So Obama won the elections and every ethnic group and African American in the US sees it as a victory of the little people, the ones oppressed for generations. Everywhere, on TV news channels, newspapers and on the streets, there are images of people rejoicing and proclaiming a new dawn for the nation. Rev. Jesse Jackson in tears, Oprah’s smile, homage being paid to every black from the first slave shipped across to the Americas to the African American children of tomorrow.

Strangely enough, I hear that people in India joined in the celebrations, hailing Obama’s election as the President as a sign of changing times. And yet, India is the country which has seen a woman as its Prime Minister and now President, a Muslim President, a Catholic and Italian citizen as the leader of the masses and a Sikh as its current Prime Minister. This is the land where a Dalit wrote the constitution. So where is that fierce pride in the nation?

Has India become a country where pride in one’s origins borders on fanatical, exclusionistic militancy? Today we are the land where the ULFA want only Assamese in Assam and Raj Thackeray incites hate crimes against Marathis in Maharashtra. We are the nation that has seen Godhra and serial blasts are Saturday evening entertainment.

And all we do is sit in our most comfortable sofas and “discuss” the appalling state of the nation. We send each other mails about what a great country India is but are too scared to stand up in public and air our views. We don’t want to start a “controversy” you see. Let’s all just get along peacefully, the people being tortured and killed aren’t people we know. Some church in Orissa being burnt down doesn’t touch our lives in anyway.

If I sound angry and disillusioned, it is only because I am. I am disappointed that people think it is too dangerous to bring those who ruthlessly beat a dog to death in front of my eyes to justice. Imagine how much more dangerous it would be to bring people who kill human beings to justice. Won’t those same fanatics target my family if I say anything against them? So, why rock the boat? My home is untouched.

But India is my home. The world is my home. It isn’t as though I can go anywhere else if things don’t work out on this planet. If I don’t lift a finger to set my house in order, how can I expect anyone else to do anything? So today when I cheer for Obama and the Black Man’s victory in a nation far far away, I will also stand up and speak for truth, justice and liberty in my own home – India.