賈揚特·班達里：理解印度

https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/1hwah2s/understanding_india_article_adapted_from_a_recent/

本文摘自2024年9月19日至24日在土耳其博德魯姆舉行的財產與自由協會第18屆年會。賈揚特·班達里（加拿大）：“理解印度”。以下文章改編自這篇演講：

“大多數西方人對印度的了解僅限於對印度教、瑜伽、靈修導師以及或許略知一二的寶萊塢電影的模糊印象。對這些人來說，這篇文章將是一記當頭棒喝……

我成長於印度中部的博帕爾。從記事起，我就在父親的印刷廠幫忙。我在附近的印多爾學習工程學，之後前往英國曼徹斯特商學院攻讀工商管理碩士學位。我回到印度，為一家英國公司設立了子公司，並取得了巨大的成功。在德里生活期間，我曾為印度主流媒體撰稿。我的足跡遍布印度各地以及世界各地。

我最初回到印度的目的是為了改善它，但11年後，我意識到印度正處於水深火熱之中，腐敗日益猖獗，人民道德淪喪，社會分崩離析。我從未遇到過一位誠實的官員或政治家。我申請移民加拿大，我的申請在創紀錄的三天內就獲得了批准。”幾周。

我現在為東亞和西方公司提供在印度投資的諮詢服務。我跟他們說的很多話，在他們聽來都誇張、不切實際，甚至難以置信。經過一番折騰、鬧劇和大量資金損失之後，他們才開始相信我的話。然而，由於他們拒絕了解印度，這種“學習”從未被系統化。這是一種政治正確，一種正在侵蝕西方價值觀的毒藥。

我在印度長大，小時候就被灌輸“強權即公理”的觀念。權力常常被濫用，掌權者仿佛擁有上帝賦予的特權，可以肆意剝削和支配他人。這種權力的展現方式極其極端，以至於質疑權力或期望掌權者履行職責都可能招致報復。掌權者似乎認為他們的職位並非為了服務他人，而是為了謀取私利。

那些表現出尊重的人似乎默默地接受了低人一等的從屬地位。善良的人不得不隱藏自己的同情心，因為善良被視為軟弱的表現。

在印度，我很少見到掌權者主動解決自己負責的問題。我在大學時，一個在廚房工作的未成年男孩被清潔工強姦和雞姦。我舉報了此事，但不僅沒有掌權者採取正確的行動——這完全在他們的能力範圍之內——校方和同學還威脅我，如果我繼續追究此事，將會面臨嚴重的後果。他們缺乏同情心，還嘲笑那個男孩和我。

是的，這裡面確實存在某種虐待狂的成分。某種程度的快感……印度人對別人的痛苦感同身受。當局的態度就像那位身居高位的德里官員一樣，他告訴我，他的黑牌威士忌之所以如此美味，是因為他知道大多數印度人喝不起。

這讓西方人感到困惑。如果他們擁有權力，即便他們腐敗，在雙方都無利可圖或有所損失的情況下——雙方都很窮，沒有收受賄賂的風險，也沒有得罪權貴的風險——他們也會秉公執法，將涉嫌強姦犯繩之以法。而這些印度人卻什麼都不做，甚至連一根手指頭都不會動，除非有好處：金錢或性。他們的冷漠深不可測。

在那些上級眼裡，盡職盡責可能被視為娘娘腔。如果你能逃避責任，就會被認為很男子氣概。在那種文化里，做正確的事很少有任何榮耀或榮譽可言。如果你叫水管工來修理，他會覺得不弄髒就走有失身份。他甚至可能故意偷工減料。即使做好工作並不需要更多時間，他也會敷衍了事。這種行為背後是一張由傲慢、自私、奴性、種姓制度、部落主義和迷信思維交織而成的複雜網絡。他通過留下爛攤子來表達對你的蔑視並占你便宜。而他的客戶，就像一枚硬幣的另一面，很可能會瞧不起並剝削那些認真工作的人。

如果你工作做得不好，就意味着你不會被再次聘用嗎？對於那些一開始就沒有標準、缺乏遠見的人來說，這無關緊要。那些想要做得更好、更公平或生產更好產品的人，很少能得到積極的反饋。

公平、正義、信任、同理心和公正對許多印度人來說是陌生的。他們很難分辨是非對錯。即使公平不需要任何代價，他們也漠不關心。

此外，即便行善無需付出任何個人代價，他們也寧願不做，因為這會被視為軟弱的表現。

印度人從小就被灌輸順從的觀念。這種灌輸根深蒂固，以至於印度人即使對地位略高於自己的人也稱呼“先生”。他們往往卑躬屈膝、阿諛奉承、阿諛奉承。但這絕非尊重，因為尊重對印度人來說是陌生的。當他們稱呼你“先生”時，這僅僅反映了他們認為你在互動中處於強勢地位，這與他們“強權即公理”的觀念相符。一旦你處於弱勢，他們就會貶低你。

