THE FAKE INDIAN PATRIOTISM

With the revelation of Ms. Madhuri Gupta's infidelity to what is popularly believed to be 'India's National Interest', the need to reflect and retrospect on several related issues becomes all the more pronounced.

 

First - What exactly do we expect from the term 'patriotism'?

 

The dictionary meaning of the word is 'love for one's own country'. Since ages, Indians have associated the word – rather the feeling with 'having the courage to die for the nation'. That's what makes Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mangal Pandey, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the modern day Indian Armed Forces personnel and jawans and many others – greater patriots than Dadabhai Naoroji, S.P.Mukherjee, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, Nani Palkhivala, Sam Pitroda or Dr. Varghese Kurien – in the collective psyche of a great part of the Indian populace. Today, of course, many other forms of 'Patriotism' are honoured by many – that makes us proud of people like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Mira Nair, AR Rahman, the IITs and the IIMs, Sachin Tendulkar and many others.

Regarding our i.e. Indians' rather India's expectations from the word – it's something which helps India maintain or scale up her pride before other nations. More often than not it means an extravagant show of merit – in technology, medicine, sports, music, cinema, politics, military or just any other field. On deeper thoughts, it also means SELFLESSLY protecting the nation's sovereignty, integrity and security from all adverse forces at work, by all Indians, as far as one's reach. (Mind the word - SELFLESSLY)

 

Second – Why do we expect SELFLESS service to the nation?

A little reflection will make it clear that what we call 'selfless' is not actually selfless.

A child, who is born and has grown up on Indian soil, has access to Indian citizenship – which is an important part of individual identity – as a birthright. S/he has fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, on infringement of which, s/he has the right to move the Court of Law. The Indian State is duty bound to provide to each such individual the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter and now education (at least on paper). To a large part of the Indian population civic amenities like healthcare, sanitation, electricity etc are also state sponsored.

It's in return to all these and more, that we expect an individual to be respectful of India's sovereignty, integrity and security. We don't expect selfless service to India from an Afghan, an American, a French, a Japanese or an Australian national – simply because they don't owe any of the above mentioned benefits to India.

So...it's from those Indians who have enjoyed some or any of the benefits from the Indian State that we expect adherence to few principles – which help us maintain our decent well being.

 

Now, coming to Ms. Madhuri Gupta's revelations:

According to a few news channels, she said that she was revengeful towards senior IFS officials who claimed to be very competent – all at the cost of people like her who did(/do) all the work and get treated like dirt. She also felt that she should have got a plum posting – at Washington or London. A spinster at 54, she has a marked sense of remorselessness.

It is being said that she was cultivated by Pak IB officials to seek information, critical and sensitive to Indian security – by catering to her humane needs like providing a shoulder to cry on. In return, she would pass on crucial information, discussed informally in the Indian embassy staff and official circles to them.

 

Well...being an Indian, she should not have done it. I am as concerned about her infidelity to the Indian nation as any other Indian. I am not yet aware of the degree of the damage done, but I am worried about it – because I believe that India is vulnerable to Pak sponsored terrorism – that can cause considerable damage to our life and property.

But then....Madhuri Gupta has given the Indian nation very strong warnings!

• Exploitation at the workplace is not news in India. It has been a habit and now that is what the Indian system – bureaucracy or otherwise – stands for. If Ms. Gupta is to be believed, then it's high time that we pay attention to it. As long as individuals continue to be exploited, they will keep seeking means to escape from the situation and also continue being revengeful towards people whom they believe to be culprits of their situation. Cases like Madhuri Gupta will continue to come up! Cleanliness and transparency in bureaucracy and corporate sectors are desirable. Concrete steps need to be taken to give individuals their due and put a stop to all forms of foul play.
  

  
   

• Postings!!! God only knows what goes on there! True...in one's own assessment, s/he always deserves something better than what is got by/given to him/her; but voices of dissent would have been lesser, had the allocation process been transparent. In this particular case Ms. Gupta felt that she deserved London or Washington. The counter point would be that there were more competent candidates for those posts – priorities have been given to candidates with better career graphs. Taken! But....could she not be placed at any other location in America, Europe, East Asia or South-East Asia? Anything would have been better than Pakistan!
  

  
   

• The news of Ms. Gupta having been cultivated by Pak IB officials – if true – needs to be looked deeper. Going by Indian societal norms, women usually get married at settle down in families in the 25-35 years age group. The general idea is that the family provides physical and psychological support to all individuals who belong to it. A spinster at 54 is quite rare in the Indian society. The idea of providing her a shoulder to lean on – and her taking it, is not entirely indigestible. So, the question arises – why couldn't the Indian nation provide her with the support that she needed? Why did she have to look for a Pak shoulder – if at all she did? Why did she have to make her presence felt in the way she has done?
  

  
   

The answers to such questions need to be sought.

Gupta's attitude or her actions are certainly uncalled for. I am not attempting to justify the infidelity that she has demonstrated. But...we as Indians – as true patriots, must see to it that such cases are not repeated.

As long as individuals are not given the respect that their calibre deserves, they will continue to revolt – if not in the proverbial immoral way then by moving out of the system altogether. And...we shall have nothing better than basking in the glory of American Citizens of Indian origin who work at Harvard or MIT!

Madhuri Gupta is not a stray case of workplace exploitation. Given a chance to speak out, almost all Indians would complain of it. A lot of discussions, debates and correspondences keep on taking place in different intellectual circles, while the nation continues to lose in the process.