Do Indians Always
Need Someone To Hold A Cane Over Their Heads?
It is obvious to all discerning observers that politicians
and bureaucrats of India are trembling in their pants as Mr. Modi is holding a
cane over their heads. The question is, are Indians capable of self-discipline?
Here is an interesting anecdote.
A few years ago, Telugu Association of North America (TANA)
invited me to speak to them during their annual meeting in Atlanta, GA.
Balasubramanyam, the famous singer of India, was the chief guest. There were
two other presenters. I was to speak on the Bhagavad Gita.
There were three hundred Indians seated around 30 round tables.
Their children ran all over the place screaming and yelling. In fact, they ran
here and there on the stage where a U.S. Congressman was addressing. His speech
was drowned in the noise of people talking and children screaming. Unable to
deal with this commotion, he cut short his speech and sped the stage.
When Balasubraminyam started his speech, the noise from the
audience was so bad that he repeatedly pleaded with them to be silent and let
him speak. He said, “I have come here all the way from India just to be with
you! Please let me talk!” His words fell on deaf ears. He cut short his speech
and left the stage.
The audience became more restive as next speakers began
their presentation. They began to hoot them down. The situation was quite out
of control. The organizers had no clue as to how to control these manner-less
NRIs. The organizer told me to start my presentation as people lined up to
fetch their food. I told him that my subject couldn’t be presented in such an
atmosphere.
Around 11 p.m., at last it was my turn. The noise and
disruption had been continuing up to this point. When I got the microphone in
my hand, I said, “Look here. Those who are not interested should leave this
hall right now!” At first it did not hit them. Then I said again, “If you are
not interested in this topic, leave right now. I have driven here 476 miles at
my expense, and you are insulting me with your behavior. Besides, it is an
insult to the Bhagavad Gita also. So this is your time to get out.”
There was pin drop silence for a few seconds. Then almost
half of people rose and walked out. As silence fell on the rest, one man began
to play with his 6-year old daughter. I told him, “If you can’t keep quiet,
please leave now.”
For the next 90 minutes of my presentation, there was pin
drop silence. Over 150 people sat silently and listened to my presentation.
What this short anecdote illustrates is that no matter how
educated Indians are, how successful they are, how smart they appear to be, and
what country they live in, they lack self-discipline. They need someone strong
in authority to control their behavior all the time. I see this shameless phenomenon
in the airports in the U.S. as well as India. During Modi’s visit to the U.S.,
their misbehavior was obvious to discerning people.
The point is, because most Indians lack the internal control
over their base instincts, a strong person around them is needed to hold a cane
over their heads all the time. Without that external control, Babus will show
up late for work, or not at all; they spit all over the place; they extort
bribes, and indulge in other patently criminal behavior.
Now you know why politicians and Babus misbehaved when our
‘one and the only milk-toast’ Manmauna Singh was the Prime Minister.
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