BINDRA AND ANAND

IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO TAKE. IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO DIGEST. IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT. BUT THERE LIES SOME TRUTH. PEOPLE FROM NORTH WHEN THEY VISIT SOUTH, PARTICULARLY, TAMILNADU, THEY HAVE A COMPLIANT: PEOPLE THERE DO NOT SPEAK HINDI. THEY ANSWER ONLY IF WE TALK TO THEM IN ENGLISH. THIS IS TRUE. THERE IS A CLEAR NORTH/SOUTH DIVIDE.

THIS HAS BEEN SEEDED BY OUR POLITICIANS OF ALL PARTIES AND CULTIVATED OVER TIME. BUT TODAY I HAVE TO WRITE CERTAIN TRUTHS AS THEY ARE. YOU MAY BE FROM SOUTH OR NORTH, EAST OR WEST. ASK YOURSELF. TRY TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS:

AS A STUDENT IN A VILLAGE IN TAMILNADU, I HAVE STUDIED ABOUT BHAGAT SINGH, GOPALKRISHNA GOKHALE, NETHAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE, SARDAR VALLABH BHAI PATEL AND SO ON.

PEOPLE IN WEST, NORTH AND EAST: HAVE YOU STUDIED ABOUT BHARATHIAR, SUBRAMINIA SIVA, TIRUPPUR KUMARAN, V.O.CHIDAMBARANAR - THE FIRST INDIAN TO BUILD A SHIP AND SAIL IN THE SEA AGAINST THE BRITISH ORDERS AND VANCHINATHAN. IN TAMILNADU WE HAVE STREETS IN THE NAMES OF ALL THOSE NAMES I MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH. SIMILAR SOUTH INDIAN NAMES WILL YOU FIND IN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY? DID THESE NAMES APPEAR IN LESSONS ON FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN YOUR SCHOOL EDUCATION?

I AM FAIR IN COMPLEXION. THEREFORE I AM NOT BELIEVED TO BE A SOUTH INDIAN. THE SKIN COLOR OF THE SOUTH INDIANS IS A MATTER OF HUMOUR ALWAYS. THERE ARE MANY JOKES ON THIS. SOMETIMES THE FANATICISM IS AS STRONG AS THE DIVIDE BETWEEN THE WHITES AND THE BLACKS IN THE WEST. ATLEAST IN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. INCIDENTALLY I HAVE COME ACROSS MANY DARK SKINNED NORTH INDIANS.

FROM VERY EARLY DAYS A MYTH HAS BEEN CREATED THAT THE ENTIRE FREEDOM STRUGGLE WAS FOUGHT BY PEOPLE IN NORTH. AND THE PEOPLE IN SOUTH HAD NO ROLE TO PLAY.

TODAY DOES VISHWANATHAN ANAND - A GREAT ACHIEVER AND AN INDIAN, GET AS MUCH MEDIA COVERAGE AND APPRECIATION FROM THE COUNTRY LEADERS, AS MUCH AS WAS SHOWERED ON ABHINAV BINDRA. AT THE END THE TRUTH FOR PEOPLE IN NORTH "HE IS A MADRASI". TODAY THE TRUTH IS 'A MADRASI' FOR PEOPLE ABOVE VINDHYAS, A MADRASI IS A DARK SKINNED LOW CASTE INDIVIDUAL. AS LONG AS THIS EXISTS, DO NOT EXPECT A MADRASI TO RESPOND TO YOU IN HINDI.