Let me start by reading you this paragraph.
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
This official oath is the final legal step required for a person to be naturalized as a citizen of the United States of America. Today, our good friend Aatish Taseer took to Twitter to announce the happy news that he has taken the official oath and become a US citizen.
Now because Aatish has mentioned India in his tweet, I have some questions.
Did Aatish Taseer dare to hide any background info on his US citizenship application? My guess would be no.
Can you imagine Aatish Taseer hiding info on his US citizenship application? And saying later that he is big and famous enough that details about him are well known, so who cares about filling forms? No! I daresay Aatish has dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” in his application.
Because his sense of entitlement is limited to India. Only in India can his mother expect the Home Minister to personally attend to clerical issues about her son’s visa application. Only in India would he demand an exemption from the law as a personal favor.
But I have some more questions, especially with regard to the oath that Aatish has just taken. If you will notice, Aatish has just sworn publicly that he will
A. Bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law
B. Perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law
C. Perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law.
Not my words, Aatish. Orders of the US government. Repeated loyally by YOU.
So I guess my question is: how did you get so patriotic, Aatish?
It seems like only yesterday that liberals were making fun of the “Hindu nationalists” and their obsession with the military. Now suddenly we have Aatish Taseer humbly promising to serve in the US military as a precondition for becoming a citizen.
There’s more fun questions we can ask. How about that ending to the oath which says “So help me God“? Did you protest that this makes the oath “exclusionary”?
That reminds me. Didn’t you write recently that the word “Bharat” itself is “exclusionary”? You don’t seem to hold such extreme views about the US citizenship oath.
Wait. There’s more fun. In order to be naturalized as a US citizen, you have to assure the US government in writing that you are not a Communist and do not advocate Communism. Sounds almost like an ideological test. So if you have ever praised Kanhaiya Kumar or Sitaram Yechury, be sure to speak to a lawyer.
Relax, Aatish. I didn’t mean to scare you. America is a country with a big heart. They don’t generally cross-check this stuff. But just so you know, they could, if they wanted to.
It’s nice to see Aatish this way. Standing before the backdrop of the stars and stripes. In another photo, holding a smaller flag for good measure, with a banner in the background that shows Lady Liberty.
America mata ki jai, right?
Now if only you and your ilk could show the same respect to an Indian who sings Vande Mataram or says Bharat Mata ki jai. Don’t call us “exclusionary” for saying “Bharat.” When a persecuted Hindu or Sikh or Jain or Buddhist from Pakistan becomes part of India, they feel much the same sentiment as you do. Allow them to feel that sentiment without being labeled as Nazi by you and your elite friends. Just because they have less access to closed privilege clubs of global media does not mean their emotions are less human than yours.
Now I cannot say for sure, but it looks like your positions on patriotism, nationalism, militarism and secularism have evolved just a little.
I guess you gotta make some compromises Aatish to become a citizen of the land of the brave and the home of the free.
Did you see what I did there Aatish? Did you catch that? I’m sure you did. I scrambled the ending of your National Anthem. It’s actually “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
I’m sure you noticed because you probably sang the Anthem at the citizenship ceremony. Did you stand up to sing it and place your hand over your heart? Or did you show off your “liberty” by sitting down? I’m sure you didn’t. After all, they make you sing the anthem before you take the oath and become a citizen.
I hope you become a good American, my dear Aatish. Vande Mataram and God bless the USA.
