We all are guilty of following these habits without knowing the real reason behind them.
Blame it on the colonization of our country by the Britishers on our mindset to follow West mindlessly. There are many habits, ideas that we, Indians, follow that are outdated and no longer necessary. For example, do we know why we raise our hands when asking for permission in school? Any thoughts? Like this, there are many Western ideas and habits that we have adopted and yet to figure out why.
I beg to state
Do you remember how in school that is how your application seem to start? Begging for attention is anything but polite and show the complete colonist mindset of Britishers, in whose time this practice seems to have thrived. Not only that, we use heavy-duty words like henceforth and aforementioned which sound outdated and pretentious. Though millennials have lessened the use of such phrases still there are many parts in the country where even today, a formal letter is drafted like this.
Glass buildings
We see a lot of glass buildings making a permanent place in our city’s landscape. But apart from the aesthetics and looks, does glass buildings serve any purpose? Unfortunately, no! Glass buildings were at first designed in the Scandinavian countries because they helped a lot with the insulation in such cold and extreme weather. The heat that comes from the sun gets trapped in and warm the building. But India, being a hot country, such buildings generally serve any purpose.
Use of fork and knife in Indian cuisine
A very common and funny site in most Indian restaurants is people eating idlies or dosa with fork and knife. Indian food is meant to eat by hand to get the burst of flavours in your mouth.
Attesting documents by gazetted officers
We sincerely hope that this practice end here and now. Many educational institutions and government agencies often ask for attested documents by the gazetted officers. This practice was started by the Britishers when the local population was not educated. So, their documented work was not credible in the eyes of the Britisher. Therefore, they started asking for attestation from “educated” government officer.
Wearing suits
Suits are a necessity in many European countries where temperature is so low that they require clothing made out of thick fabric. But in a hot country like India, the practice seems hilarious and illogical.
What other practices and ideas of the Western world do you find are outdated and illogical in the Indian context.
