Why do we regard Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams and Priti Patel or even Akshay Kumar as Indians, when we still call Sonia Gandhi by her Italian name? This week, Antonia Maino made a comeback on Republic TV when Arnab Goswami opened a personal, no-holds-barred attack on the Congress president over a recent mob lynching incident in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
BJP leaders and the party’s supporters relish calling Sonia Gandhi a foreigner. Some anchors running pro-BJP channels regularly target the Congress leader and raise her ‘Italian’ roots to paint the party and its supporters as people working against “national interest” — whatever that ‘interest’ entails in their head. And Arnab Goswami is the undeclared leader of this pack. The Pied Piper blurts out inanities and his dutiful followers…follow. Even during a national health crisis, when people, including children, are dying of hunger.
But while Arnab never answers, even those following him never ask: Why is Sonia Gandhi, the wife of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and president of India’s oldest political party, an “Italian”, a “foreigner”? After spending all her adult life in India, she is “not Indian” in some people’s eyes. But a Canadian Akshay Kumar is. Because when he is not acting in commercial, nationalist films, he is ‘interviewing’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the middle of a national election, offering him a plate of mango-questions to pick and choose from.
Also read: Arnab Goswami’s attack continues. Rahul, Priyanka, where’s your ‘enough is enough’ moment?
Obsession with ‘foreign’
The people who go after Sonia Gandhi and her ‘foreign’ roots also always cherish the achievements of ‘Indians’ and Indian-origin people who were born and raised in foreign countries or those who later took citizenship of other countries. Whether it’s Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, V.S Naipaul, Tulsi Gabbard, Priti Patel, or Jhumpa Lahiri, their achievements are celebrated like those of an Indian.
The thing is, in a country where some people are obsessed with finding and establishing foreigners among them — such as through the National Register of Citizens — Sonia Gandhi’s Italian roots offer an easy route to target a political party that must be demonised and attacked perpetually so that Narendra Modi and his BJP can look good.
Even the argument that Indians are “emotional” about their country and associate birthplace with citizenship and citizenship with Indianness doesn’t hold water. If that was the case, then people hailing from the northeast states won’t be taunted and targeted as “Chinese” or “Japanese” or “Korean”. There have been several instances of people being attacked during the Covid crisis because, well, the virus’ geographic origin lies in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Northeast Indians are discriminated against based on their looks. Even people from the south are mocked; for a large populace of India, everyone in the south is still a “Madrasi”.
It would appear that this obsession with seeing other Indians as ‘not one of our own’ is mainly a Hindi heartland thing. The rampant discrimination has been a bane of Indian society, and continues to divide people along racial and sectarian lines. So, if you are from north India or look like one, you are by default an Indian. Others must show their birth proof, or chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai or be an unadulterated supporter of Modi and the BJP. Although, Sonia Gandhi would still be an “Italian”.
Also read: If Uddhav Thackeray bows before Arnab Goswami’s dare, he will only weaken himself before BJP
Insecurities due to the British past
An ‘Indian’ Sundar Pichai is the head of an American company Google; another ‘Indian’ Satya Nadella is the chief executive officer of Microsoft; Shantanu Narayen leads Adobe; Ajaypal Singh Banga is the CEO of Mastercard. Can we imagine such a scenario in India? How will Indians take it if an Indian company is led by a foreigner?
At the slightest hint of a foreign connection, such figures will be labelled a spy, traitor, Jaichand or anything that a certain group can come up with. To a large extent, most Indians have never really been comfortable with foreigners — even though most crave for their attention and hold their praise of any Indian (mostly Hindu) ritual or custom as the final validation.
The roots of this insecurity perhaps lie in the British past, and seems to have survived even today, with many desperate enough to shrug off the past memories of being ruled by foreigners through persistent dislike for anything or anyone “not Indian”. What they don’t want to acknowledge is that this distinction is not so simple. There were many foreigners who made immense contributions to India’s freedom struggle. Moreover, we are not living in the past. This is modern India. Any insecurity over someone’s place of birth, race or religion should not exist.
Sonia Gandhi denounced her Italian citizenship, learnt Hindi, wore saris all her life, led the country’s oldest political party but she is still an “Italian”. It’s time to ask: what could she possibly do to be regarded as an Indian like a Canadian Akshay Kumar?
