Identity crisis?

A friend of mine, non-Indian, was telling me how to pronounce my name correctly! He claimed a certain letter was silent. I told him that in my language you read and write and pronounce in the same way and there is no difference, unlike English.

He asked me what my language is.

I said Telugu.

He asked me what my tribe is.

I asked him what he meant by it.

He said Telugu is my clan. So what's my tribe, what town.

I said I come from a city and it's well mixed up because it's a port town.

He said if India did not exist what would I call myself.

It took me a couple of seconds to recover and the conversation then continued separately in my head and in my words.

In my words I said may be probably "Andhrite".I never say I m an Andhrite. I always tell people I m Indian.

He then asked me what caste I am from.

I told him that I refuse to answer.

He said so that it meant I do not subscribe to it.

If I did, would I be here? I just said no I don't.

The conversation ended.

In my head, what would I be if India didn't exist?

I would still be Indian. I could not think of not being one. The whole idea was alien to me. Like what would be I if there were no gender or human race or what would you be if the universe didn't exist.

We do have multiple identities, but if there ever was a situation where I had to be just one identity, the Indian remains. 

And now I claim a new identity. 

NRI. non-resident, but Indian nonetheless!