Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim
@muhsin234
Why did you come to study in India if it is not better than your country, Nigeria?
Three keen followers of my blog, one Indian and two Nigerians, whom I respect, implicitly asked me the above after reading one of my non-romantic articles on India. Yes, India is ahead of Nigeria in many developmental indices, such as the economy, military establishment, and infrastructure. It is, however, ahead of it also on various other unmentionable indexes such as racism, communal clashes, maternal mortality, female foeticide and infanticide; child labour and slavery, etc. Though mosaic as India is, you can’t, or rather shouldn’t, generalise. No hyperbole in the above comparison: each country has its good and bad sides.
My coming to India, as I said before, was deliberate and purposeful. I dug deeper and had a lengthy back-and-forth over email with the university I was joining. My area of specialisation is film-related (not English, as many, I mean many, people think). Needless to mention, the glamorous Indian film industry, Bollywood, is famous worldwide. So you can construe the correlation. As a developing nation like Nigeria, I expected living expenses to be affordable. And it is. The U.S, with Hollywood and all, would have been a better option. But going there is much tougher for apparent reasons.
India is not that terrible a choice, either. Our university claims to be one of the leading private institutions in the country. I, however, think there’s much to be desired, especially regarding academic strength. They nonetheless have a very good infrastructure and excellent administration. They also provide students and staff with a 24/7 high-tech WiFi connection across their 600-acre campus. There are thousands of students from many countries, mainly from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and others.
Rest assured, I would naturally miss India when I am away for a few days. I will miss the relatively stable power supply, unlimited yet cheap internet connection, books (as a bibliophile), and a few other pleasures on offer that are not that effortlessly obtainable in Nigeria.
As aforesaid, India is more advanced than Nigeria. That does not, as you well know, deter me from dissecting things I have seen around and writing about them. I have discussed with many foreign students their past and current perceptions of India and our university. More than the majority expressed an unreserved dissatisfaction and disappointment. Many of them realised what India is when they came here. This corroborates a famous saying that seeing is believing.
The India seen in the media, often in the Bollywood films, is chiefly ideal. It’s noteworthy, though, that one seldom sees the realistic portrayal of the country in a few other movies. Not often. The Indian government do not openhandedly welcome criticism. They censor the media, especially foreign media. A few months ago, the BBC was severely warned, nay, threatened, for broadcasting a documentary on the rampant cases of rape in the country. The Qatari Al Jazeera English channel got a harsher punishment for another petty ‘wrongdoing’ as it was taken off the air for five days. There are several other similar cases. An appalling portmanteau word, “presstitude”, is used by many fanatical nationalists to refer to any local media house that broadcasts any ‘un-Indian’ sentiment.
As a black African and Muslim, I, sometimes along with my wife, have faced several challenges in my two-year stay here. I have also had my good, memorable time. Often said in the many articles I wrote on the country, Indians are equally individual as any other people. Thus, I didn’t expect to be treated in the same way by everybody. To be very sincere, the good side of the people outweighs the bad side. But, to be very honest, the bad side is felt and remains all the more vivid in my memories. That’s the psyche of humans.
I thank Allah first, and then the government of Kano State under its former governor, Engr. Rabi’u Kwankwaso; my employers, Bayero University, Kano and all who supported me in whatever way from India, Nigeria and elsewhere. This is my last article in, perhaps on, India.
I forgive whoever regrets maltreating me, and wish for life to teach a lesson to whoever doesn’t repent doing the same. I know I might also have offended someone. It wasn’t intentional, and I thus ask for your forgiveness. The value of the human being, irrespective of his race, religion, region, ethnicity, etc., should not be reduced to the condescension of any sort. One World, One Love.
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