Beyond Borders vs Within Borders

Debating Hour | II MA English Class

3rd February 2024

#classactivity

Since today we had our Inter-Hall Sports Meet, students didn’t have their classes from the third hour.

Added, since students today were all in their festive mood and weekend mode, I’d told Sharan [Class Rep of II MA] last evening itself that we’d be having class activities in class today, instead of their routine lectures.

I was surprised and happy to note that, at least 12 students had turned up for their class well ahead of time – by 8.25 am itself.

Special congratulations to you guys!

Soon, we had five delectable ‘debatable’ topics up for voting this morning at 8.30 in the II MA Class. There was a keenly contested tie between two topics, and so to break the tie, we had to opt for the proverbial toss!

Thus it was, that the class ended up choosing the topic, ‘Which is Better? Living Abroad? or Living in India?’

The teams had almost equal representation on either side.

Those who voted for ‘Living Abroad is Better’ christened their team as ‘Beyond Borders’, while those who rooted for ‘Living in India’ named their team as, ‘Within Borders’.

I guess this particular class has an awesome way with naming! 😊 They’ve been scoring higher and higher on the name-game for months now!

Within Borders won the toss and gave the opening shot in a platter to their opponents ‘Beyond the Borders’ oops ‘Beyond Borders!’ 😊

Sneha opened the Beyond Borders onslaught, saying –

By living abroad, you get to meet and interact with a variety of cultures, and explore a lot many places as well.

Within Borders promptly replied,

Well, I don’t think one needs to ‘live’ abroad to understand other cultures. Visiting places abroad once in a while you can still get to meet and to interact with a variety of cultures, and explore many places as well, said Lakshmi.

Joanna sprung to the defence of Beyond Borders –

You see, culture is not something that you can explore within a week’s time. It takes a lot of time to explore another culture(s). And let me add to say that, just because a person goes abroad, it doesn’t mean that they’re abandoning their mother land.

Praveen, Within Borders, remarked –

Don’t you think we in India are best known across the world for our multicultural fabric. So I guess, living in India itself, one can still explore and interact with a lot more cultures and places.

Diya, from Beyond Borders, replied,

Well, to me, it looks a pretty naïve idea. Culture is something that we as individuals carry with us. So we take our culture with us across the nations and make it diverse!

Shruthi rooting for Within Borders added,

Even though you tend to explore places, meet new people, etc, don’t you think you will lose out on a sense of belonging? Moreover, don’t you guys think you’d feel homesick as well?

Joel for Beyond Borders retorted,

Home is where our heart is. So wherever we live, we make it our home. Now I’m in Chennai. It’s my home. People have a sense of belonging when you feel at home. And so the concept of ‘home’ is not grounded to a particular place. It’s where the heart is!

Shane, from Within Borders, replied,

It’s the hospitality here in India that’s unmatchable, unsurpassable. My cousin lives abroad, but he feels quite lonely. So hospitality matters. India, unlike other nations, is known for its hospitality.

Sneha gave a rejoinder, defending Beyond Borders, quipping,

What you’re saying is highly subjective. If nations abroad are so very inhospitable, why do you think people still go abroad?

Kevin, from Within Borders, said,

Going abroad has been fetishized much beyond redemption. People are being brainwashed to the fact that, if you go abroad, you’re successful. Even the media has been instrumental in selling this idea of ‘going abroad equals success in life’.

Joanna for Beyond Borders, said,

Well, I don’t think it’s the media. People have been going abroad since time immemorial, but still, they’ve returned and dedicated their life for their motherland. Face the facts. Be it the salary, the comfort, the salary! It’s neither a fetish nor a fantasy. It’s a fact!

Lakshmi from Within Borders remarked,

Yes, India may not be much developed. But why don’t you fix the problem, instead of fixing the blame? Let’s try and look at the problems we face here in India, and try to build a better India. Setting right our own homes is far much better than staying in someone else’s beautiful home! You’re not looking at solutions. Better be in India with freedom, than live abroad sans freedom.

