Marginalization..... or regionalization..

Studying in one of the IIMs ensures one thing.. You get to meet lots of people from different backgrounds.. One might have a neighbour from Kashmir, North-East, Gujarat, Kerala or any other corner of the country for that matter.. For most parts, the different "regionalities" do not really cause any sort of tensions.. In fact one gets to know a lot about other cultures and communities as it should be..

Why am I bringing up this topic? Primarily because there have been some unnecessary questions raised lately on this topic in campus.. Now, there is a tradition we have in our insti where the "Tam" junta of second year introduces a local mess where you get proper home-made tam food to the incoming first year batch.. Naturally the invitees are tams as well.. This is one occasion for the tam junta to get to know each other and freak out together.. And the good part according to me is that the invitation list is never actually limited to only tams.. Since the second years foot the bill, it is normally only a limited set of people whose dinner can be afforded by them.. However, nobody has ever stopped non-tams from joining the group..

It has so happened this time that once the remaining people got to know about this "event", a big hue and cry has been raised about regionalism.. People, for no apparent logic, feel that the tams are trying to introduce regionalism in the insti.. They find the idea of a separate tam treat too hard to digest or accept.. I have had some of my friends argue on these lines as well..

Now, this is what I call blowing things out of proportion.. What is wrong in a set of people going out to eat some place where they get the kind of food that they are used to eating at home.. Its not as if they've ever stopped anyone else from joining them.. In fact, knowing most of the tams here, they'll be the first to invite anyone who may show the least bit of interest.. Moreover, I don't see anything wrong with the tams bonding once in a while.. u get to speak own language even if its for only one day..

I heard that some of the girls were raising questions about this tam dinner thing.. I only have this to ask them - Have we ever questioned the treat that the girls give only to the girls in the senior or junior batch? Have we ever called it a case of sexual discrimination? I wonder what the girls would say if the 160 odd guys had a party on their own not calling any of the girls..! It would be a wonderful example for sexual discrimination and marginalization of women I am sure.. Anyway, I rest my case here..