The Indianess of Indians?

I was reading a book which got me kinda close to answer my question why Indians are they way they are? The book written by V. Raghunathan named Games Indians Play: why we are they way we are makes an attempt to understand the Indianess of Indians. Hereby he employs game theory and behavioral economics (You ll see, there was a reason why I picked it :-) and its related concept of the prisoners dilemma to provide an insight about they way they just are. Well, I have been here for a while and the questions raised in the book have troubled, stunned and surprised me at some point. The author, and Indian itself, puts it the following way, such as:

Why is my sense of public hygiene so porcine?
Why do I spit with a free will, as if without that one right I would be a citizen of lesser democracy?
Why don’t I stop or slow down my car to allow a senior citizen to cross?
Why do I tear off a page from a library book, or write my name on the Taj Mahal?
Why don’t I vote?
Why do I toot my horn in a residential locality at 3. a.m?
Why is my concern for quality in whatever I do rather Lilliputian?
Why don’t I stand up or retaliate against social ills?
Why do I jump red lights with the alacrity of a jackrabbit leaping ahead of a buckshot?
...

So what? The author analyzes their attitudes towards rationality and irrationality, selflessness and selfishness, competition and cooperation, and collaboration and deception. He shows that in the long run Indians are more interested in their own profit than assuming at least a little self-regulation, give fairness a chance and strive to cooperate and collaborate cause it seems that self interest is their main driving force. Thus whats the author’s solution:
well, he strongly argues in favor of collective action!

Wanna have a short example:
When I jump a queue or a red light, or throw that garbage on the sidewalk, I am taking a rational decision, since it seems it get me ahead of the others or make my life easier for me. Here I am privately smart. But then, as others are no less rational, intelligent and smart, they too start making the same decisions and before we know it, we have unruly traffic, filthy streets and stinking toilets. So collectively we are all worse off (just as the two prisoners in the dilemma).

Drawing many of such examples the author makes his arguments clear and humorous at the same point. He concludes that it is the majority that typifies India and asks them to resolute with their cooperation. The book ends with the following poem:

Where the neighborhood is without filth and the queues short and smooth;
Where civil service is corruption-free;
Where the towns have not been broken up into fragments by narrow potholed streets;
Where justice is given out quickly from the profundity of the courts;
Where a tireless work force stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream from the mountains has not lost its way into contaminated rivers of dead water;
Where the economy is led forward by a rate of growth;
Into that heaven of liberalization, my Father, let my country awake.

Well, I was talking to my supervisor recently which somehow relates to that. I was interested in the main objective, purpose of ATREE, the organization I am working for. She answered that their vision, idea is to have impact on policy!!! And I am glad that they do have. However it sounds nice to be working for an organization which is really bothering the government and trying to give policy recommendations valuable for the environment. But, how does it help to have impact on policy, if policy does not have any impact on the people?

I am in line with the author stating that India is a functioning anarchy meaning that systems are neither implemented nor followed. In case there is one it is either informal or illegal like the garbage disposal system of simply throwing it in front of the house. Well, I might end this with one of my favorite ad slogans: Fear is the Enemy of Progression. Putting it the Indian way: Non-cooperation and lacking Self-regulation are the Enemies of Progression.

But might India just stay the way it is, the way that you never know what to expect around the next corner? Upt to u.

For those who made it this far reading my post seemed to be really interested in that topic - I am glad you are and thus I would recommend to read an Interview given by the Author to Forbes.com for more detailed insights. Interview with V. Raghunathan.

Hugs.