Unemployment is a huge issue in India. That’s one reason we are forced to go abroad. We see nations abroad as lands of opportunities. Moreover, there’s this concept of part-time work culture abroad. In India it’s not there for students. Added, we don’t get to have financial independence here.

Sindhu rooting for Within Borders, replied –

We were one of the richest countries in the whole world. We were known for our spices, our condiments, our gold, our textiles and much more since ancient days. But it’s highly unfortunate that all our goods were looted over a period of time by the invaders. That’s one reason why we are not financially independent.

Nishitha, from Beyond Borders said,

Well, here in India, we have high competition ratio in the ratio of One job vs one lakh aspirants. As of now, it’s not a land of opportunities for all and sundry. Here, by the time you secure a promotion, and get a housing loan and a car, you’re almost on the verge of retirement.

On the other hand, by going abroad, generational debts are quickly cleared. I have a neighbour of mine, who was reeling under acute poverty and loans for decades. But then their daughter went abroad and in a year’s time their debts were cleared and they’re living a happy life now.

Sharan from Within Borders, replied –

That’s a sign of a weak mentality – going abroad for a higher pay package. It’s been predicted that India will become a developed nation by the year 2040. Even now, many from abroad have started buying stocks in India, that bespeaks to the fact that, India is privileged over many nations.

Sneha retorting for Beyond Borders, said-

In India we know how people work 24x7 and they do all they can possibly do, but can’t make ends meet. That’s because of the state of the economy today. Let me reiterate the basic fact that, we cannot survive without financial security.

Praveen, from Within Borders, observed –

India is still a developing country. However, we are advancing in many aspects. We have been steadily attracting many investors. Indians are known all over for their creative ideas, and that has attracted nations towards us.

Diya responding on behalf of Beyond Borders, said –

Now it looks like, you are giving a high pedestal to ‘people abroad’, by saying that, people from abroad are investing in India. Don’t you think you’re contradicting your own statement that way?

Sneka, from Within Borders observed,

We said that, people abroad are investing with us, because much advanced and talented people are here in India, and that’s the reason why they’re investing in India. That’s what we meant. Moreover, making money abroad, doesn’t make us meet with our parents. Our parents who are quite old, cannot adapt to a new culture. They might have medical issues as well.

Harini, rooting for Beyond Borders, remarked –

Well, we are talking about geo-politics. In my opinion, there’s a consistent young population here in India. In order to take our goods to a global community, we need to go abroad, and be ‘international’ in our outlook. India is quite conservative. How can I be in my town here India, without any international exposure, and think of selling my products to America?

Moreover, staying local, implies staying in one’s comfort zone. It’s time we stepped out of our comfort zones!

Leela, from Within Borders said –

From my point of view, yes, we’ve been conservative. But we are also evolving over the years. Today, we’ve got quite a lot of brand ambassadors from India who have been endorsing international brands.

The fact that, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone was invited to unveil the official FIFA World Cup trophy before the FIFA World Cup 2022 final between Argentina and France kicked off, and the fact that she’s a brand ambassador for French fashion brand Louis Vuitton, speaks volumes to the name and the prestige of India on the global arena.

Diya, replying for Beyond Borders, said –

What’s the advancement we are talking about? Where’s this advancement? There are countless unsafe places for women here. There was this incident where a lady was chilling out at the beach, and almost 20 men were gaping at her. The video soon became viral, all over India. Is this the advancement we’re talking about?

Lalitha, concluding for Beyond Borders, struck a modest and conciliatory note, saying,

While it’s important for me to learn and to know more about other cultures and other nations, I might want to go to other nations, and I seriously wish for it, as well! However, I would like to be rooted in India.

Moderator’s Remarks – It was a wholesome debate, and although the topic was given to them just minutes before the class began, the students were in high spirits, contributing their might for the debate, and their classmates cheering for them in the process.

Again, the spirit of healthy debating was the real winner today. Kudos class! So proud of you.

PS: You may want to look up a past healthy debate by the same vibrant students of the II MA English HERE on our past blog post.

[Photo Quotations take time to be added. Will be done shortly | Thanks a lot to Lalitha, II MA, Official Photographer of the event, for the memorable snaps].