E-Paper
Independence day special: Pune youth uphold diversity, in style
What is the best way to uphold India’s diversity? What do students and young professionals think about unity in diversity? Have the lessons from history made any impact on their adult lives?
India is considered as one of the most diverse nations in the world. It has the maximum number of youngsters. India has always coexisted and maintained its diversity in a great way. Young professionals and collegians have contributed to this celebration to a great extent with their broad approach and awareness. From promoting diversity through their acts to spreading awareness on multicultural approach, city students and professionals are going all out to uphold diversity.
Students and young professionals are of the opinion that the best way to uphold and celebrate ‘Indianness’ is by understanding what it means to be an Indian. They have been attempting to promote diversity by understanding of other’s perspectives better. If required, they do not hesitate to broaden or change their perspective , if required so.
Young minds believe that celebration of diversity will only happen when people become aware about diversity and learn to acknowledge it. Once this happens, the awareness itself becomes a celebration.
It is heartening to learn that young people are open to different languages, food, culture, belief, tradition and religion. People moving out of their hometowns for education, jobs and other reasons get to experience varied culture and tradition.
The acceptance of each other’s belief happens faster. They are not shy of trying out new cuisines, understand the importance of various festivals and they wish to be a part of the celebrations.
These millennials feel they have a huge responsibility towards upholding the diversity and work as one India for the betterment of our nation. In today’s world, it is important for us to stand up as a nation, together.
ANKUSH KUWAR, 21, student
Today we are living in a far more diverse environment. I am speaking for the students between the age group of 18 and 21. We are more open to accepting diverse cultures and rituals. Having said that, it is up to us, the younger population to bring about and stick to this change. I feel if we continue to respect everyone’s opinion, we will all be in a happier place. Not bringing in religion or community to prove a point is also a safe way to promote diversity. I have friends from several communities in the college. It is a cosmopolitan crowd. We all meet up at each other’s places on festivals or for important events. However, we treat it as a celebration and no one is forced to follow anything. I wish to continue with this attitude. If I don’t impose my thoughts or religion on someone, the other person won’t either, thus letting both of us live in peace.
HUSNUL SHAIKH, 24, professional
We should have a day like the Canadian multiculturalism day which, I feel, is a great way to celebrate diversity and work toward a truly egalitarian world. Without the intervention of differences, humans cannot appreciate what each of us have in common. Cultural celebrations foster respect and open-mindedness for other cultures. They act as a bridge between tolerance and acceptance. Hence, it is important to initiate ways to encourage dialogue between different cultures with radically different perspectives which will help us understand each other better and discourage hatred and violence.
I plan to promote diversity by bringing people together by organising free and open-to-all film screenings, story telling sessions and various art related exhibitions and workshops.
PAWAN ROCHWANI, 24, professional
Celebration of diversity will only come when we are aware about it and we acknowledge it. Once that happens, the awareness itself become a celebration. We are constantly bombarded with so much of information every other second and it is obvious that a majority of people will opt for information about diversity which is entertaining. If no one is aware, the question of celebration does not arise. I recently attended a film screening about the migration of people from Tibet to various parts of the world and how India is geographically a very important part of their life. This is not just in terms of geography but how their culture and habits change when they shift to to another country. Through that film screening, I became more aware about the ethnicity of Tibetans.
VARUN CHAUHAN, 24, student
Only when there is a change in the mindset, the spirit of diversity can be healthy. Till we actually don’t start respecting or empathising with each other’s differences, there will always be the thin crack. So mature and understanding heads is what is needed. Such thoughts must be spread to the masses through social gatherings or any other similar means.0 A sense of mutual respect will help our diversity flourish.
PAKSHAL PALREACHA, 21, student
We can celebrate the beautiful diversity in our country by learning about other religions. We can listen to different kinds of music and also celebrate various festivals. I would like to volunteer with an organisation which works for diversity as it can create a positive impact, apart from giving me a chance to work with new people and I am sure to influence some of them.
ISHIKA SAXENA, 19, student
Diversity in India has been heralded as an age-old concept. The nature of it is such that Indians have always coexisted and celebrated diversity. The best way to uphold and celebrate ‘Indianness’ is by understanding what it means to be an Indian. A historical study of facts allows people to understand where the animosity of identity comes from. As people, we must continue to allow coexistence, along with measures to allow everyone to be on a level-playing field. After all, Gandhi himself said, “If I were over full of pity for the cow, I should sacrifice my life to save her but not take my brother’s. This, I hold, is the law of our
religion.”
ALSHIN THOMAS, 19, student
India is one of the most diverse countries in the world. I have lived in Gulf region for some time and the one thing that was different there was that the Indian community was very close-knit and kept celebrating each and every festival of India. Moving back to Kerala, the celebrations were mostly on state festivals and state-based occasions. Now that I am in Pune, I get a chance to celebrate many festivals like how I used to earlier because I have friends from various parts of India who study with me. I think we should remove the boundaries from our mind and embrace diversity as a whole.
I have become more open to accepting various other cultures and traditions after moving here. I want to try different cuisines, learn more about each place and travel through the country. You learn a lot as you travel and India has some of the richest culture stories. So yes, my motto for this year is to travel around and get to experience the spirit of India.
DISHA MATHUR, 22,professional
In a country with more than 1 billion population, more than 1640 spoken languages and dialects are spoken. There are four different ruling religions and all this makes our land ‘epitome of the world’. India has become the land where different cultures and thoughts intermingle to provide a new way of living for the people. We have learnt the art of respecting and learning from each other, celebrating brotherhood and serving the motherland. Multiculturalism is a state of mind in India and this makes us go on in perfect sync and cooperation. A famous quote says ‘variety is the spice of life’. In the same way, life without coexistence is like food without salt.
We, the millennial have a huge responsibility to uphold the diversity and use it as our strength for the betterment of our nation. We should get more involved in politics with fresh mindset which can enhance opportunities. We should keep away the old beliefs of the hypocritic part of the society and bring more diversity to the political scenario of our nation. We should bring in newer candidates to politics who can replace the old repulsive politicians who influence people for personal religious benefits.
