I am a Hindu first
Niraj Thaker
A collection of experiences brings a person to realisations, some profound some simple yet those can take seconds, minutes, months or years. One of my most important realisations, after considering the various identities and sub-identities that our community has is that we must consider ourselves as Hindus first, before other categories like class, status, region we come from or where are ancestors are from.
November 20th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Yes I am a Hindu,Aahir as they say or Gowalbans, always a Fiji born Hindu not a Fijian as the natives are called. My grandfather came here as a Indentured labourer so now Im in the US also a migrant. I cant be anything else can I. My children also do Katha,Hawan and Roth puja. I have a Bajrangbali jhanda in my yard also and pray as a Hindu at home and also at the Shiv Murugan Temple here. Can I be anything else. In Fiji I attended 4 years at Assemblies of God High School and went through 40 mins of The New Testament everyday compulsorily but did not convert. Am I still a Hindu? Yes and very religiously proud. Though not being born in India does not make a difference does it.
November 20th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I agree with Niraj that we do not need to define ourselves with our regional background.
I’m an undergraduate and have met many Hindus, Indians, Asians, etc at university, from different castes and creed. However, I have seen that many of us, even those born and raised in the UK, are inclined to segregate to those who have a similar regional dialect or background, which does sometimes cause isolation.
I’m a British Asian, born in Africa, raised in India and then the UK. My family originates from Delhi, but I have always been proud to mix with other cultures, as I have a love for diversity and languages.
I think many British Asians need to re-think their first impressions of any Asian person and look past the segregation in order to integrate and respect others, whatever their background.
November 21st, 2006 at 2:46 am
“I’m a British Asian, born in Africa, raised in India and then the UK.”
Asian can mean many things but in UK it means all those strange brown people, anyway many Hindus do not like to identify themselves with the Asian tag nowadays especially with the rise of Islamic terrorism and it’s not just Hindus, even Sikhs and Muslims do not identify themselves as Asians for the most part.
This Asian tag has done enough harm for Hindus, time we dump it and called ourselves as Hindus of our respective nations, British Hindu if you live in UK, Canadian Hindu if you live in Canada etc.
All this Asian unity hasn’t really helped us out when Muslims burned down Hindu and Sikh owned shops in the Bradford riots while we got the collective blame under the “Asian” tag for those riots.
November 21st, 2006 at 6:58 pm
“Asian”? Is it fair to describe any white person as European, and ignore the cultural acheivements and differences between each group? Indians and Pakistanis are described as Asian, yet they have immense differences in terms of culture, language, and way of life. The term “Asian” has been very detrimental in particularly for Indian Hindus. The Bradford riots, the issue of forced marriages and terrorism are a few examples that come to mind.
Before you proudly say you are Asian, look at our history and see the obstacles that Hindus have overcome and you will begin to say loudly ‘I am a Hindu’. Jai Shree Ram
November 22nd, 2006 at 3:20 am
I am Indonesian…. and I am Hindu….And I am very proud of it…Hindu until I die…
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:55 am
Europeans do not mind if you call them Europeans, although Greeks sometime object that they are different from the Northern people. The common factor is their religion, they are all Christian.
Asians in USA means only Chinese-Japanese, not Indians or Middle Eastern. In Britain Asians means only people from the Indian subcontinent.
These are both wrong.
Asia means all areas from Turkey to Phiilipines and from Kazakstan to Sri Lanka in practice, although in the map east of Ural mountain is Asia, but Russians are not called Asian.
The common bond is the religion: Hindu-Buddhists. I have been to Japan a few times, they treat Indians very well because of Buddha. in Thailand even the name of their King is in Sanskrit.
Muslims are very proud to be Middle-Eastern, they are seperate from other Asians. Let them be like that.
One should be proud to be Asians; it includes major civilizations, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and it is the origin of all great religions.
November 22nd, 2006 at 5:00 pm
A wonderfully expressed v.v.imp issue. WE HAVE TO UNITE to survive-NO for survival of the planet! The demon of consumerism spawned by the West may consume the planet itself! Only the children of Veda can save!
I ask school children-when you think will there be peace ? The answer is:
“Jab yah vishwa ek swar mein kahega saara,Wahi vriddh BHARAT guru hai hamara.”
November 26th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Im with Niraj, its good to see a heartfelt article!
Nuff luv
November 30th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
It is sad, but yet I am rather irritated and disspointed that people do not realise the benifits of having pan-Hindu Unity. One thing all Hindus should learn is that while you are free to practice your traditions at home which may have slight differences from family to family, after all we are not dogmatic, we should learn to understand that if any Hindu is in trouble, its your duty to help them, no matter what sect or language they speak.
There is an old saying in Nazi Germany
“”First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me”
If we have that attitude amongst ourselves, the future is grim.
think about it.
-Muski
P.S balwant lal, A Hindu can be of any langauge, race, ethnicity or sect, you dont have to be born in India or a Hindu to be a Hindu. Keep it up, your doing well.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:04 am
Very important article, and very well put as well! Hinduism is the root because of which you are what you are today. Another thing that bugs me is what bhagwan is yours? I get it all the time, ‘tamaru mandir kayu’ to which i reply badha mandir mara chhe and i get a weird look lol. Be proud of being a Hindu and love everything Hindu. Garva se kaho Hum Hindu Hain! Jatin
December 11th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
You inspired me more. I used to think that Marathas are only Hindus. But anybody can be a hindu, regardless of their place of birth or race.
I love Hinduism. I wish more maharashtrians would think in the same way.
Jai Shivaji Maharaj!
December 20th, 2006 at 11:51 am
It’s a good article with a message that needs to be amplified to younger hindus. IT seems that they do not care whether or not they are labeled as british indian or asian, in the fear that they might offend someone or be seen as not integrating properly. My old school had a jewish society, a christian society, an islamic society, and an ASIAN society. Its drummed into kids at such a young age. When i finally complained and tried to change it into a hindu society, the kids did not really understand why i was making sucha big deal out of it, and were happy with being labelled as asian. kids need to start understanding that you are able to have a unique Hindu identity, without being ashamed AND integrate properly at the same time.
December 29th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
great article. thanks for sharing some insight into the Hindu culture.