Satya Nadella and the INDIAN(?) Question

So, Satya Nadella is the new CEO of Microsoft! Congratulations to him. Frankly speaking I did not know anything about this man till a week back, but now, thanks to the multitude of blogs, articles and debates on the man in the last two days, I now know him a lot better. 

While I wholeheartedly appreciate his achievements I believe strongly that patronizing him and celebrating him as an Indian is not fair at all. It is like celebrating Kevin Peterson as a South African! KP was born in South Arica, but went off to England for livelihood and progress. He played for the England cricket team and achieved what no other Englishman has. His records speak for themselves. He is their best batsman ever in terms of the runs he has scored. One could even step ahead and say he is the best cricketer England has had in a long long time.

But the point is, is SA calling him their own? They congratulate him yes, but do they patronize him as their own? So then why do we proclaim Satya Nadella as our own? If KP is on the England team, then SN holds a Green Card!! Why do we Indians still call the likes of SN, Vishwanathan Anand, Sania Mirza, Kalpana Chawla and others as our own? They have stopped living in this country and moved permanently to another country citing infrastructure, growth possibilities, career and many other reasons! They are individuals who represent themselves and not this country. Yet, we hang on to them. Why so? Have we really run short of inspirational icons who live, sweat, achieve and die in this country? Why have we failed to put the people in here up on the pedestal and celebrate them more? 

                      

Have we turned so shallow that we need the glamour, attention and titles given by other countries to celebrate our own heroes? Do we not have so many Padma awardees in our own country to be inspired by? Is this what we are going to show the kids? To be a role model, and an inspiration, move away from this country and this system?

I have nothing against the names mentioned above; they are truly magnificent and inspiring. What these people have done i will never be able to. I will laud them for their achievements, will be inspired by them, but will never call them INDIANS! Because if I call them Indian, then I am letting my own country down; if you call them Indians, you are letting your country down. And also setting a bad example for others.

It’s up to us. Being educated and with the capacity to look at things in the proper light, we must understand what's what. Let’s not fall into the populist mentality ourselves. We need not stop others, but we sure can stop ourselves! 

Satya Nadella and the many achievers need to be saluted but not necessarily glorified as fellow countrymen. There are others who need that support now and there will be a lot more who will need it in future. Let's do right by them. 

Jai Hind