It seems these days that to love one’s country, one must first possess a booming voice, an aggressively pointed index finger, and a complete, glorious detachment from basic reason.
I had the distinct misfortune of testing this grand theory recently while sitting at a restaurant in Kolkata. Engaged in a quiet conversation with a friend, our discussion naturally drifted toward the current political landscape. I confessed something to my friend—a admission spoken not with pride, but with a heavy, aching heart: when I am abroad and strangers ask where I am originally from, I sometimes say I am from Bangladesh. I say it simply to spare myself the crushing embarrassment of having to explain the circus our public discourse has become. Denying one’s own birthplace is not a badge of honor; it is a agonizing, deeply painful act borne of quiet heartbreak.
Enter the Vigilante of National Honor from the neighboring table.
Having overhead my confession, this self-appointed custodian of Indian identity sprang to his feet, thrust his finger inches from my nose, and barked a theatrical ultimatum: I must never step foot in India again, nor dare "waste" the nation's food. Ah, yes! Because nothing says profound love for the motherland quite like screaming at a stranger over a plate of food.
In his blind, unbridled rush to play the heroic gatekeeper, it never once crossed his mind—assuming the mechanism was operational—that denying one's heritage is an act of deep sorrow, not spite. I quietly reminded him that he does not, in fact, hold the deed to the Republic of India. I reminded him that my father and his two brothers gave their youth to the Indian Armed Forces, proudly standing on the front lines during the 1962 Chinese aggression and the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. My family’s blood and sacrifice are woven into the very soil he so loudly claims to protect.
But the true punchline came later. I discovered that this passionate crusader was not an unlettered fanatic swept up in mob mentality. No, he is a professor at a private university.
What a glowing testament to our modern higher education system! It is truly heartening to know that advanced degrees and academic titles can coexist so harmoniously with complete logic deficiency. It appears years of higher learning failed to teach him even the most rudimentary lesson: that loud loyalty is no substitute for sense, and a university badge cannot cure a closed mind.
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