Lets not put an outer limit on Jat Talent
We as a community in particular and Indians in general take no time in placing a claim on any achiever from the community as belonging to our community.
This is a tendency amongst us Indians in general and also amongst us Jats in particular. Though there is nothing wrong in it if we look at it cursorily. However, there is a lot to it if we go into the deep of it. Let's start with us as Indians - Generally we donot give due importance/recognition to the talent till the time it is recognised abroad. Let's take the case of Prof. Hargobind Das Khurana who won the noble prize for the work on DNA structure. Though he did his entire research in the US and didnot get much support while he was in India, the moment he won a noble prize we Indians didnot lose any time to claim him as ONE OF US. Same is the case with other achievers in other fields like Orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta, astronaut Sunita Williams, entrepreneur Sabir Bhatia, etc. The list is endless. There was the case of Kolkata doctor Subhash Mukhopadhyay who, but for the bureaucratic hassles and bottlenecks would have been the first in the world to develop the IVF technique and he, frustrasted by govt. apathy, eventually committed suicide. If he woud have been in the west, he would have actually been the first to develop the IVF technique and then we would have proudly claimed him as one of us and indirectly, his achievement as ours.
Similarly amongst the Jat community, we donot recognise the talent and the potential that we have within us. In fact, there seems to be a faith/confidence deficit amongst us on our capabilities as a community and its members. I am sure, there must be people within the community who would have initially criticized Kanishtha for bringing bad name to the community by wearing those skimpy dresses and the very same people must be praising her now. This behaviour of ours is very similar towards our sportspersons. Though there is no harm in appreciating their achievements, but to compartmentalise them as just Jat players is understating their achievements. They are the players who play for the nation and not just for Jatland or Jats. By compartmentalising or labelling them as just Jat players or achievers in their field, we in fact make it difficult for them to help other community members as then their helping fellow community members would be seen as bias, favour, partiality for the community.
Hence, let's rejoice over the achievements of our community members but let's not put a community tag on them, thereby limiting their achievements just to the community level or handicapping them from helping other community members openly. When Sachin Tendulkar does well no newspaper reports that a great Maratha player played well, but it reports that the greatest batsmen played well or the greatest Indian batsmen. On the other hand when Sehwag plays well, newspaper reports that the Jat lad from Najafgarh played well.
It's time we make a beginning and allow our achievers to claim their rightful place on the national and global stage and stop restricting them by putting on them community or regional tags. Without shouting from rooftops or in the media that they are Jats we can still be proud of them and emulate the examples set by them. Let it be a silent but progressive revolution in every field/arena.
