The world is nowhere near perfect, but it isn’t an excuse to not speak against what’s over the line. These are some of the things that make living in India a lesson in tolerance.
- Hazardous air quality. India is home to 90 out of the world’s 100 most polluted cities. Newborns are being born with damaged lungs and doctors are reporting a spike in diseases tied to pollution. But why are we not able to solve it since decades? Read the fourth point.
- Bad infrastructure. No public parks or places to go in for long walks, most cities are ugly concrete jungles, and driving is a constant battle either against potholes or other drivers. Lack of safety measures mean people subconsciously live in a survival mode outside their homes.
- Political discourse. It’s a reflection of the society. The divide based on religion, language, and caste is taking the focus away from what matters. People don’t seem to vote for development, clean air, or infrastructure, but for caste, religion, and freebies.
- The society. The big one.
- The honking on the roads, littering in nature, the pushing in the in cues, the eve-teasing against women; the lack of civic sense in general is an unmistakable theme.
- In a status-driven society like ours, everyone loses. People index way too much on facades, ‘pedigree’, mindless accumulation of wealth, forcing a rat-race upon everyone.
- Our collective mindset is the reason for the ‘tragedy of commons’ we face and why we don’t debate enough about problems like corruption and environment.
- Patriarchy is a prominent part of our ‘culture’. You see it in families, movies, jokes, and in most cultural norms. From seemingly harmless and subtle behaviours all the way to crimes & discrimination against women: it’s patriarchy to blame.
- The ‘jugaad mindset’ and disrespect for the rules is a big issue. Jugaad is just laziness disguised as creativity. While in developed countries, the cost of breaking a rule is astronomical, India on the other hand often disincentives the rule followers. The result? Chaos.
- More on the mindset. You’re a “seedha sada” if you’re unaware of the twisted ways. Bribing, lying, arm-twisting, hiding the truth, cutting corners, and blatant corruption is mostly how things move especially in the bureaucracy. Being ‘street smart’ often feels like a euphemism for being exploitative and unethical. And that’s what many young kids are subtly encouraged to become.
India, the home of Vedas, Upanishads, and Yoga, used to be (and still is in some ways) the spiritual volcano that showered the most nuanced and profound understanding of Science, Universe, and Consciousness upon the world.
But what have we become from that? What is to blame? The Mughal Rule? The British Rule? The poverty? More importantly, how do we become more ethical, civic, and honest? Because in that lies at least one key to our growth.
