The sense of pride, which Americans have for things American, and more importantly, for the icons of their country, is amazing.
On a recent trip to the US, I saw the framed posters of famous comic characters Popeye, Archie and Superman besides Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, The Rolling Stones, Beatles, and the Statue of Liberty on the walls of several cafes.
I have never seen pics Indian icons – like Mohd. Rafi or Tansen, Sant Kabir or Tukaram, Chhatrapati Shivaji or Babasaheb Ambedkar, Madhubala, Tagore, Satyajit Ray or for that matter Raj Kapoor in the poster of Aawara – on the walls of restaurants and cafes.
Maybe, because we don’t have any reason to be proud of our icons with their notorious feet of clay?
The national anthem is played in cinema houses only because it is mandatory, and you can see some people standing outside, waiting for it to be over, to avoid rising from their seats.
Even the legend – Mera Desh Mahaan – found behind the trucks is there because it is mandatory, and often comes with a prefix: Sau mein nabbey beimaan phir bhi...
Is it partly because India has been ruled by outsiders – and Indians didn’t feel disloyal cheating on the rulers? Evasion of taxes or shirking work was considered alright, even a silent dissent. Why else was the civil disobedience movement of Gandhiji so successful?
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