A so-called 'free forum' recently saw the publication of an article that highlighted the plight of tribal populations who are displaced and put through hardships in the name of development projects that swallow their homeland. The response of the so-called cognoscenti was quite frankly disgusting. They almost accused the tribal people of standing in the way of progress, and frequently referred to them as though they were somehow less than us, lesser citizens than us, who, by their 'backwardness', were stopping 'progress'.

Oftentimes, we find ourselves in similar situations, though the 'other' may not be as well-defined a group as the above example. We often go, "It is because of these people that..." without even pausing to think about what it means. While in one context we may distance ourselves from 'these people', we still feel proud about such things as 'cultural diversity'.

Will we ever realise that we too are somebody else's 'these people'?