QUESTIONS OF CULTURE 461
Questions of Culture
Sajjid Zahir Chinoy
1 Distinguished guests, faculty, staff, students, ladies and gentlemen, and, most of all, the
Class of 1996.
2 I can visualize the scene again and again: 11:30 p.m., Saturday night, the fifteenth of
August, 1992, Bombay International Airport, India. I was leaving home for the University of
Richmond. And as I said that final goodbye to my parents, my family, and my friends; and as I
saw hope, expectation, even a tinge of sadness, in their eyes; and as I stepped aboard the Boeing
747 in front, I knew my life had changed forever.
5 And then, of course, there was that one nagging question, that one overriding concern: As
one of only three Indian students on a Richmond campus of 3,000, would I ever fit in?
6 My country was different. My culture was different. My experiences were different. My
background was different. My language was different. My accent was different. Would I ever fit in?
7 And so here I was, high above the clouds, grappling with questions of culture, of interac-
tion, of ethnicity. What I didn’t know was that 30,000 feet below, on the ground, the world was
faced with these very same questions—the question of culture, the question of interaction, the
question of ethnicity.
8 And so whether my aircraft took off from Bombay, where the Hindus and the Muslims
lived together in a most fragile peace; or whether my aircraft was over Africa, where the Hutus
and Tutsis of Rwanda and Burundi had long–standing animosity; or whether my aircraft was over
Bosnia, where the Serbs, the Croats, the Muslims, and the Bosnians had broken yet another truce,
the question was the same—could different cultures ever come together to reinforce one another?
462 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
10 But what left an indelible impact on his mind was none of this. No, instead it was those
special moments, those moments of human interaction, those human relationships that can never
quite be translated into words:
11 The time this young Indian student spent his first Thanksgiving dinner with his debate
team coach. That Thanksgiving evening when I ate my first American turkey and saw my first
American football game, not knowing the difference between a tackle and a touchdown. And yet,
all of a sudden, just like that, this very different Indian student had become an inherent part of the
great American tradition of giving thanks.
14 The time in December 1992 when India was hit by communal riots, when violence and
bloodshed were but a few hundred yards from my family and my home, and when my fantastic
roommate from my freshman year sat up the entire night, giving me hope, strength, and courage
at every step.
15 Yes, four years after that bumpy aircraft ride, I have found the answer to the question of
culture.
16 I have found that it has taken just a little understanding, just a little sensitivity, just a little
open–mindedness, just a little empathy on the part of this community—this University of
Richmond community—to change my life like never before.
17 I have found that it makes no difference what culture you follow, what your background
is, what your experiences are, what language you speak, what accent you have. The commonality
of the human bond far transcends these superficial differences.
18 And yet look around at the world today. Look around at the very regions that were faced
with the same question of culture that I was faced with four years ago.
QUESTIONS OF CULTURE 463
22 Yes, just look at the madness. The world has fought hard to highlight its differences. We
have forgotten our inherent similarities. All because what was missing was a little understanding.
Just a little sensitivity. Just a little open–mindedness. Just a little empathy.
23 Two similar questions of culture in 1992. Two diametrically opposite results in 1996.
464 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Questions of Culture
by Sajjid Zahir Chinoy
Commentary
Seldom does a student commencement address upstage the featured speaker—especially when that
speaker is a Pulitzer Prize winner from Harvard University. Yet that is exactly what happened when Sajjid
Zahir Chinoy spoke to his fellow graduates at the University of Richmond on May 12, 1996.
Born and raised near Bombay, India, Chinoy was selected to speak as the result of a campus-wide
competition. After describing the jumble of emotions that filled his mind as he came to the United States
to attend school, he spoke movingly of the warm reception he received in Richmond and of how cultural
differences can be overcome by attempting to understand other people. Addressing his audience of
3,000 people extemporaneously and without notes, Chinoy received thunderous applause, and his re-
marks were widely reported in the press.
The text of this speech has been transcribed from a video recording and is reprinted with permission
from Sajjid Zahir Chinoy and the University of Richmond. A video is available online and on the DVD of
student speeches that accompanies this edition of The Art of Public Speaking.
Here is a synopsis of the speech.
Introduction: As in many commemorative speeches, the introduction of Chinoy’s speech is very brief. It
comprises only the first paragraph and consists of his salutation. Although the speech could
have profited from a brief reference to the occasion or a statement by Chinoy that he was privi-
leged to be chosen as the student commencement speaker, the lack of further introductory re-
marks proved not to be a serious problem.
Body: The body of Chinoy’s speech runs from paragraph 2 through paragraph 23 and is divided into
three main sections. The first section deals with Chinoy’s departure from Bombay, India, and the
questions of culture he contemplated during his flight to the United States (paragraphs 2–8). In
paragraphs 2–6 he deals with his personal questions of culture and whether he would fit in as
QUESTIONS OF CULTURE 465
Conclusion: The conclusion consists of paragraphs 24–26. After encouraging the graduating class to
distinguish itself, Chinoy returns to his central theme in paragraph 25 by urging his listeners to
remember that it is cultural understanding—or the lack of it—that “can mean the difference be-
tween complete despair for one young boy in Bosnia and remarkable hope for another young
______________________________