Venerating localism

I was born in the village of Bhadawn, in Azamgarh District of Uttar Pradesh, and also graduated from the local Post-Graduate Degree College. A visit to Bhadawn 27 years after I completed my BA triggered a reflection of just how self-limiting is the very idea of SAARC. I found that some of my classmates, those who saw Bhadawn as a positive point of reference in relation to the district town of Azamgarh, are today relatively more backward than they were in 1979. Indeed, they admit to, and even regret, venerating localism.

This same dynamic could be observed the farther that people got away from Bhadawn. My contemporaries who moved to Azamgarh town but continued to view Lucknow with a sense of indifference have moved up a bit over those who decided to stay on in Bhadawn, but remain relatively backward. Those who migrated to Lucknow or Allahabad, yet spared little thought for Delhi, likewise went up a bit in life, and likewise stayed relatively backward. None but I moved all the way to Delhi, and therefore I am perceived to wield some influence in public life because it was this megalopolis that I had seen as a 'land of opportunities'. Meanwhile, however, my contemporaries in Delhi who moved to England or the US are farther ahead still. What if I had remained in my village, celebrating its lush greenness, clean air, home-grown vegetables and open-air toilets – would anyone be asking me to write these words about SAARC and Southasia?