你要麼高人一等，要麼低人一等——因此，你要麼是施暴者，要麼是受害者。平等是不可能的。來訪者很快就會明白，“請”和“謝謝”被視為軟弱的表現，只有那些想要貶低自己的人才會說。

印度人無法維持英國人建立的制度。這些機構已被掏空和腐敗，淪為掠奪者。憲法和法律形同虛設。驅動這些機構的唯一力量是賄賂和關係。無論你接觸的是最高政治領導人還是最基層的官僚，他們都會公開且毫不羞恥地索要賄賂。

2023年12月10日，在印度巴特那，活動人士焚燒了國大黨議員迪拉傑·薩胡的模擬像，以抗議腐敗並追回贓款。照片由桑托什·庫馬爾/《印度斯坦時報》比哈爾邦政治與治理欄目提供（圖片來源：© Imago via ZUMA Press）。

街頭智慧備受推崇，逃脫法律制裁的罪犯更是被奉為圭臬。我的一位親戚曾得意洋洋地告訴我，他從未支付過租住房屋的租金。他賄賂了地方當局，使房東無法將他趕走。

在一個缺乏信任的社會裡，如果有人被欺騙，他很少會尋求對欺騙者的公正懲罰。相反，他會去欺騙其他人。男人虐待女人，女人虐待孩子，孩子虐待動物。動物會攻擊任何它們能攻擊的目標。印度的高種姓群體虐待低種姓群體，而低種姓群體之間也互相爭鬥，以決定誰更優越。這是一個永無止境的不信任和專斷的循環。

西方人談論的是由英國人正式確立的四五個種姓制度。這種說法混淆了問題的本質，因為它誇大了種姓制度的結構。事實上，印度有14億個種姓。所有的互動都關乎評估彼此。最終，你要麼壓迫他人，要麼被壓迫。所謂的低種姓群體比高種姓群體更有種姓意識。

印度的大多數種姓問題在新聞報道中都以被動語態描述：某某受到了壓迫和虐待。是的，受害者是低種姓人士，但施暴者往往也出身低種姓。當低種姓人士掌權時，他們喜歡在高種姓人士面前炫耀。還有什麼比欺壓他人卻逍遙法外更能炫耀權力呢？或者——如果你是水管工——留下爛攤子也是一種炫耀方式。不同的人會根據自己能逃脫懲罰的程度來炫耀權力。

許多人公然撒謊。人人都知道別人都會撒謊，但還是會撒謊。許多印度人會讓自己相信謊言，以至於無法區分事實與虛構。即使你不必或不想這樣做，你也必須誇大其詞、撒謊，因為你知道你的聽眾會根據你所說的話來判斷。談話往往受個人物質利益驅動。每一次交易都是一場零和博弈——或者說是一場負和博弈，因為虐待狂可能也是其中的一部分。

你或許認為與家人共事就安全無虞，但他們最終可能成為你最大的敵人，因為即使是他們也會背叛你。榮譽並非印度社會準則的一部分。印度人彼此疏離，不懂得忠誠。印度人普遍將黃金藏在家中，甚至對家人也秘而不宣。

我從未（我特意用了“從未”這個詞）在印度獲得過任何一份合同的履行。行賄必須技巧高超。如果你在法律訴訟中與對方對立，法官和警察會同時收受雙方的賄賂。你的律師甚至會在你面前與對方和法官勾結，以求獲得最大利益。這聽起來或許難以置信，但這並不能改變現實。

大多數美德的詞彙都源自波斯語、土耳其語或英語，而非印度本土語言。但這些詞彙進入印度語並不意味着印度人就接受這些美德；它們已被扭曲，淪為舊習的幌子。

每個人都會在自己的房產周圍建起堅固高大的圍欄。幾乎每個人買房當天都會這麼做，因為鄰居們總想方設法侵占他們的土地。我搬到西部好幾年後才明白為什麼人們不建圍欄。

我第一次去英國旅行時，發現那裡的動物似乎並不害怕圍欄，這讓我覺得很有趣。

他們對人充滿敵意。我驚訝於那些掌權者竟然不要求人們卑躬屈膝或畢恭畢敬。多年來，我一直感到不安，仿佛只有行賄才能完成交易。

我的祖父母和父親在財務方面誠實守信，並且自尊心極強——這在印度實屬罕見。印度也有善良、理智、道德高尚、理性的人，但我認識的這樣的印度人，恐怕連我的手指頭都比不上；我一個上午就能找到這麼多誠實的美國人。按照印度的標準，我們家算是體面，人脈也廣。這讓我免受了許多墮落之事的侵擾，也讓我能夠對聽到的那些故事視而不見。

在普通的印度人之間，談話內容無非是背後議論、八卦朋友、談論名人、交流迷信以及對其他群體的敵意。印度教徒憎恨穆斯林，穆斯林憎恨印度教徒，錫克教徒也憎恨印度教徒。這些群體之間互相爭鬥，導致社會分裂，但他們對其他群體的仇恨表面上卻將他們團結在一起。

