Snobbery, ‘Indian’ Style
What a pathetically snobbish, obnoxious op-ed in the Telegraph today. Sure, some people can behave peculiarly or boorishly while travelling. But the kind of elitist prejudice shown in this article by Sunanda K.Dutta-Ray is far more offensive than the body odour of the so-called hoi polloi. Some extracts:
If colour prejudice forced Indians to exercise restraint, confidence has opened the floodgates of exuberance.Even as he laughs at a woman for calling all of Britain “London”, he dismisses her degree as being from “some Uttar Pradesh university”. And hello, what does the traveller’s “level of English” have to do with their politeness?
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It used to be an empty plane but for a few well-behaved chokras going to Bangkok with no luggage and returning laden with cheap contraband.
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Such is the level of English of many flyers that I heard a Royal Brunei hostess warn another, “They don’t understand ‘vegetarian’. You must say ‘aloo-gobi!’”
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I have filled in landing cards for countless passengers who produce their passports when asked for name and address, but never for an unlettered qualified surgeon, as Tapan Raychaudhuri, the historian, had to do. Though with a surgery degree from some Uttar Pradesh university, the woman called the entire British Isles — including Dublin where she was joining her doctor husband — “London”.
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Field hands who have acquired an insatiable appetite for whisky and a raucous bonhomie when reborn as factory hands in Britain invite the superciliousness of British Airways crews with little other experience of Indians.
“Mine is, of course, a restricted world at home and even its walls are being breached,” wails the writer. Too bad, sir. Please learn to deal with it.
There are some comments there that are made in poor taste, but for the most part, I must say I agree with what is being addressed. While I do not hold language skills among the qualifications I expect of an Indian travelling abroad, I feel justified in expecting that they will carry themselves with decorum, if not dignity. I also believe that I shouldn’t feel like I’m asking for too much if they showed a similar sense of social grace in India as well.
I have defended Indian culture often enough beyond our borders, only to have my defenses thrown right back in my face with repeated anecdotal evidence of boorish, rude and porcine behaviour exhibited by Indians abroad. Once again, we’re used to these actions here in India. We might even describe them as “uniquely cultural”, but when it comes from a supposedly educated, sophisticated individual who represents India to the world, it is simply not acceptable. I cringe on flights when every Indian aboard stands up to grab their luggage before the flight has stopped moving. I cringe when I go to a movie or a play here in India and there is a cellphone ringing at top volume, in complete disregard for the rest of the audience. Jumping lines, spitting in public places, loud voices - I wonder if we can just sit back and say “we are like this only”, while the rest of the world brands us as pigs and uncultured barbarians. That would truly ironic for a nation that prides itself on its infinitely rich cultural history.
Comment by Sumant — August 26, 2006 @ 8:23 pm
I’m thinking of Sumant’s comment as I write this: we want a modicum of social grace from our compatriots, fine, but can you honestly say that the op-ed (I have read only the excerpt here, but it suffices) has any of that quality you seek? Is there any sympathy in that piece for someone who hasn’t had access to the kind of education that the op-ed writer himself has? I think the “field hands” should distract themselves from the whiskey, if only momentarily, to give the fellow smirking at them a real tight one across the cheeks. Then, they will be a bit more deserving of the name “barbarian” that is being thrown at them.
Comment by Amitava Kumar — August 27, 2006 @ 4:56 am
Uma: I actually think, except for the paragraph about not speaking English, the rest of the article isn’t as bad as you make it out to be.
1. The person next to the author with the stinking underarms deserves every bit of what s/he gets. Subjecting others to your body odour is offensive, especially if you have the money to buy yourself an international ticket. These rae not desperately poor people we are talking about.
2. The rest of the article has to do with bad behavior of Indians on flights - asking for too much alcohol, not listening to the air-assistants and so on. Do you not agree, regardless of race or country, that such behavior is to be condemned?
I often see that we treat air-hostesses and pursers (is ther ea gender-neutral term for this?) without any dignity. They are doing their job - they are not our paid servants. The sooner Indians (and indeed anyone else) travelling anywhere realizes it, the better.
Regards
neela
Comment by neela — August 29, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
Uma: I actually think, except for the paragraph about not speaking English, the rest of the article isn’t as bad as you make it out to be.
1. The person next to the author with the stinking underarms deserves every bit of what s/he gets. Subjecting others to your body odour is offensive, especially if you have the money to buy yourself an international ticket. These rae not desperately poor people we are talking about.
2. The rest of the article has to do with bad behavior of Indians on flights - asking for too much alcohol, not listening to the air-assistants and so on. Do you not agree, regardless of race or country, that such behavior is to be condemned?
I often see that we treat air-hostesses and pursers (is ther ea gender-neutral term for this?) without any dignity. They are doing their job - they are not our paid servants. The sooner Indians (and indeed anyone else) travelling anywhere realizes it, the better.
Regards
neela
Comment by neela — August 29, 2006 @ 3:09 pm
Neela,
I haven’t actually “made it out” to be anything - I found it to contain elitist prejudice, and that is offensive to me. The rest of my post mostly consists of extracts from the op-ed.
Of course behaving crassly about the alcohol, not listening to the flight attendants etc is obnoxious behaviour. Where did I say it wasn’t?
But one doesn’t need phrases like “field hands” or “factory hands” to criticize such behaviour. It is the behaviour that needs to be criticized, not the lack of privilege.
(And it’s not as if affluent, educated people don’t behave crassly while travelling.)
Comment by Uma — August 29, 2006 @ 3:28 pm
Neela: I believe the gender-neutral term is “flight attendant”.
Comment by Sumant — August 29, 2006 @ 5:13 pm
Uma, this reminded me of a flight I took from Bangalore. The girl next to me was an assistant to some richie rich types in first class. She was from UP with trademark vermilion in hair parting and a traditional sari, the crew ended up being very condescending till she got up and said I may wear a sari and not speak English but I have a mind, I have travelled often by a plane and know exactly what to do. Good on her. Also, I think a lot of people from the East are not used to a number of rules of good behaviour (much like Mumbai getting dubbed a rude city because people don’t know their Ps and Qs). What happened on the KLM flight, I have witnessed with a group of people from the Middle east - only this was pre 2001 and did not result in panic. It was the noisiest, unruliest bunch of people I travelled with who kept walking across the plane to share a joke or talk. It raised more than a few eyebrows till a few of their kids marched up and down with lollies for everyone and melted collective hard hearts. Point is, being civilised is recognising that people behave in different ways and are socialised in different ways. I do think the airlines need to think of other ways of getting across the message regarding seat belts and safety precautions - I have seen instructions ignored on many a flight and I don’t think this is specific to Indians - the budget flights in Europe have heaps of drunk, badly behaveds. As for smelly underarms, the days when plane travel was reserved for the elite/boxwallahs are far gone - welcome to cattle class and the real world Mr. Dutta -Ray.
Comment by Anu — August 30, 2006 @ 4:34 am
While it may be true that several people from several parts of the world behave in rude and unruly fashion, that doesn’t excuse Indians who act in that manner from the basic civility that one expects from them. It is not just us, but it should not be us at all.
Comment by Sumant — August 30, 2006 @ 1:42 pm
This kind of sentiment is based on elitism, of course, but also on a specific fear. The fear is: I, Mr. Snooty Indian, am terrified out of my skin that in the mind of the white air hostess (whose approval I so desperately seek) even I will be associated with the Unwashed Boorish Masses (because the godlike airhostess is not really so godlike as to be above thinking all brown people are the same). And then I, *I* will be treated with the same contempt that I am used to hurling at these riffraff.
Comment by Apu — September 1, 2006 @ 8:27 pm