Those days are becoming rarer when I am not left aghast, shamefaced, or repulsed at the demeanour of my fellow countrymen in surroundings demanding civilised behaviour. These countrymen (and women) are dressed in expensive attire, generally with a cellular phone clutched in their hand, and look educated.
As you walk towards the exit after
the end of the performance at a theatre, they push you. If you look back, they order
you to move ahead. They get irritated at the slow movement of a wheel chair.
They violate the yellow line and the zebra crossing. They honk in the middle of
the night on an empty road. They play loud music in their car and home. They
scratch their genitals and pick their nose in full public view, and have the
audacity to offer the same hand for a handshake. They speak loudly in a public
area, train and aircraft, disturbing others. They expect you to clear the way
for them when you are stuck in a traffic jam. They jump the queue. They shower
spit as they speak. They encroach. They abuse. They demand to be served first. They
...
Once it was proudly declared that though
we Indians behaved in an uncivilised manner in 'Hamaaraa Pyaara Hindustaan'; we
were the most law abiding people abroad. Sadly, it is not true. We clutter
streets, bypass fire alarms, spit when not likely to be apprehended, speak
loudly, ogle at women, and display such poor social etiquettes abroad that
finding a house in upmarket neighbourhoods is a challenge for us in many
countries. Indians have formed ghettos in such countries, which the natives are
wary of entering.
Why is it so that in spite of
attending some very good schools and paying through our nose for that coveted
degree, educated urban Indians practise pathetic civic sense, circumvent the
law rather than follow it, dominate and exploit the weak, change colours like a
chameleon and pay obeisance even to their sworn enemies in return for a favour?
The fact is, these 'Indians' were children
some years back. Their parents, their first teachers, taught them to come first
in class. And of course, the parents expected them to come out tops if they
played a sport or danced or sang or played some musical instrument. Coming
first became a way of life. You can come first only if the others are behind.
You can either race ahead or push others behind. The lesson was learnt.
Most children took the school bus
or some other conveyance to reach the school. The driver became their next teacher.
The driver, who announced his arrival through continuous honking while still some
hundred meters away from the pick up spot in the still dark wintry morning. The
driver who showered profanities on anyone who dared to share the road ahead. The
driver who took pride in scaring rickshaws and small cars away and snatched the
right of way from them. The driver who was smart and adventurous enough to risk
his life by driving on the wrong side. The driver who never cared for the zebra
crossing and the traffic signals. The driver, who, in spite of treating the
police with contempt, managed them well if caught! The situation was not much
different if the child was dropped by the parents or a relative. The children
spent the most formative ten years of their lives under this teacher, and
became street smart. Being selfish became a second nature.
संदेश
