E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes: Our engineers design software that makes the hardware tick in every computer of the globe. Our doctors perform the most complex surgeries in the greatest hospitals. Our scientific and other manpower is one of the most sought-after.
Our corporates are flush with cash and buy companies like toys all over the globe. Indian brains run some of the biggest, most prestigious firms. We have yoga schools imparting physical and spiritual fitness to citizens around the world. Our countrymen are model citizens whereever they go, much liked and wooed.
In short, we have “arrived” on the global stage.
But, back home, we live in another world, in another century.
Our air and water remain polluted leaving our children and adults prone to diseases at any time of the year. We are unable to provide education to the poorest of our children who are either too sick to go to school and/or have to work to support the family. Our teachers play truant more than students.
Our cities have the finest 5-star hospitals with MRI and CT scanners, but our towns and villages have primary health centres where most drugs are either not available or are siphoned off to be sold on the sly. Doctors do not practice at their allotted centres, but are available in their clinics, for a fee.
We have rich kids, fully sloshed, driving fast cars and mowing down people sleeping on footpaths with sickening abandon. We are unable to send such people to jail or levy hefty fines or cancel their licenses as a stiff deterrent. Worse, witnesses can be bought, alibis can be found and the kids can be back to their old wicked ways right under the nose of the police.
Why?
What is the reason?
How, on the one hand, do we manage to achieve earthshaking success abroad? And how do we scrape the bottom in achieving minimum standards back home?
Time was when India was a poor country. We were dependent on World Bank loans, germ-filled PL 480 wheat imports from US, and volunteers from Peace Corps to show and teach us basic things. Now we are almost up there, rubbing shoulders with the likes of G8. We have Jaguar and Land Rover in our kitty. Arcelor-Mittal’s Laxmi Mittal is the wealthiest Indian and biggest steelmaker in the world.
Both at the individual and collective levels we have done well and we are admired and appreciated in most places of the world. We respect the rules, obey the laws, we are peaceful.
Yet, we have failed in achieving exactly those basic things back home.
We have, it seems become a Schizophrenic Republic that lives two different lives at the same time.
Which is one is real, and which one is a put-on?
Outside our borders, we have shown the world that we are second to none. We have demonstrated a strong work ethic, we have shown we are very disciplined, law-abiding, punctual, clean.
But back in our own country, we care two hoots for the law of the land. We break ever rule with impunity, we cannot follow lane discipline, we drink and drive and kill, we loot and steal because there is not a law we do not how to circumvent.
We take utmost care in personal hygiene (some with three baths a day- in the peak of summer when there is water shortage), but will have no qualms dumping things in our neighborhood. Our dustbins are fairly clean inside, but their peripheries are lined by a smorgasbord of leftover food, plastic sheets and all the dumps that you can think of with the stench reaching the skies.
Whether it is a banana peel or a chocolate wrapper, we throw it on to the ground and walk off nonchalantly. People driving fast cars and SUVs have no qualms opening the window a bit to throw whatever they want on to the road and accelerate faster!
The list is endless. We continuously honk while driving even if the road is clear and no traffic is obstructing us. We talk loudly on our mobile phones in hospitals and ICU corridors, and in theatres and auditoria while a movie, play or concert is going on.
In the process, we seem to have evolved our own philosophy of life on our soil.
1. I will live the way I want, to hell with your rules, etiquette, grace etc.
2. I will spit, throw things anywhere on roads, on footpath, on railway station or outside my house.
3. I will drive at any speed, drunk or fully sober and if somebody gets killed, too bad.
4. I will not follow the rules. I have connections. I have money. I know so-and so, the Minister, the Police inspector who will get me out in quick time.
In short, the ‘Model Indians’ that the world knows and likes are ‘Ugly Indians’ back home.
How then can things improve?
Let me add a strange behaviour i have noticed of fellow Indians when they are outside India – either working, holidaying etc. Indians are the most law abiding citizens. They follow all rules :wont jump traffic signals, no drunken driving, no jumping queues, no misbehaviour and are always at their best behaviour.
Why so ? My guess is that by nature we are law abiding people and most importantly – There is strict implementation of Law and no offender is spared from punishment.. Meaning, we wont do wrong when we know we know that we will caught and punished for it.
In India, we dont see the Law work so efficiently, so we take our chances and behave the way we do.
Sad but true.
