Your perception of INDIA in ONE word... GO!!

[legendster]

Pollution

India well known as highest population on the world. Their urban planning is not well manage so itcan create the pollution that will affect into everyone's health.

lol not the highest haha the highest pollution in the world is produced by US and China. Do your research before you make your statements.

Mouthy.

You would call Tagore mouthy ? He was an Indian as well.

[--Encrypted--]

Pollution

India well known as highest population on the world. Their urban planning is not well manage so itcan create the pollution that will affect into everyone's health.

lol not the highest haha the highest pollution in the world is produced by US and China. Do your research before you make your statements.

actually, you're partly wrong there. US has far less overall pollution than most nations. but have the highest air pollution (along with China, which soil pollution rate is just as dirty as their air AND water pollution rate).

[pureelite]

So after reading about some of the appalling views and perception of my country from my other thread that deals with the unification of my country; I decided to make this new thread much more fun and engaging.

Consider this a No holds barred - Express your perception of INDIA in ONE WORD.

Each person will have only 1 post and 1 word to describe. Keep it fun and light hearted and no there will be no fatwa issued or any shiv sena attack launched against you.


Why Politics & Society ?

This is a social experiment of sorts to understand the prevailing social perception of my country India, worldwide.

Why this experiment ?

I plan to create a few anti popular-media videos to challenge the mindset that most outsiders have developed about India.



(If you came here from my twitter handle & you are not on the forum this is a good opportunity for you to sign up & let your voice be heard)

filthy

[AJMax]

Pollution

India well known as highest population on the world. Their urban planning is not well manage so itcan create the pollution that will affect into everyone's health.

lol not the highest haha the highest pollution in the world is produced by US and China. Do your research before you make your statements.

Mouthy.

You would call Tagore mouthy ? He was an Indian as well.

Yeah, boy.

[dishwara]

Human.

[freeyourmind]

There are many animals that humans take milk from, and many animals that are more empathetic or intelligent than cows.  I do find it interesting that psyilocybin mushrooms grow from cow poop, which when consumed allows one to have a "mystical" experience.  Some religious folks would consider this a divine experience, for which the cow was the vessel to see god.

Interesting! Being an Indian and a brahmin I never knew about this, kindly educate me more about the misconceptions you foreigners have about my country and my religion. If anything, I'll get a good laugh out of it.

PS : In India the only animal milk that has been traditionally consumed is cow milk. Its not only about milk either, cows are the backbone of the Indian farmer, traditionally and even today cows and bullocks are used to plough the field. Like I said its a cultural thing.

Well my background is Indian/Brahmin/Hindu as well, although I am not religious.  There is not a single Indian person that I have ever talked to that had a good explanation for the sacred cow aside from that being the conditioned environment they are used to, but maybe you'll be that person.

I understand the usefulness of cows, along with many other animals around the world.  So explain why the cow can't be killed and the rest can?

Maybe it would also help to say where you've traveled, to better understand your perspective.

When people say Indian culture they primarily think of Hindus, and in Hindu culture animal sacrifice is a religious thing, in that context cows & bullocks are the most highly sacrificed livestock followed by sheep.
But when it comes to consumption except for some species of fish the Hindu culture as a religion prohibits the consumption of any animal be it a cow or a pig or a snake etc etc since you are a Brahmin I'm sure you're pretty much brought up with the notion that eating meat is 'unclean'.
So if you ask why the cow is more holier than a pig its simple, you cant farm with pig, you'd not drink a pig's milk neither would a pig give you useful biproducts (excreta) that can be reused as a fuel source (like the cowdung).
Hence the cow is considered 'sacred cow' only because they form the backbone of the Indian farmer like I said earlier.
 
As far as being religious is concerned, I am not a religious person, I hate religion and I am an athiest, but before I start hating something I make sure I know everything that there is to know about that particular thing.

I haven't been raised religious or to subscribe to the culture.  I was born and raised in Canada in a very multicultural place, so it was pretty secular and I just never believed in religion so it had little significance to me.  I also didn't have any dietary restrictions so I ate a wide range of food, and being in a multicultural city, was lucky to have a lot of different types of cuisine locally.

