(Trinidad Guardian) President of the National Council of Indian Culture Deokienanan Sharma says Indians need to get their act together.
He made the statement on Thursday night while speaking during Indian Arrival Day celebrations at the Divali Nagar, Chaguanas, on Thursday night. He said while Indians in T&T have achieved, staying at the top was harder unless they worked together.
“Complacency and the crab-in-barrel syndrome that we suffer from are the greatest threat as we ascend the ladder of success,” Sharma said.
“I have heard and seen practised in the Indian community a philosophy that is so heartless and cruel that it is hard to believe that it could be true. “When you hear that if you see a fellow Indian drowning you don’t lend him a hand to pull him out, but instead press your feet in his head to hasten his drowning, you know that we have to take a harsher look at ourselves and see how much we are guilty of such acts.”
Sharma said other groups might accuse Indians of being clannish but Indians rarely help each other. He said the civil courts are filled with matters involving family disputes especially over real estate…“when we fight for property as if we are going to take it with us when we leave this world.”
He said Indians must refine their behaviour and stop acting uncouth. He said Indians are criticised for how poorly they dress, how they speak and conduct themselves in public. He said the Indian youth in the guise of supporting culture behave in most despicable manner. “When one person from our group embarrasses us in any way, all of us get tainted as a result,” he said.
