Balzac once said : “Manners are the hypocrisy of a nation”, adding fiendishly “and the English have very good manners indeed”
Well if the first part of the quote is true, your average Indian has no manners at all. Here, for million and millions of people, it’s all about surviving. No time for manners. Indians are not hypocrites. Don’t expect them to even pretend anything of the sort.
With an average GNP/head of less than $6,500 (Uk is $46,600 for comparison), a total population of 1.4bn people living in a country 3 times smaller in area than that of the USA or the EU, most people here are living at the edge. When they see the slightest opportunity to push for advantage, they will seize it. Even if it means shoving their way through, squeezing in, fighting for a place or tricking the other off, anything goes. You can’t blame a fellow for trying each and every time he can.
Pushing, shoving, jumping queues and leaving the washroom dirty are so common that one would be in shock if you saw disciplined, considerate behaviour in public spaces.
It’s nothing personal. Just part of life’s struggle. If you don’t push for advantage, you just get left behind. No time, let alone inclination for manners. Why if you use manners, say you give your seat to an elder, it will be looked upon as incomprehensible, even by the elder who is probably left wondering why you did such a bizarre thing. I have even seen someone become resentful after taking advantage of the courtesy, and not in the least grateful.
What about equality and fairness ? No one believes in that nonsense, not for a moment. The caste system, still so powerful in many parts of the country despite being proscribed by the constitution over 50 years ago, keeps everyone in their place with little to no hope for any change. Equality did you say ? Where you from ?
Well that is quite an insight.