The two Indias & 1 Malaysia — The Malaysian Insider

Got to totally agree with this article from Malaysian Insider.  We have a long way to go and let us be just Malaysians!

"OCT 27 — Today is a historic day with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh launching ‘Little India’ in Brickfields, — Malaysia’s purple rendition of what it thinks India is.


Much has been done to upgrade what is a multiracial suburb in the capital city to show that Indian Malaysians have a place in the country.


Not the Indians who marched down Kuala Lumpur in November 2007 demanding compensation and for their space under the Malaysian sun.


Brickfields owes its new colours, arches and lights as much to the Hindraf march as to the Najib Administration’s move to retain and regain the support of all Malaysians under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia.


But it isn’t a representation of the confident India strutting across the global stage in recent years, apart from a stumble in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games.


India has changed. It has gone beyond the arches that now dot Brickfields. And Malaysia can learn much from it.


It can learn from the Times of India newspaper that began a campaign on New Year’s Day 2007 to inspire India that was then poised for greater success in the world.


The Times of India put it succinctly when speaking about the sub-continent of more than one billion people.


“There are two Indias in this country. One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us. The other India is the leash.


“The other India says, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll prove myself.’ The other India says, ‘Prove yourself first and then maybe I’ll give you a chance.’


“One India lives in optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in skepticism of our minds. One India wants. The other India hopes. One India leads. The other India follows.”


The copy motivated and inspired many across the country. Even moved actor Amitabh Bachan to put the words above into speech.


This the India of today. It isn’t about colours, buildings and street lights or a giant fountain. It is about people. To seek, to know, to do.


One hopes Malaysian leaders learn much from their Indian counterparts.


That a country riven by communities, groups, tribes, language, dialects, political ideologies and faiths is simply a nation of one people. Indians.


One hopes that for Malaysia. That we are Malaysians."