Views are personal.
Foolish talk .
SONIA GANDHI
She and her children are more Indian than any Indian including me born in India, residing in Canada since 1975, I have studied, travelled, worked around the world for over 50 years, my reply is based on my learning, experience. Most of the people of India are still uncivilized and believe in Cow, fight for Jati Vad, religion and Tantrik vidya. Indian leaders lack knowledge, proper skill, moral to rule India as a law-abiding nation. I provide my story which would demonstrate that India in 2021 is a hooligan regime where no one’s life and the property is safe. In 2002-2003 my father’s properties were foreclosed, no one in India was willing to help my father by redeeming the foreclosures, he decided to go under the train to kill himself. I was visiting my father with my Japanese wife, father cried to me for my help, I agreed to redeem the foreclosures on two conditions that my father was not allowed to transfer or sell his properties without my prior written approval, he agreed his advocates made a power of attorney appointing me and my younger brother as our father’s attorneys. In 2004 my brother, his family, my sister compelled our father to transfer his properties to the two sons of my brother he refused and was murdered by my brother, his wife and four others from our family. In 2017 I filed the partition suits of our parental property. the six people who murdered our father are attempting to murder me so that they can steal my shares and escape paying the fathers debt. My co-shareholders reasons that my wife was born in Japan and she is not a Brahmin and my three children Maya, Anil and Sara the name is Indian but they are born out of India therefore they are not entitled fathers property where I have made 100 % investment. Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka are freedom fighters.
With gratitude
Ramesh Mishra
Victoria BC Canada
You are Indian and will always be a bad Indian. You will never be Cabdian. They will use and abuse you. You critisize Indians as cow worshipper but your forefathers were the same. If you have balls critisize Church for their malpractices and see how they will bugger you.
There is no comparison… We all know Antonia maino is geneticly and racially an Italian lady ….while akshay Kumar is geneticly & racially an Indian (also he doesn’t belong to any political party). Antonia maino congress should accept the reality and stop using the ‘Sonia gandhi’ it’s a fake name ….you can’t fool the people of India
This article is clearly wrong by a congress bought journalist. Completely absurd, illogical, failure and no understanding of politics.
To be in a government of a country, the requirements are that the person should be born in that country. Which Sonia Maino is NOT, she married an Indian guy (whose religious orientation is questionable) and it is the sovereign right of any country to put the person in charge that they trust is FOR the country, not anti nationalistic.
It is the right of the citizens to question the Congress party regardless of how long they’ve been in power, so Sonia Maino should not have issues with that unless she’s a fascist, undemocratic and against freedom of speech. Just because the congress don’t like the truth, they cannot stop it from being said, clearly a lot to hide hence the hatred towards nationalists, pro Indians & pro Hindus.
Arnab Goswami is a first class reporter, true reporting, free from the corrupted Congress and it’s links to islamic states as well as the mafia. The circumstances in which Nehru ran the government after independence was a TEMPORARY set up he was nit voted in and he was only supposed to be in power for 1 year. Instead the dynasty politics was played and the corrupted congress have passed the governance down to their children for years, which is undemocratic. India is a democracy not a dictatorship and if it was a dictatorship, real Hindus and pure Indians would be the dictators in a Hindu country. Never foreigners, born elsewhere or another religion.
In islamic countries, they only let muslims in their governments. Perhaps the jurno writing this can write about whether a non muslim could enter their politics instead of expecting India to have non Indians in power. India is a sovereign independent country that has intelligent population, as well as the Indian diaspora in the West and around the world. Support Arnab Goswami, true reporting, nationalism, proud if Hinduism and want real Indians in power. Question the Indians will and won’t carry on with the wrongs in history, but CORRECT them. Time for congress is over.
You’re full of hate. Get well soon.
Just as Akshay Kumar, Kalpana, Sunita are Indians, Sonia is Italian. Perfect parallel, as conveyed by the title!
Born country always blood
non sense talk. all these people want to enjoy indian previleges, citizenship, passport , and talk ill of the country. bye
Correction: ITS SONIA ANTONIO MAINO! Even if that’s the case, she is from ITALY! Comparing won’t help you!