Sex, road rage, accidents and bad driving--it’s all in the Indian DNA

Indians at large possess some of the sharpest brains in the world. But when it comes to following traffic rules, they behave in some of the weirdest ways. India is a country where sex is literally taboo, yet prostitution spills out in almost every dark alley in the country. Sexual harassment manifests itself in crowded areas, be it malls, buses, metros or parks. Yoga, they say has its origin in India, but Indians fight at the drop of a hat, especially on the roads and especially while driving. Indians throng religious places very too often and yet when it comes to intolerance, Indians top the chart.

Have you ever wondered why Indians seldom follow traffic rules in India? Have you also wondered why the same set of Indians follows traffic rules when they go abroad? Have you also wondered why Indians throw litter on the road while driving or walking or sitting in a park in India? And have you also wondered why the same Indians throw litter in garbage bins whether they are driving or sitting or walking, when they are abroad? Have you also wondered why do not spit on the roads when they are abroad, why they do not burp loudly when they are abroad, why they don’t drive rashly when they are abroad and why they do not abuse and cuss at others while driving abroad? Because abroad there is a law that sends them to prison. There is a law that takes away their driving license and their piece of mind. There is law that tells them to fall in line. There is a law that treats the rich and the poor the same way. If Brad Pitt skips a traffic light while driving a car, then he gets the same fine as an ordinary man caught doing the same thing.

In India, it’s the Indian DNA at play. It’s been built to go the wrong way. It’s been built to cheat, to commit fraud, to bribe and sexually harass those who are vulnerable. At the end of the day, it’s sexual frustration, economic disparities and absolute disdain for the law that makes Indians go the wrong way. It’s not whether you are rich or poor or partially rich that makes you do something wrong. It’s the Indianness that gets you bogged down.

I tried analysing the Indian behaviour and noticed that a straight answer was just not impossible. The rich are not content with their wealth. They want (and rightly so) the rest of the human race to be at their beck and call. I have seen the rich not bothering to put on seat belts while driving.  I have seen the rich man’s car cross the traffic light when the red light glowed so bright. I have seen the rich man throwing rubbish out of his expensive car, not bothered about what society has to make of it. The poor have their reasons to flout traffic norms. I have seen poor people on two wheelers not bothering to wear their helmets while riding. They cite their poverty when they are caught by the cops.

The praying middle class is yet another set of people with a distorted DNA. Traffic rules are not meant for them, they feel. Seat belts are a bore for them. Stopping at a red traffic light is a big ‘NO’ for them. Stopping behind a Stop line is an absolute ‘No’ for them.  So what ails Indians? Sexual frustration? Economic deprivation? Contorted DNA? Disdain for Indian laws? I wonder. Because the same Indian behaves so well the moment he or she embarks on a flight to an alien land. India, for Indians is a piece of cake, or a piece of shit. You tell me, is India a piece of cake (pun intended) or a piece of shit for us?

New laws, no matter how stringent they are, will prove to be a deterrent for those disobeying traffic. But it’s the DNA that needs to be modified. You have got to teach Indians when they are young about the good ways of life. You want to see how Indian children are being prepared for the future; all you have got to do is see them on their way to their schools.  Either they are driving their cars without licenses, or are sitting in front without their seat belts, with the drivers unmindful of their young master’s incorrigible behaviour.  If it is not for the drivers, the children can be seen with their parents, with the father not wearing his seat belt or the mother not wearing her seat belt while driving. If the kids are travelling in a van or a small mini bus, they would be squashed in like sardines while being transported. In a rickshaw they would be hanging from all sides of the rickety machine.

Like I said earlier, it’s the Indian DNA that has been configured a bit wrong. And to top it all, there seems to be no stopping the population explosion. The poor are growing in numbers by the millions, the middle class too. The rich are simply increasing their wealth multi-fold. It’s a dangerous India in the making with a very bad DNA!