Turkiye, Azerbaijan boycott: Passport as an instrument of peaceful protest

Withholding economic benefits - like tourism revenues - can impel nations to pause and reflect. Even if it doesn't lead to immediate change, it conveys the sentiment of Indians

It was 1989. My spouse and I were in Madurai, stepping out of our hotel to visit the Meenakshi temple, when we were surrounded by cycle-rickshaw drivers vying for our attention. One voice cut through the din — “Aao, aao Beso” (Come, come, sit — in Gujarati). The phrase was so unexpected — we understand Gujarati but aren’t Gujarati ourselves — that we promptly chose his rickshaw. 

In a region known for its political resistance to learning other languages, Sundar — our semi-literate, Tamil-speaking driver — had picked up a smattering of Gujarati, along with bits of several other languages.