I'm not asking why a cow is holier than a pig, but a pig is more intelligent and empathetic than a cow.  A mule or donkey is used for farming, and horses and camels are used for transportation, but none of those are sacred.  Something being "holy" is a subjective belief, not a reality.  Anything is holy if you believe it to be.  Santa Claus is real if you believe him to be as is an entity we refer to as god.  There is no point debating something that is based on a belief system.

If a cow being useful to a farmer is enough for you to believe why its sacred, then that's great, but not a whole lot of critical thinking has gone into that, and if you weren't from India, you wouldn't have that opinion at all.  In fact, if you weren't conditioned to think that the cow is sacred, you wouldn't come to that conclusion on your own.   Is a tractor holy?  Is fertilizer holy?  Again, where in the world have you traveled to?

In terms of importance, clean air and water, plankton which is the original food source for most sea life or plants which is the original food source for animals is much "holier" than a cow.

What is unique about cows though, is that psychedelics grow from cow shit.

[legendster]

I haven't been raised religious or to subscribe to the culture.  I was born and raised in Canada in a very multicultural place, so it was pretty secular and I just never believed in religion so it had little significance to me.  I also didn't have any dietary restrictions so I ate a wide range of food, and being in a multicultural city, was lucky to have a lot of different types of cuisine locally.

I'm not asking why a cow is holier than a pig, but a pig is more intelligent and empathetic than a cow.  A mule or donkey is used for farming, and horses and camels are used for transportation, but none of those are sacred.  Something being "holy" is a subjective belief, not a reality.  Anything is holy if you believe it to be.  Santa Claus is real if you believe him to be as is an entity we refer to as god.  There is no point debating something that is based on a belief system.

If a cow being useful to a farmer is enough for you to believe why its sacred, then that's great, but not a whole lot of critical thinking has gone into that, and if you weren't from India, you wouldn't have that opinion at all.  In fact, if you weren't conditioned to think that the cow is sacred, you wouldn't come to that conclusion on your own.   Is a tractor holy?  Is fertilizer holy?  Again, where in the world have you traveled to?

In terms of importance, clean air and water, plankton which is the original food source for most sea life or plants which is the original food source for animals is much "holier" than a cow.

What is unique about cows though, is that psychedelics grow from cow shit.

You like make a bunch of irrelevant but just points you know that ?
You think a religion that was made thousands of years ago had the understanding of 'microbiology' 'fertilizers' and 'plankton' ? I might not have traveled to as many places as you have, you clearly 'have seen the world' and think everyone else is just chained to their homes, but I assure you thats not the case with me. I respect my culture and other's as well. I certainly do not say that there arent any other animals more intelligent than the good old cow but a religion made to control the masses a thousand years ago was anything but logical. Religion is not logical and the fact that you continue to refer me to be 'religious' is ignorant at best because I keep saying that I am not. I'm beginning to sense a pattern of behavior here, where you are getting confused between the concept of accepting a cultural norm and practicing that cultural norm.
Do I worship a cow ? No I'm an athiest but theists here do. Do I eat beef ? No but I'd like to, most people here wouldnt.

However, respecting this animal is cultural to me, I might not be religious but I am very cultural, if it is in my culture to touch the feet of an elder I'd do it, if it is in my culture to share psychedelics - as in opium - when meeting a distant family relative then I'd do it. (Some rajasthani tribes do it)
I wont certainly take it quietly if anyone insulted my culture no matter how stupid it may be. Like you said, what is holy and what is not is purely subjective to the individual and the environment he grew up in.

I am sure that in ancient India there were no mules doing the farming and certainly not horses - this isnt Europe, it was the good old cow and guess what? Its in our folklore! .. and religious legends, stories, literature etc etc. There are sentiments attached to this notion. I dont expect a foreigner to understand the sentiments at play here and should they try to understand it, the least they can do is respect our culture before they try to decrypt it.

