The Common Wealth Games have finished and so I let out a sigh of relief saying to myself, "all's well that ends well". I feel proud that India scored 2nd just after Australia as far as gold medals are concerned. India did well in spite of all the uproar and allegations of corruption. I feel proud as an Indian and happy for Canada as it secured its position by gaining 4th place.
Since then I have been questioning myself - why do I get so happy or sad when it comes to Indian victory or failure? I am a Canadian citizen, and yet my loyalty is more towards my country of birth than the country of my citizenship. My heart pains when media here talks badly about India. I become defensive and start behaving like a brand ambassador of India although I am not officially appointed. My heart rejoices when India is praised, or handles any crisis intelligently and practically. I feel proud when our cricket team does well or our girls become Miss Universe or Miss World. I feel happy when an Indian living outside gets a Nobel prize. It gives me an identity. Even if we are holders of a Canadian passport we will be first known as a national of India and its image, its progress , and its good and bad will get associated with our image. We will be treated accordingly in our work place...e.g. Indian getting opportunities in the Silicon Valley based upon their performance in their own country first.
I feel we Indians, living outside, should try our best to always keep the flag of India high and contribute our best to the society we live in. We all are, as individuals, carrying the responsibility of being an ambassador of our country, so we should represent ourselves in the best possible manner. We should not think of India only as a shopping centre (because of the low cost) but also a place where the philosophy of love, compassion, understanding and mysticism originated. The world looks towards it for higher meaning and higher salvation. Wherever I may be, I will never forget that I am an Indian first. Jai Hind.
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