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Business News/ Opinion / Mother Teresa, the Chemistry Nobel and more Indian stories
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Mother Teresa, the Chemistry Nobel and more Indian stories

Mother Teresa, the Chemistry Nobel and more Indian stories

World citizen: On 19 October, Albanians lit candles in front of a bronze statue of Mother Teresa to commemorate the day of her beatification. Gent Shkullaku / AFPPremium

World citizen: On 19 October, Albanians lit candles in front of a bronze statue of Mother Teresa to commemorate the day of her beatification. Gent Shkullaku / AFP

What do Mother Teresa and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan have in common? Besides the fact that they’ve both been the recipients of Nobel prizes, I mean. Ramakrishnan won this year’s Chemistry Nobel and Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

In the past fortnight, Indians have staked their claim on both.

World citizen: On 19 October, Albanians lit candles in front of a bronze statue of Mother Teresa to commemorate the day of her beatification. Gent Shkullaku / AFP

Of course it’s always nice to feel that connection with someone larger than life. A recent poll by Austrian Times found that Arnold Schwarzenegger is believed to be the most influential Austrian since 1945. When Mint was launched, many of us signed on because we thought it was cool that its then editor Raju Narisetti had made it on the international scene and now wanted to try something new back home.

The US was born from migration and has always attracted people from all over the world who got fame and recognition after they became American citizens. In India we can still count the famous “outsiders" on our fingertips.

But I digress. While we wasted no time claiming Ramakrishnan as ours, we think it’s outrageous that Albania’s staking a claim on Mother Teresa. She’s ours, we firmly believe. Didn’t we give her an Indian passport, even a Bharat Ratna (one year after she won the Nobel)? Why should we agree to the Albanian request that her remains be buried near her mother and sister before her 100th birthday next year? We, who in 2004 protested the “foreign origin" of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi when she was set to become prime minister of this country.

Also Read Priya Ramani’s blogs

Of course, it’s not like Mother Teresa’s birthplace is in Albania any longer. Skopje, where she was born, now falls in neighbouring Macedonia though nobody can disagree that she’s loved as much in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo as she is in Kolkata and the Vatican.

Personally I don’t believe Mother Teresa would have cared where she was buried. As she famously said: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus." Mother Teresa did her bit for India while she was living. In her death, Albania probably needs her more than us.

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Published: 23 Oct 2009, 10:21 PM IST
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