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The Magnificent Indian Masala
Rice with curry and paprika, the aroma of cumin simmering with vegetables, the fresh doughy scent of warm roti, the tantalizing taste of a samosa on your tongue, the one-of-a-kind delicious juices of an Indian mango and the fragrance that it sends through the air...these are all just one aspect of a taste of India.
India: a country of nearly a billion people and rising with 2000+ miles from its northernmost tip bordering China to its southern tip on the Gulf of Mannar offers an amazing diversity of cultures; there are over 24 spoken languages and countless dialects (14 of them official languages of the country), 7 major religions, and 6 main ethnic groups that all add to the equation which makes India anything but homogenous!
The country offers an infinite array of people and unimaginable potential for growth and development that is as of yet greatly unappreciated, underestimated, and largely unrealized in this day and age. Unfortunately, there is a huge problem concerning issues political corruption, and poverty in both urban and rural areas. Also, although Indians are often very highly educated in some of the most sophisticated fields, there is still a pressing problem of illiteracy in the country. Perhaps the most pressing issues recently have been concerning the safety and instability of the region: despite South Asians'renown for being one of the warmest and most hospitable, easy-going and agreeable people, their region is not free of large-scale, bitter disagreements.
With such a large diversity--despite the region's long history of inter-cooperation and peaceful coexistence for its people--India is not immune to conflict. As of late, when there have been threats of nuclear war with neighbouring Pakistan, religious clashes in Gujarat, explosions in Kashmir, and general unrest in South Asia, Bryn Mawr needs to know that the affects and tensions are felt by many students and teachers on campus. With the almost unrelenting tensions between India and Pakistan lately, and the ever-present and seemingly escalating problem concerning the geographical region of Kashmir (as well as the possible repercussions of any present clashes), many South Asian students walk around with a sense of uncertainty as to what will happen tomorrow. Will the region erupt into one great nuclear cross-fire? Although India just issued a statement that declared that there will be no nuclear war with Pakistan, how true to their words will either side be? Will an extremist from one of the violent groups belonging to any of India's many religions suddenly decide to make his case heard? Will the violence suddenly spread? Will there be a phone call one day stating that clashes and riots have erupted in the streets outside of a Mawrtyr's home, putting her family at risk? The problems may seem so far away for most Bryn Mawr students, but the reality is that they may be experienced first-hand as near as down the hall from you; with such a large population of South Asians on campus (with the majority from India and the second largest group from Pakistan), there is no doubt that you probably know somebody who may have to think about these aforementioned issues everyday.
Many people may have an image of India filled with all of the clichés of our time: friendly people, good food, crowded streets in cities, and poverty-struck rural villages, but India is much more than that. It is a diversity of peoples, a fantastic masala of cultures, and a great land of potential. It is not without its problems, but certainly it is not the inhospitable, chaotic danger that is most often portrayed in Western movies and news media. India is an un-mined jewel of the world. The future will probably see an India that is at the front of the latest developments and a huge key player in world politics. Some of the very people that will be leaders for these changes are among us today in our classrooms and dorms; something to keep in mind next time you attend a SAW event, sit down to some steaming Chi with some friends, or read the paper: the affects of many problems in the South Asian region that you may only read about, or have a vague knowledge of the existance of, are felt by many amongst us right here on campus.