在印度加爾各答，示威者抗議北德里市政公司突然開展的“反侵占”行動。在穆斯林和印度教徒發生暴力衝突後不久，北德里市政公司拆除了多處人行道上的建築物，例如商店。（圖片來源：© Sukhomoy_ Sen/eyepix via ZUMA Press Wire）

直到我在英國生活了一年，我才真正理解榮譽和忠誠的概念。在那段時間裡，有人告訴我，在宣傳我工作的機構時不要誇大其詞。我第一次意識到，人們想要說真話僅僅是因為真話本身。我一直都知道“真理”這個詞，但直到那時，我才開始真正理解它的本質。

理解印度的基本原則是：它是一個缺乏道德、非理性和價值觀的社會。你試圖灌輸的任何價值觀都會像水從鴨背上滑落一樣，毫不費力。

我目睹了印度社會的持續惡化。基督教傳教士和歐洲殖民者曾經灌輸給印度人的優雅和文明，如今正在慢慢消逝。

我清楚地記得離開印度的第一天。從希思羅機場到曼徹斯特的火車上，我看到的房屋起初看起來平淡無奇，水道和空氣也乾淨得毫不起眼。火車旅途的寧靜和缺乏喧囂讓我感到迷茫和沮喪。我不知道該如何應對這種感官不再受到持續刺激的環境。

隨着時間的推移，我意識到，對於大多數印度移民來說，這導致了一種強迫性的衝動，想要在他們搬進的貧民窟里重建印度。他們渴望熟悉的氣味、喧囂和熙熙攘攘的人群。他們重現了永無止境的情緒化、毫無意義的衝突、混亂和思想上的近親繁殖。

當我們獲准自由出入曼徹斯特的學校，後來又獲准進入我工作的辦公室時，我和其他移民常常懷疑英國人是不是太天真了，才會如此輕易地信任我們。誰又能阻止我們把所有東西都偷走呢？大多數移民從未真正理解“信任”和“感恩”的意義。更糟糕的是，他們發現抱怨往往能帶來好處——這在多元文化的西方社會，是他們唯一真正關心的事情。人文主義和文明價值觀從未觸動過他們的心。

有一次，我和一個朋友在曼徹斯特開車兜風。他喝了幾杯酒後闖了紅燈，被警察攔了下來。警察對他的尊重讓我震驚。在印度，警察甚至會羞辱和剝削車上的乘客。我的朋友被帶到警察局，在警車送我去的路上，我向他解釋了如果這種事發生在印度，我們會受到怎樣的對待。

那時，我住在曼徹斯特一個治安很差的地區，警察有時會跟蹤我回家。我問那位警官為什麼他們從不攔下我或盤問。他告訴我，他們跟蹤我是為了確保我的安全，沒有正當理由他們無權攔下我。我第一次開始理解英國人對個人空間的尊重，這種價值觀也開始在我心中生根發芽。

那位警官讓我的朋友坐了一兩個小時醒酒，然後沒有給他留下任何記錄就放他走了。我開始意識到，在英國，掌權者可以靈活運用法律，並考慮法律背後的精神；而在印度，法律卻成了掠奪的藉口。

當然，英國早已今非昔比。多年來，警務工作不斷發展，以應對來自第三世界移民帶來的低標準挑戰。

統計數據在印度人的思維中難以引起共鳴。他們沒有灰色地帶的概念；一切都非黑即白，缺乏對細微差別的理解。這種不成比例的性格會導致優柔寡斷和無法正確看待事物。最終，不受控制的情緒主導了生活。我也曾深受其害。

這讓我深受困擾。重新調整我的思維方式，使其符合理性、道德和西方價值觀，是一項艱巨的任務。

我曾就讀於印度最好的工程學院之一，並自認為富有創造力、果斷且腳踏實地。然而，當我開始在英國觀察各種社交互動和行為時，我發現自己缺乏自信。就連雜貨店老闆看起來都比我自信果斷得多。我意識到，我的頭腦被混亂的思維和相互矛盾的動機所蒙蔽。

即使在印度優渥的成長環境中，我也根深蒂固地形成了層層疊疊的混亂世界觀，以及不誠實、陰險狡詐的行為模式。儘管我竭盡全力，但擺脫這些影響、重塑思維模式卻花費了數十年時間。我意識到並試圖改變的任何錯誤信念，都會與其他根深蒂固的信念和思維模式發生衝突。這就像試圖在不破壞整個認知結構的情況下，替換掉我認知城堡中一塊破碎的磚。有時，我不得不借酒消愁，才能獲得片刻的清醒。

隨着時間的推移，我發現自己的睡眠質量有所改善，精神也更加輕鬆。甚至我的身體也開始發生變化，曾經困擾我思緒的陰霾開始消散。身邊的人給予我的支持讓我倍感安心。那些造成長期壓力的混亂矛盾的想法也開始逐漸消失。