Good article. There are seven distinct classes in india:
1. The educated/ corporate Rich Class – (Ex: NRN, Mittal, premji, Ambani, the media moghuls like prannoy roy, indu jain)
2. The non-corporate semi-educated but powerful Rich Class (Political big wigs with assets more than 500 crores – Lalloos, sonia, mayavathis,karunanidhis,Deve gowdas, big real estate tycoons, film stars and directors)
3. The upwardly mobile educated upper middle class (IAS, IPS officers, professionals in medicine, IT, BT, Lawyers, Financial experts etc)
4. The uneducated upper middle class (our friendly neighbourhood realtors, traders, small time businessmen, landowning farmers etc)
5. The educated lower middle class (The BPO workers, clerks, lecturers, school teachers etc)
6. The uneducated lower middle class (taxi/Auto drivers, the roadside pani poori guy, small time shop keepers and retailers etc)
7. The poor class (The begger on the streets, the farmers commiting suicide, daily wage workers, manual labourers etc)
You can fit in and seggregate all the behavioural characterstics mentioned in the article in these classes.
The educated/corporate rich class and the educated upwardly mobile middle class are the ones who have brought laurels to India globally. These are people who can compete and work on an almost even playing feild with the middle class around the globe (mainly US and europe). These are the people who are part of Friedman’s flat world. The educated lower middle class has also provided good support for the two classes mentioned above.
The other group belong to the uneducated rich class, uneducated upper middle class, lower middle and poor class are the people who are on the other side of the digital divide. Some uneducated people in these classes have moved up heigher in the class hierarchy and become the upwardly mobile middle class but they still retain the moorings of their old backgrounds – honk, spit and piss on the roads et all.
The problem is the number o fpeople in the poor class is very high in India especially rural India. Remmber India is still a country of villages. Who has the answer for the moder day class / caste system of India the Saptha Varnas (7 castes/classes). Was there a Manu who created these classes.
Ishweshwaraih ,
have you never seen educated people spit or break rules.They are the ones who do it most
Indians are among the most religious people on earth.
Yet, we break all civic rules and regulations with impunity, caring a fig for others’ problems.
Does that mean religion has failed us?
After all religious people are compassionate and sensitive to others, aren’t they?
Nice article in churmuri.
A senior manager in my company drives back home in wrong side of one way, He finds it difficult to go a head and take U turn.
This person has lived in “The USA” for more than 15 yrs. I find it difficult to digest this.
Our engineers design software that makes the hardware tick in every computer of the globe.
Oh! Really!? :D
I know it is easy put the blame on something else but there are some counter questions.
1. The dustbin has been removed by BBMP and D to D was introduced(great idea). The door to door garbage collector is not coming for the past three days in my area. There are boxes of garbage lying at the gates of every house. Some night the street dog comes drags the boxes into the middle of the road (oh! street dogs are not supposed to be there). Complaints to the local corporator.(he has promised to look into the matter very noble of him). The situation in non urban areas is worse.
2. I am near lalbagh I feel the need to pee, the loo by the Murth Angadi is not usable state. I ask around nobody has a clue where the next loo is?(I waited ill I reached home)
3. I am in a hurry to reach some place every auto/taxi/biker/bus is in more hurry always(I am not blaming).
It would be more meaningful if I have some actions instead of just grumbling.(oh! yes I have casted my vote and complain where ever I can.)
My take on these though simplistic, is we can only improve if have more concern to the next person and time to think about them. We are always in the race of survival (of the fittest) and have always been taught to compete for everything even if there is no need. The disturbing thing is there seems to be no way out.
@poli kitty
Just for my own personal information and use. Is this manager by any chance from the other side of the vindhyas?
Well I think we as a people lack community consciousness. And this cuts across all the seven ‘varnas’ that our isva is talking about. When our folks visit other places, they have to abide by the customs of that place and somehow reluctantly fall in line.
Have people visiting singapore noticed how ‘Little India’ compares with the rest of Singapore,especially during the weekends? The answer lies right there.
Great comment Avva Madesa,
I too believe “desi” culture is same everywhere. That is why that place is called “Little India”. In fact chinese have no syllable sounding L. They use R instead of L. The authentic pronunciation is “Litter India”.
I see “Litter India” in the local Indian store at Manchester.
I had found rat droppings in the groceries I bought!! And shopkeepers routinely charge excessively.
They follow all the laws outside the shop like driving nicely etc.. not because they suddenly change, but because they don’t want to be caught!!!
Educated middle class is a snob story. They make their kids pee in the park in NJ!!!.
They pack their suitcases with food while leaving India and give false declaration at the airport after they land in US!!
The best place to witness the pent up desi bearing his fangs is boarding place for an Air India flight.!!
