15^th August, the independence day of India! The country I was born in. The country that spells my race. Back in school, it would mean enjoying a half day off. A day when spirits would soar high with the tricolor flag unfurling, rose petals falling to the ground and every soul in the vicinity saluting the flag and singing the national anthem.

A national anthem is one of the most powerful songs for any nation. It fills your lungs up with patriotism, moistens your eyes and helps you feel valour. Especially, when your country has spent almost two centuries to win its freedom from a power that attacked you and colonised you for ages. Growing up, we learned about freedom struggle. We learned about the day we finally got our country back from the British. And people celebrated freedom.

But lucky individuals like me who were born in a free India had little sense of the meaning of the word ‘freedom’. People like me grapple with the definition of freedom at various micro levels – in terms of freedom to express who I am, at home and outside. In terms of migrating to places I desire to. In terms of feeling safe in my gender. The list can get long.  

And with the freedom to migrate comes the possiblility of another passport. But does changing passports change who you are? Does it change your loyalty? Do you truly ever leave representing your roots? These are deep questions that pertain to our identity. Today, as millions migrate and swap passports to live in a foreign country chasing a better future, and people’s citizenships change hands, where do people actually belong?

I can speak for myself. I feel this change in citizenship like drawing parallels with my life as a woman. I was born and bred in my maternal family only to be married and to carry on with the name and legacy of another family – the one where my spouse hails from. So, as an individual where do I belong? The real answer is, both the families. Can I ever stop being the daughter I always was? Nope. Can I be independent of marital obligations and choose not be a part of the family I decided to marry into? Absolutely not. I feel the exact same way about citizenship and patriotism.

Born and bred in India, my race will always be Indian. My earliest influences and my thought process that got built since childhood will not change completely. But the time spent in Singapore has been a time of adaption. To a new culture, new country and new set of exposures. Do I love it here? Yes, I do. Do I love it in India? Yes, I do. I believe, I belong to both these countries. And that can never be undone. Do I have the freedom to choose where I belong?

I think so. Because on one hand, one may not feel like they belong to the country they were born in, despite living there for years. On the other hand, one may feel at home in every country they visit, no matter how short the duration. The choice is in our hands. And freedom to choose in our mind. On that happy note, here is wishing all Indians across the globe a very happy Independence Day! Vande Mataram!

P.S. Who am I? A Singaporean Indian? Or an Indian Singaporean? How does it matter? As long as I feel love for both countries that have embraced me.