我的祖母經常說兩句話，我以前覺得很落後，但現在我卻很認同。她認為有些人需要保持飢餓的狀態，因為如果給予他們更多，他們反而會製造麻煩。儘管她是我認識的最平等的人之一——她甚至和她的司機和裁縫都成了朋友——但她總是提醒我，並非每個人都有資格坐在餐桌旁，除非他配得上這個位置。

“人權”是一個西方概念，對大多數印度人來說難以理解。他們不理解尊重個人的意義。和他們談論“權利”只會讓他們更加困惑。他們無法區分“消極權利”和“積極權利”。例如，當人們被教導財產權時，他們學會了保護自己的財產，卻未能認識到他人的權利。當女性被告知強姦是一種侵犯人權的行為時，她們可能會開始在任何情況下都將其視為侵犯，並將其作為剝削男性的工具。當她們接觸到權利的概念時，她們的心態從接受自己悲慘的生活轉變為充滿怨恨的受害者心態。

在人們擁有道德、理性、因果關係和其他西方價值觀的基礎之前，你無法教導他們任何有益的東西。沒有這些基礎，西方文明的成果只會將人們常常隱藏的享樂主義傾向轉化為更邪惡的東西。在印度，每一種文明的成果——教育、西式服裝、繁榮、西方制度——都被扭曲了。

英國人留下的制度已被掏空，變得純粹是掠奪和虐待的工具。這種情況的出現是因為，在後英國時代的印度，掌權者將權宜之計和財富積累視為人生的唯一目標。如今的印度甚至連歐洲人到來之前那種模糊的法治都喪失殆盡。因此，當印度最終崩潰，英國人到來之前那種類似塔利班的威權體制浴火重生時，反而會是一種進步。

孟買高等法院，由英國工程師詹姆斯·A·富勒上校設計。圖片來源：benbeiske via Flickr，CC BY-NC-SA 2.0。

在西方傳教士的引導下，基督教被印度的迷信和巫術思想“滋養”，最終淪為巫術。語法被棄之不顧，英語也常常變成皮欽語。

教育和西式服裝被一種盲目崇拜的心態所接受。人們關注的是獲得證書和穿着西裝，仿佛這些外在的象徵就能帶來地位和物質利益。同樣，教育也不被視為促進智力發展或使人成為更優秀人的途徑。相反，大多數印度人受動物本能、權宜之計和不道德的資源掠奪所驅使，鄙視自我提升的理念。

教育若應用於一個非理性、以迷信思維處理信息的頭腦，反而會成為一種負擔，使這些人比未受過教育的人更糟糕。

印度人的思想本應在接受正規教育、接觸西方文明的成果之前，就被培養出道德和理性，並被灌輸榮譽、紀律、尊重和正直的價值觀。然而，這充其量也需要數千年的時間。

經濟學中有一個“中等收入陷阱”的概念。我更願意將印度的處境稱為“低收入陷阱”。與專業經濟學家的觀點相反，這些陷阱有着文化根源；幾乎不可能逃脫。

繁榮既沒有帶來社會和平，也沒有帶來智力和精神的成長。印度人不理解舒適的概念。大多數富裕的印度人建造的是俗艷的豪宅。

並非為了舒適，而是為了炫耀財富，控制弱者。更糟糕的是，近幾十年來唾手可得的繁榮——這本質上是西方科技進步的結果——已經阻礙了人們對理性與道德的追求。社交媒體淪為傳播神話、迷信和色情內容的平台。信息技術革命並沒有給世界上最貧困的地區帶來啟迪！

如今，印度比以往任何時候都更加深陷於迷信和魔法思維之中。享樂主義盛行，家庭分崩離析。

大多數印度人在身居高位後會變得傲慢自大、殘暴無情。這並非出於掩蓋自身無能和心理缺陷的需要，而是源於一種根深蒂固的信念：傲慢和殘暴是權力和階級的標誌。這也是他們應對文化中根深蒂固的自卑情結的一種方式。殖民者曾經賦予印度人的優雅和禮貌早已蕩然無存。

西方創造的財富令印度人着迷。然而，他們卻未能理解這筆財富背後的根源。他們將西方與好萊塢的刻板印象混為一談：穿着短裙的女孩、放蕩不羈、酗酒吸毒、炫耀財富、在豪華辦公室工作以及控制他人。這才是真正的靈魂，曾經被維多利亞時代的道德規範和伊斯蘭教的束縛所掩蓋。這是一種回歸前殖民時代、前維多利亞時代的享樂主義文化的回歸。

英國人是天賜之福。沒有他們，情況只會持續惡化。印度最終會失去從西方獲得的所有好處，並退回到殖民時代之前的狀態。它會分崩離析，如果其大部分人口淪為戰爭和饑荒的犧牲品，人口數量下降到歐洲人到來之前的水平，我也不會感到驚訝。

