From: rangok@wpi.WPI.EDU (Rangaswamy Keshavan)
Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.asian-indian
Subject: ayodhya
Date: 27 Dec 1992 14:38:07 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

Hi.  I'm new here.  Hope to add some of my life (so far) experiences to this.  
For now, I'ld like to talk about the relevance of the Ayodhya debacle to us
Indians who grew up in the USA.  Yes, it is true, we are Americans first.  I
definately am, no doubt, as I have lived here since 1964 when I was a 5 year
old.  But, we can't forget our heritage and culture.  That is what makes the
USA what it is, each ethnic group brings into the country some part of their
culture and that becomes a part of the whole which is the USA.  This country
is unique in that way, and to make it work is the challenge of the future.  We
as Americans cannot forget our culture as Indians, and India for that matter.
India is a country with a rich and fabulous past.  It has many things to teach
the world.  It also has a lot of problems.  These days, those problems do not
stop at the borders of India.  The world is not broken up into isolated pockets
anymore.  The whole world is open to all of humanity, it belongs to all of us,
and everything that goes on in it is relevant to all of us.  We as Indians 
cannot ignore the problems of our homeland by sitting quiet and not speaking up.
We have the advantage of viewing things going on there from a different 
perspective as we did not grow up amongst that culture and don't know the fears
and hatreds which folks from there do know.  So, we can add our voice of reason
to try and quell those fears and hatreds and try to convince India to come to
terms with their problems in a reasonable fashion and get on with being a 
country and solving the real problems that face her today, and not problems that
faced her 100s of years ago.  This of course is true for all over the world, but
we as Indian Americans have an obligation to put our voice into the discussion
of this problem and put forth our opinions on solutions to the problems.  This
is very important.  Especially as Americans, we can add the example of this very
country and it's ability to "melt" many different cultures into a working whole.
That is indeed what India is also, as each region of India differs greatly and
that is what is the root of their problems now.  Of course, that is not to say
that this country does not have it's problems, but most people who live here
consider themselves Americans first, and then their nationality (except folks
from California, but they are a wacky breed amongst themselves, and besides, 
they are all going to fall into the ocean soon so we can humour them, can't we?)
In India it is completely different.  If you go from one section to another, you
can't even understand their language, and you are definately looked upon as an
outsider.  People don't consider themselves Indians first.  That is the problem
there.  That is what the USA can teach to them, as well as to the rest of the
world.  And there is much that other parts of the world can teach to us here,
very much including India and Hinduism in it's true pure form devoid of hatred
and bigotry.  That is why the Ayodhya debacle is very important to us, even 
though we are Americans, we are also Indians, and citizens of the world.

"PICTURE A BRIGHT BLUE BALL JUST SPINNING SPINNING FREE
 DIZZY WITH ETERNITY
 A PEACEFUL PLACE OR SO IT LOOKS FROM SPACE
 A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS THE HUMAN RACE
 FULL OF HOPE  FULL OF GRACE
 IS THE HUMAN FACE
 BUT AFRAID  THAT WE MIGHT LOSE THIS PLACE ...

 SO THE KIDS THEY DANCE THEY SHAKE THEIR BONES
 WHILE THE POLITICIANS   THROWING STONES
 SINGING ASHES ASHES ALL FALL DOWN
 ASHES ASHES ALL FALL DOWN ...

 PICTURE A BRIGHT BLUE BALL JUST SPINNING SPINNING FREE
 DIZZY WITH THE POSSIBILITIES
 ASHES ASHES ALL FALL DOWN
 ASHES ASHES ALL FALL DOWN
 ASHES ASHES ALL FALL DOWN"
	John Barlow, Bob Weir, and the Grateful Dead

Newsgroups: alt.culture.us.asian-indian