Don't Malign India - Common Wealth Games

A few days back the government of UK released a set of guidelines for its citizens - which clearly warned them to watch their behaviour while dealing with people of different nations - who would be visiting the Queen's land during London Olympics 2012.

``French are rude, Belgians take offense at people snapping their fingers, never mistake Canadians for Americans, who can be very direct, Australians use coarse language and Indians are, in general, impatient.''

Here they go again.... more to come against Indians.... ``Indians like to be attended quickly and it has been observed that the more affluent they are the more demanding they tend to be... Also, stay away from Indians, who do not like to be touched by strangers and may be suspicious about British food...''

It was weird and quite offensive to an extent the way people of different nationalities were described by the government of UK.

Yet, the British authorities should be forgiven for they are ignorant. They have not experienced the beauty of various cultures. Their spectrum is not wide enough to absorb the values, which different countries follow. Their world (food, language and life style) revolves around Queen's throne. So, they can be pardoned.

What offended me to no limits were the guidelines issued by the Indian government for the tourists who would be visiting India during the Common Wealth Games.

Here is a sample of these guidelines issued on a website prepared by the Games authorities.....

• No public display of affection (no hugging - no kissing).
• No discussion on religion but can have a debate on politics as Indians love to discuss politics.
• Use bathrooms in hotels as the public toilets are few and filthy.
• Carry your own wet wipes and tissues.
• Take off your shoes while entering an Indian house.
• Think twice before driving on Indian roads. It is not advisable to drive on Indian roads with all that traffic.
• When shopping at roadside shops, be ready to bargain - quote 50 percent of the price and settle for 60 percent of what the shopkeeper has quoted.
• Indians are curious by nature and therefore, if you are stared at, don't mind.

After going through these guidelines I wondered if the Games authorities feel we Indians are still living in 17th century and we behave in such uncivlised way!!!

What I suggest to Common Wealth Games authorities is that instead of giving this ugly image of an uncivilised nation where uncouth citizens live, they could have tried to improve the basic infrastructure in the country to enhance the image of the nation.

Then I tried to analyse why we Indians behave the way we behave and found out that there are reasons behind our acceptable or not so acceptable behaviour. My analysis goes like this........

• Indians follow centuries old culture and do not allow strangers to kiss and hug. Reason: the stranger might be carrying some infection!
• Indians do not discuss religion because we are the most secular society and we respect and honour all religions and try not to hurt the religious sentiments of people.
• We love to discuss politics because we are evolved and aware. Any debate on politics is welcomed in the world's biggest democracy because here everyone is free to have his/her own political opinion.
• The public facilities are less as the government does not care. If there were toilets which were kept clean and were equipped with tissues and rolls, people in general would have learnt their proper usage. The poor people of Indian who can't afford two meals a day cannot be expected to learn the use of toilet roll and buy it for their daily use.
• Most Indians take off their shoes before entering their houses because a house is not a mere house for many - it is a kind of religious place because a family lives there and nothing is more sacred and pious than a family. Besides, we avoid bringing germs and bacteria inside the house therefore, take off shoes, which we have worn outside our homes.
• Indian traffic is mental because politicians and bureaucrats invariably love to flout the traffic rules and people generally follow their leaders.
• Many Indian items sold on roadside, are available at fifty times more their original price in other countries, which are making money by selling them. Then why not let our small time businessmen make some money from these foreigners, who come to India thinking everything is cheap here.
• Indians are curious because in the race of development we had been left behind and now to make up we want to learn everything and we want to learn everything fast so that we can emerge as competitors for other nations.

Does anyone in the Common Wealth Games have to say anything in this matter???