Civic Identity Biography: A Comparative Study of India and Canada

This essay presents a personal biography exploring the author's civic identity, shaped by experiences in India and Canada. The author, originally from India, discusses the influence of Indian culture, traditions, and constitutional values on their understanding of civic responsibility. They highlight the concept of 'Unity in Diversity' and the emergence of India as a global workforce. The essay then transitions to the author's experiences in Canada, focusing on Canadian nationalism, civic engagement, and the adaptation to a new cultural environment. The author reflects on the differences and similarities between the two countries, ultimately defining Canada as their 'karma Bhoomi,' a place of action, learning, and livelihood. The essay concludes by emphasizing the author's commitment to finding a suitable civic identity in Canada while retaining the moral duties instilled in their native country. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar essays and solved assignments.

Name

My Civic Identity Biography
A brief description of my past
Hi,
My name is Harmeet Kaur, I am from India, just like Canada India was once a part of
commonwealth created by East India Company. Almost seven decades ago, we won our
freedom from the British Rulers and no my country holds the status of being the biggest
democracy in this world. Just like Canada, the constitution of India is secular in nature and it
is a pluralistic society where an individual can practice the religion of choice.
The first prime minister of India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru gave the mantra of "Unity in
diversity" while building up a nation. Until the turn of this century, we were termed as a third
world country, however, in the 21st century, the western world also started to see us as an
emerging economy of the world. It happened because of the development of a global
workforce in India.
Elements that influenced me to attain a particular civic identity
Educationalists made reforms in our system and promoted us as a global citizen. The current
prime minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi has emerged as a champion of this cause of
forming global citizens. I also belong to the cosmopolitan demographic segment of India.
Broadly we can divide India into two types of individuals, the first type of individuals are
well rooted in their customs and traditions and practicing them like a religious duty. The
democratic and secular structure of Indian polity allows the flourishing of another culture
where Indians are mending their ways to meet the standards of the west. The arrival of
Multinational companies and educational institutes also created many nurseries where they
teach us about the civic identities under the soft skill programs. As an Indian, I am aware of

my constitutional rights and fundamental duties that are required to be performed by me. The
same capacity connects me to an educational fraternity where British English works as the
language of education. For participation in administrative functions, we can take the support
of our national language which is Hindi and English which has become an unofficial national
language.
As an Indian, we celebrate two national festivals on 15 August as our Independence Day and
26 January as our democratic day. Our national flag is tricolor and Ashok Chakra is our
national insignia to denote power, authority, and responsibility towards our nature (Firdos,
2013).
While talking about civic engagement in India, I can name a few organizations in India that
were running an awareness campaign for traffic safety rules and blood donation camps. I also
participated in many cleanliness campaigns where local residents share the burden of garbage
disposal with the municipal authorities. My stint as a school teacher also trained me a lot
about the civic responsibilities of an aware citizen.
Here in Canada, I am searching for the right avenues where I can participate in social service
activities during my leisure time. I am pursuing Mathematics as the main subject and this
subject demands regular practice and rigorous study schedules.
During my leisure time, I studied a lot of the history of Canada and its administrative
structure. I found many similarities with my native land. However, the institutions dealing
with civic amenities and administration are pro-active in dealing with odd issues. An average
citizen of Canada is very well aware of his duties towards the civic authorities (Gavaskar,
2013). I also heard a lot of things about Canadian nationalism. I found it very interesting
when I came across five pointers that serve as a minimum requirement to practice Canadian
nationalism. Every country of this world boasts of nationalism and values like that, however,

in the case of Canada I figured out that no jingoism is attached to the call of Nationalism.
Citizens of this country are responsible and practice sanity in their conduct as a religious
duty.
While talking about my civic identity in Canada, I would like to refer to a holy book from
India; this book identifies two types of native places. The first native place is Janam Bhoomi
or place of birth, if an individual migrates for the purpose of education then this book says
that he is going to his “ karma Bhoomi” or the country where an individual going to act, learn
and earn a livelihood for himself. Canada has become my “ karma Bhoomi” now and I am
bound to find a suitable civic identity in this country as well.
The civic identities projected by Canadian citizens left me in a pleasant shock when I saw
their discipline in public places. I was an informed citizen in India and this is why I felt that I
belong to a minority group. However, it is not the same in Canada because almost every
person is an informed citizen. I can adapt well myself in this new civic identity because it
also follows the same structure and same set of moral duties as it was present in my native
country.

References
Firdos, S. 2013, “Encountering Socio-spatial Exclusions: The Experiences of Muslims in Kolkata”. In
A.Shaban and S.Khan (Eds.) Muslims in Urban India: Development and Exclusion, New Delhi,
Concept Publishing Company.pp. 152-174
Gavaskar, K.K. 2013, “Understanding Urban Planning Shifts: ACritical Review of Planning Practices in
India”, pp. 378-400, Challenges of Urbanization in 21st Century, Vol-III, Planning and
Governance, New Delhi, Concept Publishing