So if you want to continue making irrelevant posts at least make sure you clarify what your point is ? I clearly fail to understand it here, what are you saying ? People here should ditch their religion because you dont find it appeasing ?

[PenguinFire]

Bollywood.

That is the first thing that comes to mind to me.  Also, doctors.  A lot of doctors in the United States came from India.  At least that is the case in my area.

[xyzabc]

hinduism

[galbros]

Crowded

This was the first thing that I thought of as well, pleased to see it appear so early on the list.

Good Luck with your project!

[legendster]

Crowded

This was the first thing that I thought of as well, pleased to see it appear so early on the list.

Good Luck with your project!

Thnx hopefully it will turnout okay.

[hopped]

Packed

[Stargazer]

I know this is not a discussion thread, but what's your view on castes, legendster?
I always found it shocking when I heard in the news that a boy and a girl were beaten or even killed by their relatives for hooking up. One would think we're living in a modern society, guess not.

[hanomnom]

Elephants.

My Gran spent quite some time living in India when she was young. She had a lot of elephant ornaments and paintings decorating her living room and all around her house. It is seen as a sacred animal I believe.

[medialab101]

Rapey?


Seems like a big societal problem that has only recently come to international attention. I'm a big fan of India but they seriously need to shut that shit down before they're going to get any respect.

[legendster]

I know this is not a discussion thread, but what's your view on castes, legendster?
I always found it shocking when I heard in the news that a boy and a girl were beaten or even killed by their relatives for hooking up. One would think we're living in a modern society, guess not.

Never supported it, never will.

And isolated incidents do happen in remote rural areas, I was shocked to find out about a village that literally kidnapped every passing female & have them married to a villager. Why ? Because they killed all their girl children and women didnt enjoy the same social status as men. The village men were also 'infamous' dacoits so no neighboring villages would get involved with them either.

That is a part and parcel of what a culture is, you get the good with the bad and you support what you want to support.

As far as the reason for the caste system's existence, I see the need for it in ancient India with the whole efficient division of labor ideology but in practice it went from simple division of labor to serious human right violations pretty soon.
Someone who cleaned toilets would be not allowed to touch a normal man, which is absurd and is just one example of the atrocities of the caste system ~ contrary to popular belief we are the oldest civilizations with toilets and drainage systems.

As far as once in a blue moon incidents of caste violence, rest assured that there are far many more hidden facts involved in those situations.

[legendster]

Rapey?


Seems like a big societal problem that has only recently come to international attention. I'm a big fan of India but they seriously need to shut that shit down before they're going to get any respect.

Can you say the United States is free of rape ? Can you say that the UK is free of rape ?
Whatever the number of rape victims these countries have multiply it with the Indian Population factor coupled with lack of education.

Its a sad part of our lives, not just in India but the whole world. It will get better with time.

[legendster]

Dell

lol Why Dell ?

[legendster]

Elephants.

My Gran spent quite some time living in India when she was young. She had a lot of elephant ornaments and paintings decorating her living room and all around her house. It is seen as a sacred animal I believe.

Its because of those elephant ornaments that these days there are less elephants and more elephant ornaments.
But yeah I agree those are some majestic creatures.

[SebastianJu]

legendster... i think if some things in india arent perfect then you should admit it. When its true that many people are so poor that they dont have toilets and clean their ass with their left hand then be it. Thats the reality then. And its understandable that others might find this disgusting. I mean ok, in india the left hand is meant to be unclean, but still, even in developed countries no one wants to give a person a hand when you know the person didnt wash their hand after being on toilet. Simply because its unclean and risky because of viral infections.

The same with rape... im not sure if the problem is pushed way bigger than it is in reality but as far as i know that is a real problem in india. And its one where the society not even recognized it as a problem. So that demonstrations started to change this.

When india has problems then admit it. Problems can be changed, but only if they are recognized and changed, not by negating them.

Besides my first word i wrote i think the next thing that comes to mind is the somehow often funny way of speaking in other languages. And of course the look of indians, mostly males, since for some reason i dont remember seeing indian girls so often, though mans you see more often. Often as doctors.