India, US and need for jingoism

Late in October, unrest in Delhi's Trilokpuri neighborhood caught the attention of the West. The story isn't significantly different from other accounts of religious violence in India. A Hindu shrine was built near a mosque and on Diwali, some speakers near the shrine interfered with prayers taking place at the mosque. Before long, an inebriated altercation took place in the streets, with injuries on both sides. This kind of incident is not new to India. Part of the disagreement lies with the fact that India is a haven for so many cultures and beliefs. Here in the United States, the country is called a melting pot. It is a term that betrays the fact that "Americans" are simply a mix of people from around the world who live on the same land. Swedes are neighbors with the Dutch, with African-Americans living across the street. However, even in the United States, most people find it hard to grasp the fact that there is a country in which one state could speak another language from another state. Most people find it hard to grasp the fact that one region of the country has a different prevailing religion than another part of the country, which has another prevailing religion than a third. What becomes even more confusing is the fact that even within groups that speak the same language or practice the same religion, individuals manage to separate themselves from others by distinguishing by caste or creed or clan. Now, both the United States and India have cultures born from different groups of people. How, then, can a divisor like religion be a non-issue in one country whereas the other's headlines are blackened with the same nonsense every so often? The difference is that in the United States, people force themselves to look beyond what divides them and instead try to look for what unites them. It is for this reason that the people of the United States place so much emphasis on patriotism. What seems like blatant jingoism to the rest of the world is, in a way, recognition of the one thing that binds all Americans together. In India, this is best illustrated in sport. When the Indian cricket team plays, it matters not whether those supporting it are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian. They all equally support and cheer the success of the team. This is most certainly not to say that the framework of Indian culture is undermined. Part of India's charm is the fact that so many people from so many different backgrounds can live, for the most part, in serene harmony. There is no other country in the world in which one can change states and languages at the same time several times over. Therefore, it is important to cherish this unique quality. However, it is rather foolish to tear this fabric by dwelling on differences instead of on similarities. This idea is put into perspective when living in the United States. In a place where it is uncommon to find others who share the same customs or eat the same food, any commonality builds a bond. For this reason, Indians in the United States cannot afford to look at differences when it comes to meeting other Indians. Often, being Indian itself is the most powerful common trait one can find, no matter the location.