where is the love?

We usually think of America as the ultimate "melting pot" of the world. While that does stand true, we must realize that India is in itself a melting pot of sorts. For many people from South Asian families, I think it's hard to forget just how different South Asians are from each other. India is made up of 28 states, 7 union territories, over 15 official languages with hundreds of dialects, and over 5 major religions. With the enormous population spread out over the limited boundaries of the Indian subcontinent, it somehow became natural for our people to create their own identities in their respective regions. For example, in many South Asian communities in America, there are sub associations for each regions - Pakistani, Indian, Gujarati, Malayali, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, etc.

While I love the diverse nature of South Asia, I must ask - where is the love? Diversity brought about pride, and pride led to competition, which left no room for an open mind to form healthy relationships. No matter what part of India our parents are from, they hold onto the culture, traditions, and religion that they know, like there is no tomorrow. They become enthralled in the only thing that differentiates them from other people in this land called America. It's fine to be proud to be Indian as a whole, but what bothers me is when there is discrimination amongst Indians and Indian Americans themselves. There seems to be a common theme throughout India - everyone thinks they are better than everyone else, simply said. There is a conflict around every corner - Hindu vs. Muslim, Muslim vs. Christian, North Indian vs. South Indian, Indian vs. Pakistan, Gujarti vs. Punjabi, Telugu vs. Tamil vs. Malu, and the list goes on. This does not only apply to the Indian subcontinent, but it also extends to the Indians that live all around the world - Fiji Islands, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Sri Lanka, and others. Do they do this to themselves because the hierarchy of the caste system is so ingrained in them? Is there a superiority complex ever going to fade out? I hope so.

After living in this country for so long, I think it is reasonable to expect the older generation Indians to accept other Indian Americans from all over the world as their own. We all share the common values and traditions that originate in India. Yes, we can relate to people from our specific region of the world, and we find comfort in that. But shouldn't common decency trump an inferiority of people from other regions? Somehow South Asians have forgotten that despite culture, traditions, and religion, there are other aspects to a person that make their character. It has become natural to trust your people, even if they might be bad people, and distrust everyone else, even if they might be good people. South Asians need to get past looking at superficial characteristics, and get to the know the person behind them before establishing an opinion based off of preconceived notions. If we all thought this way, we wouldn't have to ask each other, where is the love?