Reality bites: I don’t want to be a part of India when...

‘Succession’ is the word that is on everybody’s lips, thanks to Arundhati Roy’s recent comments on Jammu & Kashmir. People who had never heard of this are googling it or looking it up in the dictionary. We asked Mumbaikars of the few instances when they were forced to swallow their patriotism like a bitter pill and wished they could flee the country.

An engineer, Gautam Kumar, who prefers to work in the US because of the work culture, says, “I don’t like the red-tapism and bureaucracy in India. I did not move out to earn more. I moved because I was tired of our work culture and attitude.”

Chandrakant Bhide, a senior citizen and an artist, has a few grievances with the population explosion in Mumbai. He says, “We are not politicians to say anything, but a lot of people have immigrated here and this has added to our problems. The city is over-crowded and there are traffic jams all the time. It is very difficult for us senior citizens to commute. The rains keep causing delays and sometimes the platform on which the train is arriving is changed at the last minute. Mumbai used to be different. Now it is bursting at its seams.”

Tamana Jaisinghani, a creative writer, who is frustrated with unruly taxi-drivers and strikes, says, “I don’t feel like I am a part of India when every other day taxis go on strike, and when they are not on strike, taxi-drivers will reject me like I had cooties.”

Then there are others like Rajorshi Sanyal, a media professional, who is proud of being Indian, but agrees that a few things are amiss. He says, “This is not the patriotism in me talking, but I have to take a practical stance. Corruption is a cause for concern, but every country has problems. We have to find ways to work with in the system, be a part of the solution, stop cribbing and do anything to help. We have to ask the right questions, and we should try to bring about a change in our country.”

Sushil Apte, who has studied in the US and is very proud of being Indian and is pursuing a master’s degree in health administration, says, “Corruption is rampant all over the country. We have a system in place that allows people to go through the cracks. This is because of the legal system which takes forever to punish the culprits. People who were responsible for the communal riots, people who slaughtered other human beings are still walking free. I am ashamed of being from a country where justice is denied. The government is lax when it comes to population control. The population explosion is the cause for many of our problems. The government is refusing to take tough decisions when it comes to this. A few states in the country have a very high population and nothing is being done about this.”

Upasana Sharma, who is pursuing a master’s in electronic media, says, “Living in Mumbai is getting difficult by the day. Getting around town is tedious with crowded trains and auto-rickshaw and taxi-drivers who refuse to take you to your destination. I also have been ogled at, and was a victim of eve-teasing. We have had the bomb blasts, and after that, people go on with life. They are so easily forgotten and people behave as if the explosions were of firecrackers. So, if given a choice, I will settle abroad without thinking twice.”