大多數印度人除了金錢、性和生存之外，思維方式幾乎一成不變——這與一個平均智商只有77的社會不無關係。他們所接受的每一種西方價值觀都被扭曲變形，淪為實現這些目的的工具。印度人沒有十誡。他們對這些價值觀如此缺乏認知，即使被強行灌輸，也依然充耳不聞。對此你無能為力，只能努力理解來自印度和其他第三世界國家的移民會對西方造成什麼影響。

評論區

1年前  LEAVESCELL

我曾經在一個行業里與超過一萬名印度人共事。現在我避之不及，而且會不斷做筆記，確保我知道這家公司是印度人擁有的。我遇到過異常多的欺詐、欺騙、套路、玩忽職守、古怪的商業行為，以及更糟糕的情況。現在我知道，每當我們接近與他們達成交易時，我都會儘量避免。不惜一切代價。這不是種族問題，而是商業道德問題。

正如一位來自印度的評論家所說：“缺乏透明度和對道德規範的遵守，常常使與印度公司做生意成為一項艱巨的任務。”

1年前

我在新西蘭從事勞動法規方面的工作，中國和印度的雇主在違規行為中所占比例過高，其中印度雇主尤其惡劣。令人難以置信的是，他們中的許多人來到這裡就是為了做這些事，因為他們知道自己可以逃回原籍國，從而躲過任何嚴重的指控。

更糟糕的是，他們通常會以本國公民為目標，利用移民騙局等手段製造類似奴隸制的局面。

由於中國和印度是新西蘭的主要貿易夥伴，政府不敢採取過於強硬的措施，因此很難應對這種情況。

1年前

我本來想諷刺一下在公交車上糾纏女性的行為，但這篇文章比我更勝一籌。

Jayant Bhandari "Understanding India"

https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/1hwah2s/understanding_india_article_adapted_from_a_recent/

This talk is from the 18th Annual (2024) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, Turkey, Sept. 19-24, 2024. Jayant Bhandari (Canada): “Understanding India”

Article adapted from a recent speech given at the Property and Freedom Society conference in Bodrum, Turkey.

Jayant Bhandari gave a speech titled “Understanding India” recently. The article below was adapted from this speech:

"Most Westerners know nothing about India beyond vague ideas about Hinduism, yoga, gurus, and maybe a dash of Bollywood. To such people, this article will be a rude awakening...

I grew up in Bhopal in central India. Since as early as I can remember, I worked in my father’s printing press. I studied engineering in the nearby city in Indore and went to Manchester Business School in Britain to do an MBA. I returned to India to set up a subsidiary of a British company, which was a huge success. When I lived in Delhi, I wrote for the mainstream Indian media. I traveled widely in India and around the world.

I had first returned to India with the idea of improving it, but after 11 years, I realized that India was a sinking ship, with worsening and increasingly shameless corruption, degraded people, and a society that was falling apart. I had never met an honest bureaucrat or politician. I applied to emigrate to Canada and my application was approved in a record three weeks.

I now advise East Asian and Western corporations on investing in India. Most of what I tell them sounds to them exaggerated, unrealistic, and unbelievable. After much dance, drama, and a great deal of lost money, they begin to believe what I tell them. However, this learning is never institutionalized because of a refusal to understand India. This is a form of political correctness, a poison eating away the innards of Western values.

When I was a child growing up in India, I learned that “might makes right.” Power was often abused, with those in control acting as if they had a God-given right to exploit and dominate others. The display of authority could be so extreme that questioning it or expecting those in power to do their duty might lead to retribution. Those in authority seemed to believe that their positions were not for serving others but for personal gain.

People who showed respect appeared to have meekly accepted a lower, subservient position. Kind people had to hide their compassion, for being nice was seen as a weakness.

In India, I have rarely seen someone in authority take the initiative to solve a problem he was responsible for. When I was at university, an underaged boy who worked in the kitchen was raped and sodomized by the janitors. I reported the matter, but not only did no one in authority do what was right — something well within their power — the authorities and fellow students threatened me with severe consequences if I pursued the matter further. Devoid of empathy, they also made fun of the boy and me.

Yes, there is an element of sadism here. There is some degree of pleasure that Indians take in the pain suffered by others. The attitude of the authorities was like that of the high-placed Delhi bureaucrat who told me that his Black Label whiskey tastes so much better because he knows that most Indians can’t afford to drink it.

This confuses Westerners. If they had power, even if they were corrupt, in a situation where there was nothing to gain or lose — no bribes to receive since both parties were poor, and no risk of offending someone well-connected — they would do the right thing and book the alleged rapist. These Indians would do nothing, not even lift a finger, unless there was a reward: money or sex. Their apathy was bottomless.

Doing your job may be seen as effeminate by those above you. If you can shirk your responsibilities, you’re considered macho. In that culture, there is rarely any pride or honor in doing what is right. If you call a plumber for repairs, he will see it as beneath him to leave without creating a mess. He may deliberately do a shoddy job, even if doing it well wouldn’t take more time. A complex web of arrogance, egotism, servility, casteism, tribalism, and magical thinking drives this behavior. He shows his contempt for you and gets the better of you by leaving a mess. His customer, as the other side of the same coin, might well look down on and exploit someone who did his job well.

