10 April 2014, 04:28 PM IST
People from Gujarat have migrated to many different regions of the world. Gandhis in South Africa and Australia, Patels in New York, Shahs in London are but common surnames. But here in the Scandinavian countries there are so few from Gujarat that a Gujarati engineer, who had recently arrived in Copenhagen, invited me straight to dinner, so as to keep our conversation in Gujarati going. Once abroad, you realize how valuable your mother tongue is. Just a week ago, I spontaneously helped a group of professional IT experts find the path to the beach. When I asked, "Should I speak English or Hindi?", one of them promptly replied, "Please Hindi. We are homesick and miss hearing Hindi. So if you don't mind, please do speak Hindi with us."
In the last 20 years, people coming from all parts of India have shown a growing prowess, and have spoken Hindi fluently. This is mind-boggling to me, because many of them sometimes come from the South or East of India, where Hindi may not be very prevalent. This impresses me. "We learn Hindi from films," they say to me.
Recently, if you happen to talk to anyone here on a brief or permanent mission or job, with or without a European passport, guess what starts a hot conversation in one of the coldest capitals of the world? Yes, rightly guessed. Narendra Modi. The talk of the town now is that MJ Akbar, a very respected, distinguished and gifted writer, has joined the Modi team.
The NRIs, the second generation of Indians born in the USA, studying in Denmark, the IT professionals, Indians who migrated here in the 70s and 80s, the ordinary workers, now unanimously support a change in the political leadership in India. Most of them say that a time for change has come. I get the impression that an overwhelming majority want Narendra Modi to win. Supporters of Arvind Kejriwal are still enthusiastic but disappointed at his comments blasting the media. Congress supporters are few and far between and they are hoping for a miracle to happen. Many Indians tell me that they cannot cast their vote, as they are stationed here, but hope their countrymen will go in high numbers to celebrate the dance of democracy. In my column in the the Danish newspaper Politiken, I have written that I am neutral. I want the best candidate to become the next prime minister.
But this euphoria and enthusiasm of expatriates thousands of kilometres away from India needs to be understood. Why Indians abroad are taking a deep interest in Indian politics and are no longer apathetic can be a subject of anthropological fieldwork. Many of them tell me straight and simple that if India took the right path, if there was no corruption, and if they felt appreciated, then they would like to go back and help India become a strong country. Congress has had its chance, many have told me. Now a boy who worked as a chaiwalla deserves a chance.
One Indian, who is in fact a Danish citizen, said that Modi and MJ Akbar were a great match. I interrupted our conversation and inquired, what about the Ranganath Mishra commission's report, which says that Muslims in India still live in dismal conditions and have poor housing facilities.
He answered me that this is even one more reason for this new couple to take the center-stage. Modi and MJ Akbar. We have to create wealth and development before we can share it. In Denmark they have wealth, therefore they can share it. He vanished into the dark, cold evening, leaving me perplexed.
It is obvious now that Pundit Srikant Mishra from a temple in Varanasi convinced Narendra Modi that he should contest a seat from the holy city of Hindus, and it is Ranganath Mishra who has already indirectly told Modi, who once was a chaiwalla, what needs to be done to improve the lots of such boys who belong to minorities.
I feel a compelling desire to share this valuable experience with you all. Among the Muslims of Scandinavia, who happen to be Pakistanis, Afghanis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Arabs, Bangladeshis, Iranians or simply converted Muslims who are Danes, there is one thing they have always tried to convey to me. If time permits, even if it comes as a total distortion of the conversation, at some point there is a sudden interruption – "We love your Bollywood films", they say. Muslims in Europe, especially after 9/11 2001, feel that they are under constant suspicion. There is a strong feeling of marginalization far greater than is the case in India. Muslims in Scandinavia give me the impression that it is better to be a Muslim in India than in Europe.
One final note. And food for thought to all of you before election enters its final phase. One Arab man serving a falafel sandwich asked me recently, what country in Europe has had as many Muslim actors as you have in Bollywood? "What we have in Europe is segregation of Muslims, what you have in India is integration." And while serving the falafel, he insisted, "You pay 20 kroners and not 30 as the others do".
While I walked away with the falafel and took my first bite, having saved 50 rupees, the thought that struck my mind was this: 'Will I get the falafel at half the price if Modi and MJ Akbar form a well-functioning team and end up as the new stalwarts of the coming decade?'
By the way, it was not the first time I got a discount for having told that I am born in India.
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