Who or what is Indian enough?

It is important for everyone to keep in mind that the idea of Indianness is inherently flexible and capable of being changed when it suits our interests best. Representation pic/istock

Much has now been written about the film All We Imagine As Light and the erudite men in charge of deciding who represents India at the Oscars. I don't doubt their intentions, of course, and assume they know what they're talking about because talented male filmmakers from India have long been qualified to comment on most things under the sun. They do this anyway, every other week, even when they aren't asked for an opinion. Luckily, this time around, the Film Federation folk helpfully explained their decision, clarifying that their choice was based upon the fact that a great film just wasn't Indian enough.

It isn't the first time an argument like this has been made, and I suspect it won't be the last either, given how so much of the past decade has been spent defining and re-defining what India means. Indianness, patriotism, nationalism - these have been important topics for a while, which is presumably why India hasn't had much time for stuff like managing unemployment or reaching those trillion-dollar economic goals announced in 2014. It's also why the rupee is falling faster than standards do in Parliament. The reason for this obsession isn't surprising though; it is common amongst all insecure people and nations.

I believe it's time for the government to step in and settle the question of Indianness once and for all, possibly by putting together a committee. I shudder to think about who is to decide whether the committee members themselves are Indian enough, but one must begin somewhere, and this can all be ironed out within a few decades. If this sounds like a frivolous exercise, or a waste of time and resources, we should keep in mind that there's more to it than just deciding what may or may not be nominated for an Oscar. Even as you read this, there are people allegedly being denied access to food, healthcare, and income, because they aren't deemed to be Indian enough.

On paper, the notion of being truly Indian, like being French or Italian, is a question of ancestry, culture, history, and place of origin. This becomes complicated when so many people who claim to be Indian weren't born in this land. Consider former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani for instance, who was born in Karachi, Pakistan. One could mention that delicate issue of the Partition and still argue that he just isn't Indian enough, but would that be an accurate statement? What would it say about his being a founding member of a party that claims to be the most patriotic of us all?

Now, consider the example of that film rejected for the Oscars. The law says that a person's nationality is where they are a legal citizen, usually in the country where they were born. Anything that person creates ought to be treated as an extension of who they are. So, if an Indian person happens to write a book in Chinese, who is to decide if the book isn't Indian enough? It's thorny questions like these that make a government-approved committee necessary.

It is important to keep in mind that this idea of Indianness is inherently flexible too, and capable of being changed when it suits our best interests. It's why foreign nationals born of Indian parents in America or the UK are referred to as Indian the minute they become presidential candidates or win an Olympic medal. It's also why some foreign nationals who leave their home countries, marry Indians, and settle here permanently are never given that benefit of the doubt. Double standards come to us as naturally as misogyny and patriarchy, those other two defining pillars of our glorious culture.

I hope the government takes this as seriously as the Smart Cities Mission and announces a Committee on Indianness soon. If it can issue a set of guidelines, I have no doubt they will benefit future filmmakers, writers and artists, all of whom will be able to create works of art that stand a higher chance of being nominated for future global awards.

At the very least, the creation of a committee may eventually lead us to understand just how frivolous a debate about Indianness is. Deep down, I think we know how accepting we really are. After all, this is a country where someone can claim to be a nationalist, announce a series of Make in India campaigns, wear Swiss-made watches and Italian sunglasses, travel in automobiles made in Germany, and still be elected Prime Minister.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira
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