Going by my passport
They call me Indian abroad
But in my own land
I don’t know who I am.
In South Africa I’m coloured
In the USA I’m minus red
To the English I am a wog
I still don’t know who I am.
If I am to be known by language
Or worse by religion and caste
Sometimes even by my race
Who can say who I am?
I wish they’d call me Indian
And be done with it,
Not bother with anything else
So that for good, I know who I am.
V.S. KUMAR
Worse : more bad
Bother: to trouble