If you do a bad job, does that mean you do not get called back? That doesn’t matter to people who have no standards to begin with and who do not think ahead. There is little positive feedback to those who want to do better, be fair, or make better products.

Fairness, justice, trust, empathy, and impartiality are alien to many Indians. They have a hard time telling the difference between right and wrong. They are indifferent even when no cost is associated with being fair. Moreover, if they could do good without any personal cost, they would still prefer not to, because that can be seen as a sign of weakness.

Indians are indoctrinated to be submissive. The indoctrination is so profound that Indians address those even slightly above them in authority as “sir.” They tend to be servile, sycophantic, and ingratiating. This should not be mistaken for respect, because respect is foreign to Indians. When they call you “sir,” it reflects their view of you only as the stronger figure in the interaction, consistent with their view that might makes right. They will demean you the moment you are in a weaker position.

You are either higher or lower — therefore, you are either abuser or abused. Equality is impossible. A visitor learns very quickly that saying “please” and “thank you” is seen as a sign of weakness and is reserved for those who wish to demean themselves.

Indians cannot maintain the institutions established by the British. These institutions have been hollowed out and corrupted, becoming predatory. The constitution and laws hold little value. The only forces driving these institutions are bribes and connections. Whether you approach the highest political leaders or the pettiest bureaucrats, they openly and unashamedly demand bribes.

Activists burning an effigy of Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu in protest against corruption and recovering of cash on December 10, 2023 in Patna, India. Photo by Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times Bihar Politics And Governance (Credit Image: © Imago via ZUMA Press)

Street smarts are highly valued, and criminals who evade justice are celebrated. A relative of mine, brimming with pride, once told me that he would never pay rent for the house he had rented. He had bribed the local authorities to make it impossible for his landlord to throw him out.

When someone in a society without trust is cheated, he rarely seeks justice against the cheater. Instead, he cheats others. Men abuse women, women abuse children, and children abuse animals. Animals attack whatever they can. Higher-caste Indians abuse those in lower castes, while lower-caste people fight with other lower-caste people to determine who is superior. It is a perpetual cycle of mistrust and arbitrariness.

People in the West talk about a system of four or five castes that was formalized by the British. This confuses the issue, for this gives an exaggerated sense of structure. In reality, there are 1.4 billion castes in India. All interactions are about sizing you up. You end up either oppressing others or being oppressed. The so-called lower caste people are more caste conscious than the higher caste people.

Most caste problems in India are described in the news in passive tense. So-and-so was oppressed and abused. Yes, the sufferer is a lower caste person but the oppressor is often of a similarly low caste. When a lower caste person rises in power, he loves showing it off to those from higher castes. What better way to show off power than by abusing others and getting away with it or — if you are a plumber — by leaving a mess? Different people show off power according to what they can get away with.

Many people lie openly. Everyone knows everyone lies, but everyone lies anyway. Many Indians convince themselves of their lies so that they can no longer differentiate between fact and fiction. Even if you don’t have to or want to, you have to exaggerate and lie, for you know your listener will calibrate to what you say. Conversations are often driven by personal material gain. Every transaction is a zero-sum game — or perhaps a negative-sum game, for sadism may be a part of the equation.

You may think you will be safe if you work with family members, but they may turn out to be your biggest enemies, for even they will betray you. Honor is not a part of the social code. Indians are atomized people and do not know loyalty. Indians across the board hide gold in their own houses and do not tell even family members about it.

I have never (I am using the word advisedly) had a contract honored in India. When you bribe, you must do so skillfully. If you have an opposing side in a legal fight, the judge and the police will take bribes from both sides. Your lawyer will collude with the opposing side and with the judge right in front of you to maximize bribes. This might sound unbelievable, but that does not change reality.

The words for most virtues come from Persian, Turkish, or English, not native Indian languages. But just because the words came into the language does not mean Indians accept those virtues; they were perverted and became a façade for the old ways.

Everyone builds solid, high fences around his property. Everyone does this the day he buys a property, because his neighbors will encroach on his land if they can. It took me years after I had moved to the West to understand why people don’t build fences.

When I first traveled to the UK, I was amused to find that animals weren’t fearful of or aggressive toward people. I was surprised that those in power didn’t expect servility or reverence. For years, I felt uneasy, as if I wasn’t fulfilling my part of the transaction unless I paid bribes.

My grandparents and father were honest in financial matters and held themselves to a high standard of self-respect — an anomaly in India. There are good, sane, moral, rational people in India, but I have more fingers than the total number of such Indians I have known; I can find that many honest Americans in one morning. By Indian standards, our family was decent and well-connected. This shielded me from much depravity and made it possible to ignore the stories that I heard.

Among ordinary Indians, conversations revolve around backbiting, gossiping about friends, discussing celebrities, exchanging superstitions, and animosity toward other groups. Hindus hate Muslims, Muslims hate Hindus, and Sikhs hate Hindus. These groups fight among themselves, leaving everyone atomized, but their hatred of other groups superficially unites them.

