And the Bashing Continues!!!
Here is another nasty comment from some unknown person who doesn’t seem to understand what I’ve been through and seems to somehow think that I am bashing all Indian people! I’d like to apologize to anyone out there who feels that is what I’ve said in my blog entries because that is simply not the case whatsoever….I love India – I have many Indian friends – I think this is a great country – I will be back next year – I have not and will never bash this Country or any of it’s many languages! People who gleam that from my entries are obviously missing my point completely! My mention of langauge while in the police station on Sunday was not to bash Hindi or Kannada – it was to express my frustration at the fact that the people there DO know fluent English but refused to speak English in my presence – that was quite bothersome…If no one knew English that would have been a very different story all together….
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Here is this person’s email followed by my response:
If my mother (who doesnt speak English) had a laptop stolen in the US and went to the police station to register a complaint, I dont think that they would make an exception and speak in Hindi for her or go out and get a translator.
I also doubt that the cops would go out of their way to scour the country side looking a for a stolen laptop in the US, so why expect that from Indian cops.
Its all good for tracy to say that “if you dont have anything nice to say…….” – maybe Krista should heed that advice too.
Feel free to delete my comment since it does not agree with your world view. And please do remember that India is not the US, our official language is not English, we are still a poor country and most of us fall short of the high standards that the rest of the world expects from us. And once again, if India does not meet your high expectations, feel
free to return to wherever you came from.
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My Response:
You don’t seem to be reading my blog thoroughly! First off, I can tell you that I don’t know if your mother would be spoken to in Hindi if someone broke into her apartment in America! I would hope that if the police officers she was dealing with knew how to speak Hindi they would…I know if I were a police officer in America and this happened I would do my damn best to help her and find someone who could or WOULD explain what was going on in Hindi! In my case every single man in that police station on Sunday did speak fluent English – thus there was no reason they could not speak to me in English!
I can assure you, whoever you are, that the police here have not scoured the country side to find my laptop – which, by the way, is not the point here at all…The point that is most disturbing is that someone came into my home in the middle of the night and invaded my privacy, stood over me while I was sleeping, and has most definitely changed my life!
As for tracy’s comment about not having anything good to say….you have your opinion – but this is my blog! So, if you don’t like what I have to say – don’t read it!
And furthermore, I am truly sorry you feel you need to defend the thief who broke into my apartment simply because he is an Indian! That is truly sad…
Thanks for telling me to ‘feel free to delete your comment’ – I most certainly will – not because it dosen’t agree with my world view – but because there is no place in MY BLOG for ignorant people like you!
You should understand one thing, whoever you are: I love this country regardless of it’s poverty – and you should have pride in the many many languages that make up India – it is part of what makes this country so special!…I love this country b/c it is a beautiful place with amazing people, and a deep seated cultural history! I don’t know why people like you take offense to me explaining what has happened to me recently….And even though all this has happened I still love this country. I know that here, just like America, there are good and bad people. Although I’ve been through alot of unfortunate events here lately, I don’t hate on any Indians – I have many Indian friends who feel horrible that this has happened – they are mature and realize there is bad here just as there is good – and they sympathize with what I am going through. It truly is a sad thing that you feel the need to bash someone who has been through what I have been through! That is your Karma! As for what the world expects from India – hum, don’t know what that may be! I expect nothing from this country and you should do the same! Expectations lead to disappointments….
And I am happy to be able to educate you a little about your own country! While your National language is deemed Hindi, English is an official language of India my friend! “An official language is a language that is specifically designated to be so in the constitutions of countries, states, and other territories.” …. “English is an official language, but not native, in Cameroon, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, Hong Kong, India, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.” If you want to find out more about your country go to http://publicliterature.org/en/wikipedia/e/en/english_language.html
More information for you regarding the
India Official Language Act of 1963: http://www.languageinindia.com/april2002/officiallanguagesact.html