A misplaced sense of outrage

Instead of being angry at others, Indians need to start respecting themselves

Alok Tiwari

Last week when a plane load of Indians who had entered US illegally were sent home, Indians were outraged. Mainstream and social media were full of how they were treated. How their hands and feet were cuffed and how they had to endure a 30-hour flight only on scant nourishment. Many took the opportunity to put Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the mat over his alleged failure to ensure the Indians were treated with dignity. They questioned the value of his friendship with President Donald Trump and his vaunted status as a global statesman. His supporters, instinctively, jumped to his defence saying the illegal entrants got just what they deserved. Weren’t they being unpatriotic in deciding to leave India? And they had no business sneaking into another country illegally.

I think the outrage as well as defence in this case were misplaced. It would have been a matter of shame for India even if US had provided each of the deported Indian a 5-star resort stay and business class tickets. And it would be just as shameful if President Trump had done so solely because of his friendship with PM Modi. Instead of outraging over how our compatriots being deported are treated by any country, we should be angry about why so many of them need to leave India in the first place.

There are two types of countries in the world. The ones whose embassies around the world are thronged by people trying to get in. The other whose passport offices are crowded by its own citizens trying to get out. For a long time, India has belonged to the latter category. We need to ask why. It would have been okay if the numbers were minuscule. But they are in tens of thousands every year. And they are increasing. There has been a spurt in Indians leaving or trying to leave India in recent years.

It is never an easy decision for anyone to uproot themselves from a place they have been living for generations and seek a new life elsewhere. It is tough even when the place you intend to go to is welcoming. How difficult it must be when that place and its government is downright hostile? Now imagine the difficulty when you try to enter the place illegally. How desperate must be situation of persons who spend vast sums of money and submit themselves to unscrupulous agents, dangerous human traffickers, are risk harsh climate and border patrols who can shoot to kill? And how intense must be the lure of the place where they wish to be?

What is it about those places that makes people accept such odds and dangers? The answer is simple. A settled law-abiding society, economic opportunities, freedom to do what you wish, a clean environment, and services that work. We should be angry that so many years after we have been a modern nation, why even a semblance of these does not exist here. One can understand mass migration from places hit by turmoil like Sudan or Gaza. But it is difficult to explain it from a place that has seen relative calm and is also a democracy to boot. Theoretically, here one is free to speak one’s mind and pursue one’s dream. So what gives? Apparently, the lived experience of a vast majority of Indians is different from the perceived reality of many of us and our leaders.

We may be among the biggest economies and regularly holding elections but neither of that has resulted in decent life for an average Indian. The economic opportunities and benefits remain confined to a few. Many of our cities and villages are simply unliveable and are getting worse. When Indians go abroad, they are amazed by the simple joy of being able to walk on a footpath, a privilege most of us are denied even in biggest of our cities. Let us not even begin to talk about the pervading corruption, ramshackle civic services, unpredictable law and order, and potential of any normal day turning into chaos over stupid disputes.

Why are we not angry about these? And forget for a moment those at the bottom of the ladder who seek a better life. Even the better off amongst us do not seem to be concerned about dismal quality of life here. Along with thousands who try to enter US or UK or Canada illegally, there are other thousands who do so legally. Just watch the number of students seeking higher education abroad. Most of them never return. Instead of being mad at circumstances that force them to do so, parents of such kids tend to take pride in their achievement. Many of them are same parents who seem to think that India is well on its way to become, if it already isn’t, a vishwaguru.

They do not ask why are our universities not as good as those in other countries? Why are our companies not creating jobs that pay so well? Why are our localities not so clean? Why is our transportation so inefficient? Why isn’t there a line of poor Americans seeking Indian visas or hordes of British citizens trying to sneak in? Instead, they are allowing themselves to be swayed by irrelevant narratives. Taking pride in what this land used to be thousands of years ago has become more important than what exists today. They get enraged by real or imagined insults of their icons in history than constant insult of their low-quality existence. Saving cow has become more important for country’s youths than saving their jobs.

The pseudo-outrage at treatment of deported Indians is symbolic of what we have become. Maybe our delusions of grandeur are our escape, a way to make our sad reality tolerable. If we demand this reality get better, world will respect us automatically.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Feb 12, 2025