial things and accepting people for who they are. Open Mindedness is about questioning age-old beliefs and changing them if required. And India is very successfully doing that (Remember that Third Sex is official in Tamil Nadu in India).
So if the message hasn’t reached you, it’s because u have been so happily sitting in your ignorant cocoon not caring about the world. So let’s talk…who is regressive now?
