AM I PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN? AM I PROUD TO BE A
KERALITE?
When you are in a
foreign country for such a long time, you start to appreciate what is native.
Living away from home (kerala-God’s own country) for last four years in an
international context, makes me appreciate what is native to me because my
mother land becomes foreign to me with its language, new changes, new
development, new politics, new network, relationship and ever evolving culture.
Even though my identity, color, hair, eyes, accent, food, way of thinking all
remain the same like a Kerala village boy from a native Indian village, but I
am sure there are lot of North American cultural influence in my life and in my
way of thinking. I am sure this feeling represent over 20 million Diaspora
Indians. There is a struggle to enter into the promise land and there is a
greater struggle to remain in the promise land. Now the choice for every Indian
is a choice between the promise land and prospering land. Just like Sashi
Tharoor argues India is now perceived as a superpower not just through trade
and politics but also through its ability to share its culture with the world
through food, music, technology and Bollywood.
I know I have received a
rare opportunity to do my research studies in the United States of America
especially coming from a context where Christianity is a minority having only
24 million followers, constituting 2.3 per cent of India's total population,
(2001 Censes) as you know India having 1.27 Billion people. People who have
completed the research studies will definitely be a rare commodity in
prospering land.
Just like Narendra Modi
explains about development in comparison with China says, in this ever
expanding world, there is room for everybody, but if there is a specific
comparison to China, India has three distinct advantages over China such as
Demography, Democracy and Demand. The first is the demographic dividend. India
is a very young nation with 65% of the population below the age of 35. This
demographic dividend can not only help provide a skilled, effective work force,
but will also act as one of the world's largest consumer base.
India currently holds
around 20,000 tons of gold, according to the World Gold Council. At current
prices, that would be worth $950 billion. A small piece of this gold – around
558 tons or 2.79% – is held by the Reserve Bank of India, making it the 11th
largest official owner of gold in the world, according to data from the World
Gold Council and International Monetary Fund.[1] A recent Internet and Mobile
Association of India (IAMAI) report pegged the number of internet users in the
country at 137 million. That's a lot of people logging in to the world wide
web. But what exactly are they doing online? According to a Goldman Sachs
study, in 2013, a quarter of the Indians spending time online were hooked on
social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Employment creation is a
major challenge for India. There is a greater talent base, but unemployed, pool
of youngsters need to be creative. India need to urgently change or create a
revolution in skill development and manufacturing. Some people say that the next international
competition is going to be a jobs war. China has understood this and it is
better India understand it sooner rather than later.[2] The present Indian
leadership needs greater wisdom, vision and tenacity than the previous
generation to put India into the Global map.
The bible says; Isaiah
43:19. It is about God doing new things through you. Things that seems
impossible becomes possible, the roads in the wilderness and rivers in the
deserts. It is God who calls us by our names, forgives and saves us out of His
own loving character and commissions us to be His testimony, Because of His
love, He will discipline us that we may grow up and bring glory to Him. God's
glory is revealed to others through us. So, lift up our head with great
expectation, with God's enabling power, may we have a breakthrough in this
election and in the Indian life beyond.
Binu B. Peniel
Binu B. Peniel
2014 (C) binu.peniel@gmail.com
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