[This post was titled - My Dear North Indian Brother; however, I think I need to take a step back and realize that it has little to do with North India, and more to do with Delhi and surrounding regions]
… All Indians are my brothers and sisters… I shall give respect to my parents, teachers and elders and treat everyone with courtesy…
You have most likely heard the above words at a very early age during your Primary Education. The above lines belong to the Indian National Pledge written by Swami Vivekananda, and is commonly recited by Indians in public events, especially in schools and colleges.
I am not sure if every Indian thinks that way, or if he is even proud to call himself Indian. What happens when a car behind yours slightly touches the bumper of your car? What happens when an auto-rickshaw wala denies to ferry you to your destination? What happens when the girl you like rejects you? Is your integrity questioned at that time? Do you forget the respect you ought to give others? Don’t the car driver, the auto wala, and the girl have the right to make their own decisions? Don’t they even have the right to live, let alone live peacefully?
Does your blood boil and your head get devil’s horns? What is it that gives you this aggression - is it the fact that one of your relatives is some bigshot in the government or in the police? Or is it the fact that you are a hefty man who drinks alcohol and eats meat? Is it justified that you run your car over someone who slightly scratched your car? Is it justified that you rape a 75 year old lady just because she argued with you over which route to take her by? Is it justified that you pull out your knife and stab the girl at the bus stand just because she does not want to marry you? Is it justified that you kill your daughter just because she had sex with your servant?
Are all small incidents balanced when you return the favor by taking someone’s life?
Can you take a step back and keep a tab on your aggression? On the road, in your home, in the school, at work, in the metro… everywhere? Young kids are picking up this aggression from what they see at home and pouring it out on their friends and enemies in school. Is this what you want to teach your kids? Are you failing to pass on basic values to your kids? Provide them with an encyclopedia instead of a Pulsar and a Swiss Knife!
Can you take another step back and bring the peace and harmony Indians have been known for? Aren’t both of us equals? Aren’t rules uniform for both of us? Then why this aggression, why!? I, from the lower half of India, am scared to come to your part of the country. Not because it does not belong to me, but because I am scared that I might fall prey to your aggression. I feel unsafe in the territories you breed. Invite me and make me feel comfortable. Not by showing me news of rapes and murders every few hours. Look at the following news headlines coming from Delhi -
Schoolboy murdered
Man stabs parents
Killed over mobile phone
DU girl shot dead
Pilot runs over man
Life lost for a screwdriver
Murder over chicken tikka
I almost laughed in disbelief, but aren’t you ashamed?
As a small request, I would be glad to see cars in cities without the symbol that says “ARMY”. What does that symbol mean? Does it mean that you are an Army officer? Or does it mean that one of your family members is an Army officer? Even if that is so, what do you want to show to the car driving behind you? Do you want to claim your supremacy on the road? Or do you want to stop anyone from honking at you and overtaking you on the street? Or have you put it so that the towing van does not tow your vehicle from a no-parking zone? What is it that you want to show? It simply points to the fact that you want to exhibit your supremacy and take advantage in any untoward situation! Go ahead, remove the sticker from your car and scooter today, and feel proud that you are only as privileged as everyone else in this country!
I love your cities, I love your food, I love your traditions, I even find your girls very pretty (prettier than girls down south – let them survive birth!) but not your aggression! That does not make me holier than you, but these are things we can together think over!
- Your concerned distant relative
These are purely my own thoughts and not inspired by any one particular person or incident. It is not directed to the whole North Indian / NCR community but certain bad patches that have scared me and many Indians like me. I am not saying that Indians in other parts of the country do not have aggression, they do, but there is clearly more aggression in the NCR that is leading to more rapes and murders each day. Aggression leading to murders and rapes is not just another thing, it is something very serious and something gone terribly wrong in a civilization. This claim is substantiated by studies. According to statistics released by Delhi police, 15 per cent of the killings last year resulted from spur-of-the-moment provocations.
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http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/delhis-brash-new-middle-class-behind-violent-crimes-experts-91727
