Comment: The privilege of having a country

Let's not make any bones about it. There is a war going on between India and Pakistan. If India was a small country, we would call it a full-scale war. We are not talking cricket here. It's the real thing, with our soldiers and airmen getting killed. People getting injured and maimed, possibly for life. Their parents heartbroken, their friends and relations grief stricken. Our boys are out there dying for you and me. Not for some vague ideal, but for you and me. When soldiers go to war, they always say, "for my country". And what does "my country" mean? It's not just the land. It's the people. Indians. You and me.
As NRIs, one thing we take for granted is the fact that we have a country. No one threw us out of India. We might complain about it, curse our politicians, scream with frustration when confronted with masses of red tape and tear our hair out the minute we land at Bombay airport. Yet one thing we know beyond a shadow of a doubt. We have a country. And it is undoubtedly ours.