To sum up every Indian is a schizophrenic. He wants to show he is best and whenever no one is looking at him he would cut corners. This probably is because of our religion that differentiates divine and demon by slight of logic.
If demon kills he is bad. If God kills it is for lok uddhara.
So we too have a worst and best behavior and routinely we switch them at airports.
Well last year around this time I was in JAPAN, some claim it as most polite society in world and I do concur sometimes with that. I was a transformed person there … I used to cross roads only on green signal … use to be in line wherever I went … always polite (more polite than japanese) … on deep introspection, I did all this because I wanted to project a very good Image of Indians & ofcourse myself.
After a month I was back in Mother land, made an honest attempt to be the same JAPANESE but our country men failed me. It was so frustrating,
1.) when I wait for signal to turn green … people behind me honk, harass, force me to break signal …. (It still continues & I have not given up)
2.) In office, I am waiting for lift … people behind me rush towards it with least consideration that I was there before them. (this at reputed MNC, Imagine my plight at BMTC bus stand )
After two months, my Indian instincts kick back … I am back among those who ride bike on footpaths, break signals, HELL with RULES, I am not coming Last AGAIN ! Again another round of self introspection, found out that majority of Indians are polite only to relatives, friends & not general public. Not that we are REBELS at heart. We hate to follow rules because we feel insecure, we are the most insecure society divided by caste, religion & what not ?
@Poli Hudga:
Regarding honking of horns; these guys should be sent to drive in Charminar Main Road in Hyderabad, where the traffic is always bumper to bumper. If somebody honks a horn by mistake, he will be greeted by the Rikshaw puller, or the Gound (milk vendor on a bicycle), with a “Kya be?” and growled at. Such menacing looks one gets by honking will be enough to teach vehicle riders from all classes, never to honk horn without a valid reason.
This is a good post – ought to make each one of us think about it and find an answer.
I feel that we Indians are very good at following rules – outside India, there are clear rules and everyone *else* follows them and we are good at following what others do.
Back home? We do not have the initiative to start a certain way of doing things and if we do, we do not have the persistence to follow it.
Last year, I was in my home city with my 18 month old, walking in a rather busy shopping area. People routinely kept walking fast with no concern about the baby I was carrying and each time I had to duck or move away so that my baby was not affected! This was on a Saturday or Sunday – wasn’t here any time for niceties?!
While in many other countries (mostly in Europe and in the US), “right of way” (reg traffic) usually means “You first”, in India, it always means “ME first”, with the result that ALL of us get delayed since ALL of us want to be first and usually the vehicle that is largest wins!
What is about our own country that makes us give up so easily?
I remember that a person named M.B.Nirmal started Exnora (Excellent, Novel, Radical), to clean up the streets in Madras. It took a lot of effort to organize this in each area and back in the 80s, I did see a visible difference in certain pockets of residential neighborhoods – clean pavements (some with little plants even!), but why are we not able to sustain that?
It will take us some time to identify the reasons and when we do, we ought to act on it!
hi
well for me it’s down to the idea of home and away. I lived in Dubai for about 6 years. it was a soulless hell hole.veryone was polite and law abiding and everyone did what was ‘right’.
when i came back to india, the force of the comfort and ‘home’ness that surrounded me turned me on a great deal.
point is, when we’re abroad, it’s kind of like being a guest at some distant relatives. ur always nice, making sure you dont intrude, and most of all ALWAYS grateful that youve been allowed to stay there for a bit.
but when ur in India, it’s home. the streets are YOURS to spit on. u honk because, shit man, this damn car’s in MY way!
Personally I love it. I love the comfort and familiarity people have in India. I love that the whole damn country is so much like home that its fine if u spit.
from what ive seen, and granted it’s not alot but i will argue it’s considerable, all these things u talk about are the only really democratic things about the country. our entire government is corrupt in such a disorganised uninformed way, and our literate citizens are so comfortable in the mess they call home, that little to nothing changes.
ur point of view is based on ALOT of generalisations and it is very detached from the real murky stuff.
too many people give the horribly generalised view of ‘oh yea we’re booming’ or ‘oh yea we’re a crap nation’ without bothering to go further into the matter.
no offence intended I just find the idea really too general.
However I will say that i sincerely appreciate that your willing to blog about this and discuss it and for me, as a media student, that’s the first step.
enjoyed your blog tons. I’m probably doing a post linking you later today if you’re interested.
My two cents.