Demonstrators protest against the sudden “anti-encroachment” drive carried out by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Kolkata, India. The NDMC demolished several pavement structures such as shops, shortly after a period of Muslim-Hindu violence. (Credit Image: © Sukhomoy_ Sen/eyepix via ZUMA Press Wire)

I doubt I understood the concepts of honor and loyalty until I had lived in Britain for a year. During that time, someone told me not to exaggerate when promoting the organization I worked for. For the first time, I began to see that people wanted to speak the truth simply for the sake of truth. I had always known the word “truth,” but for the first time, I began to grasp its essence.

The foundational principle to understanding India is that it is an amoral, irrational society devoid of values. Any values you try to instill will slip off, like water off a duck’s back.

I have seen a continual worsening of Indian society. Whatever grace and civility Christian missionaries and European colonizers instilled in Indians has been slowly eroding.

I distinctly recall my first day outside of India. On a train trip from Heathrow Airport to Manchester, I saw what I initially thought were dull-looking houses and clean, unremarkable waterways and air. The lack of hustle and bustle and the calmness of the train ride left me feeling disoriented and gloomy. I didn’t know how to cope with a situation where there was no constant assault on my senses.

With time, I realized that for most Indian immigrants, this led to a compulsive need to recreate India in the ghettos they moved into. They sought the familiar smells, noise, and constant hustle and bustle. They recreated never-ending emotionalism, fruitless conflicts, chaos, and intellectual inbreeding.

When we were granted unhindered access to the school in Manchester and later to the office where I worked, my fellow immigrants and I often wondered if the British were so naïve as to trust us so readily. What was to stop us from stealing everything in sight? Most immigrants never truly grasp the significance of “trust” and “gratitude.” Worse, they discover that complaining often leads to benefits — the only thing they genuinely care about in the multicultural West. Humanistic, civilizational values never touch their hearts.

Once, a friend and I went for a drive in Manchester. Having had a few drinks, he ran a red light and was pulled over by the police. I was stunned by the respect with which the officer treated him. In India, the police would have humiliated and exploited even the passengers. My friend was taken to the police station, and as I was driven there by an officer, I explained how we would have been treated if this had happened in India.

At that time, I was living in a high-crime area of Manchester, and the police sometimes followed me when I walked home. I asked the officer why they never stopped or questioned me. He told me they followed me to ensure my safety and had no authority to stop me without legitimate cause. For the first time, I began to understand the British respect for personal space, another value that was also starting to take root in my mind.

The officer made my friend sit for an hour or two to sober up, and then let him go without booking him. I began to realize that those in power in Britain could apply the law flexibly, considering the spirit behind it; in India, laws were excuses for predation.

Of course, Britain is no longer what it once was. Over the years, policing has evolved to accommodate the challenges presented by the lowest common denominator introduced by immigrants from the Third World.

Statistics fail to resonate in the Indian psyche. There is no sense of a grey area; everything is black or white, with no appreciation for nuance. This lack of proportionality leads to indecisiveness and an inability to value things. In the end, unrestrained emotions drive life. I carried a part of this same mindset with me. Realigning my thinking with reason, morality, and Western values was a difficult task.

I attended one of the best engineering colleges in India and believed myself to be creative, decisive, and well-grounded. However, as I started witnessing social interactions and behavior in Britain, I found I lacked confidence. Even the grocery store owner appeared more confident and decisive. I realized my mind was clouded with confused thinking and conflicting motivations

Even my privileged upbringing in India had ingrained into me layers upon layers of confused worldviews, and dishonest, scheming behavior. Despite my best intentions, shaking them off and rewiring my thinking took decades. Any erroneous belief I became aware of and tried to change clashed with other deeply ingrained beliefs and mental patterns. It was like trying to replace a broken brick in the castle of my cognitive constructs without destabilizing the entire structure. At times, I had to get drunk just to find a fleeting sense of sanity.

With time, I noticed that I began to sleep better and felt mentally freer. Even my body started to change, and the mental cloud that had clogged my thoughts began to lift. A reassuring sense that those around me had my back was immensely helpful. The confusing and contradictory thoughts that had caused chronic stress started to fade.

My grandmother often said two things I once considered backward-looking, but I agree with them today. She believed that some people needed to stay on the edge of starvation because if given more, they would make problems. Despite being one of the most egalitarian people I knew — befriending her chauffeur and tailor — she would remind me that not everyone deserved a seat at the table unless he was fit for it.

“Human Rights” is a Western concept that is incomprehensible to most Indians. They fail to understand respect for the individual. Speaking to them about “rights” only leads to confusion. They fail to differentiate between “negative” and “positive” rights. For instance, when taught about property rights, they learn to protect their property but fail to recognize the rights of others. Women, when taught that rape is a violation, might begin to see it in every situation and use it as a tool to exploit men. As they are introduced to the concept of rights, they shift from accepting their wretched lives to adopting a resentful, victim mentality.

