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Showing posts with the label British raj in India

Brown Sahibs and Brown Babus

About 20 years ago on my trip to India, I had a very interesting conversation with a close family friend in New Delhi. This respectable member of society and a very successful Sikh businessman was oblivious on the impact of 1984 Genocide on the Sikhs of Delhi. I questioned him if he feels the pain of the families who suffered in 1984. To my dismay, he emphatically stated, "Look, I have no empathy for the likes of Sikh taxi drivers. I have no connection with them .. I can't even understand their rural Punjabi accent. I have more in common with my friends in Delhi with whom I grew up .. and meet everyday for business or socially." I was shocked and attributed it to the selective amnesia of a successful man who wants to disconnect from his religious and cultural roots for the sake of financial and political gains. But I was wrong as he is not unique in his thinking process. There is a whole class of Brown "Babus" and "Sahibs" who find it hard to connec