I used to commute by train to work in the US city I lived in at one time. This system is known for its efficiency, the civil behaviour of the commuters etc. One day for some reason the station I used was closed for some repairs. Buses were pressed into service to help stranded passengers. There were lots of people and few buses. And though everyone knew that forming a queue was the best thing to do (and there were enough buses) – everyone wanted to be the first to get onto a bus. There was the same mad running in group behind bus thing which you see in India. No one was bothered about anyone else, just wanted to get on, by whatever means. And most ppl who use this station were highly educated, qualified (just next to a top university/financial district).
I believe, our problem is the size of the population living as one country. The space within a country is fixed given that international borders don’t change that much as they used to before and conquest of other land etc. is not the norm anymore.
A densely populated country will have well behaved civilians only if the size of the country is manage-ably small. This will allow people to solve their bigger problems and then move on to appreciate civic behaviour. Achieving a minimum level of life for most people (at least those who want to achieve it) will not be an unsurmountable challenge. National problems will not be so large that the citizens feel nothing can be solved in their lifetime and thus dont bother about anything but themselves.
In a large country, if the population is relatively smaller the same effect can be achieved (US, Canada, Australia, Russia etc.). Or it has to be done by force and some amount of oppression (China) – homogeneity of race/culture/religion helps too.
Even looking at our own villages as opposed to cities shows this. In spite of the overall poverty in villages (at least what I have seen in Karnataka) – the bad behaviour and total lack of civic sense is less observable in villages – the population hasnt reached the stage that it isnt bordering on jungle law.
As a thought experiment imagine our state were a country from the time of Independence. There would have been a lot of problems with natural resources etc. But given the quality of our people, our overall nature to improve and work hard, our sensitivity to what is happening around the world, and homogeneity (at least as compared to our country now) – there is no way we wouldn’t have solved our bigger problems by now and moved onto smaller things. Especially since we know that the scope of large problems and challenges are small enough to be solved by one generation in their lifetime.
Of course I am not supporting any idea by saying this etc., just trying to find some reasons behind the supposedly strange dichotomous behaviour we as Indians exhibit in India and abroad.
Agreee with AG. I have had the exact same experience on the east coast.
Beg to differ with the thought experiment on the “overall nature” & “homogeneity”
Not so sure if we are really hard working. Sensitive, may be to a certain extent. I have seen people from the neighbouring state at the work place more hardworking than us. I could be generalizing though.
We are still yet to jell and work as a single homogeneous state. Its a hypothesis whose outcome can only be conjectured.
Vitlan,
Right, is just conjecture. Now we are only a piece in a much larger puzzle. Where we have to deal with larger problems many of which are not even our making or of much concern to us. And maybe many smaller problems have been solved for us being part of a larger whole.
Anyway here’s another thought experiment. Consider Mysore (or even Madras presidency) before independence. Though it was part of the overall British Indian Empire, things were more independent then for Mysore. So in the short span, who well off was Mysore? How civic were its people? How much on the path to progress were we then? Did it look like things would get better for majority of the people then as opposed to now.
The whole thing may seem a little far-fetched and just foolish dreaming, but on the other hand it might give a glimpse into what may have been possible as a smaller more manageable nation.
Simple fact of Life !!!
Whether in India or Abroad.. The Word Indian is a very broad term. In the sense, its a confederation of erstwhile princely states. We are Indian’s by accident. We have the largest unmanageble population to handle. Now this unmanageble population regardless of the classes created havoc.
Chinese are managed through an autocratic rule though they are the largest population. Indian’s are managed through Democracy. Maybe too much of democracy. What we need is controlled democracy for which our ruler’s who cannot control themselves cannot control others.
Corruption is a imbibed deep into our psyche’s. we always look for shortcuts. Whether u r a part of the Corporate or not it show’s up somewhere.
Do we have answer’s to all these. May be not. Not for another 100 years. Dont think I’m an eternal pessimist.
And the second point on some ppl from neighbouring state being more hardworking. They would probably have build an even better place for themselves?
The plain fact is we have achieved all the progres for the exact reason that we follow no law within our personal borders. Take away that freedom we go back to zero
While we could use better public etiquette in India, be it India or th US, when chaos steps in, etiquette makes an exit and mob mentality rears it’s ugly head. The looting and hate crimes, the apathy toward the poor, many caught on tape, post hurricane Katrina in the US is a prime example of such mob mentality. The sad-bad part is, chaos reigns supreme, more often in India making way for unruliness…
I think instead of asking how things can improve, we should ponder why such a situation exists. Because there is no Law and there is no Order. If at all, it is there only for those who do not have either money or power. As long this state continues, it is IMPOSSIBLE to improve anything.
haha…nice article…but we indians have always been a little weird…
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