You cannot teach people anything good until they have the foundations of morality, rationality, causality, and other Western values. Without these foundations, the fruits of Western civilization serve only to turn people’s often-hidden hedonic tendencies into something more malevolent. Every civilizational fruit — education, Western clothing, prosperity, Western institutions — has been perverted in India.

The institutions left behind by the British have been hollowed out, becoming purely predatory and sadistic. This occurred because, in post-British India, those in power prize expediency and acquiring wealth as life’s sole purposes. Today’s India lacks even the vague rule of law that existed before the arrival of the Europeans. This is why it will be an improvement when India eventually collapses and the Taliban-like authoritarian system that existed before the British reemerges from the ashes.

The High Court of Bombay, designed by British engineer Col. James A. Fuller. Credit: benbeiske via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Without Western missionaries at the helm, Christianity has been “nourished” by Indian superstitions and magical thinking and has become voodoo. Grammar has fallen by the wayside, and English has often become pidgin.

Education and Western clothing have been adopted with a cargo-cult mentality. The focus is on obtaining certificates and wearing suits, as if these outward symbols alone confer status and material benefits. Similarly, education is not viewed as a means to foster intellectual growth or evolve into better human beings. Instead, driven by animalistic desires, expediency, and the unethical pursuit of resources, most Indians scorn the idea of self-improvement.

Education applied to an irrational mind that processes information through magical thinking becomes burdensome, making such people worse than their uneducated counterparts.

The Indian mind should have been made moral and rational and imbued with honor, discipline, respect, and integrity, before being formally educated and provided with the fruits of Western civilization. Alas, this would have been, at best, a millennia-long process.

In economics, there is a concept of the “middle-income trap.” I prefer to call India’s situation the “low-income trap.” Contrary to the beliefs of professional economists, these traps have cultural underpinnings; it is virtually impossible to escape.

Prosperity has led to neither social peace nor intellectual and spiritual growth. Indians do not understand the concept of comfort. Most rich Indians build garish houses not for comfort but to display wealth and control those weaker than themselves. Worse, the easy prosperity of recent decades, which is essentially a result of Western technological advancements, has derailed the pursuit of rationality and morality. Social media are a platform for exchanging myths, superstitions, and pornography. The IT revolution does not bring enlightenment to the poorest parts of the world!

Today, India is more entrenched in magical thinking and superstition than in the past. Hedonism is rampant, and families are falling apart.

When elevated to high positions, most Indians become arrogant and sadistic. This is less from a desire to mask their incompetence and psychological weaknesses and more from a genuine belief that arrogance and sadism define power and class. This also serves as a way to cope with the deep-seated inferiority complex instilled by their culture. Whatever grace and civility had once been imbued in Indians by colonizers has eroded.

The wealth created by the West hypnotizes Indians. However, they fail to understand the underpinnings of that wealth. They equate the West with Hollywood stereotypes: girls in short skirts, promiscuity, drinking and drugs, flaunting wealth, working in plush offices, and controlling others. This is the true soul, once obscured by Victorian morals and Islamic constraints. It is a return to a pre-colonial, pre-Victorian, hedonistic culture.

The British were a godsend. Without them, the situation has continued to worsen. India will eventually nullify all the benefits it got from the West and revert to its pre-colonial ways. It will fall apart, and I wouldn’t be surprised if much of its population falls prey to war and famine and declines to the level it was before the arrival of Europeans.

Most Indians cannot think beyond money, sex, and survival — just what you would expect of a society with an average IQ of 77. Every Western value given to them has been caricatured and corrupted for these ends. Indians have no Ten Commandments. They are so unaware of these values that they remain oblivious even if they are forcefully presented to them. There is nothing you can do about this, except to try to understand what immigration from India and the rest of Third World will do to the West."

LEAVESCELL• 1y ago

I once worked with many, over 10,000, in one industry. I now avoid them like the plague and constantly write notes to make sure I know that the business is Indian-owned. I have dealt with an unusually high amount of fraud, deceit, games, ghosting, odd business behaviors, and much worse. Now I know that whenever we are close to a deal involving them, I just try to avoid it. At all costs. It's not a racial thing, it's a business ethics thing.

As one critic from India observed: "The lack of transparency and adherence to ethical practices can often make doing business with Indian companies a daunting task."

1y ago

I work in Employment regulations in NZ, and the Chinese and Indians employers make up a disproportionate amount of the breaches, with the Indian employers being particularly bad. It's pretty crazy how many of them arrive with the full intention of doing this stuff, knowing they can flee back to their home countries to dodge anything particularly serious.

The worse thing is that they generally target their own people, using immigration scams and the like to set up quasi slavery situations.

It's hard to counter as China and India are major trading partners, so the Government is scared of pushing back too hard

[deleted]

1y ago

I was gonna make a snyde comment about cornering women on the bus, but this article has me beat