Missing Individualism

Last month I was having dinner in my mess which caters to nearly 200 people. We were short of rotis so we ordered some and we were quite a number. And the waiter brought a plate full for so many of us. Obviously, we all jumped like a typical Indian mob. Alas, four rotis and two people were left. The other guy took all four. And it is not that no more rotis were to come. I could not understand the sense of insecurity a common Indian was having. Is it that the notion of optimum has still not sunken after nearly seven decades of British rule/scarcity?

Mess is a wonderful place where one can find similar behaviours. If you are sitting in a typical Indian mess and ask someone to pass the jug, the passer will first fill up his half filled glass first and then pass, as if he has discovered a newly found thirst; or is he the victim of the evolutionary indian insecurity deep rooted in our genes which arises from centuries of scarcity? Either way it is excruciating to watch this type of common behaviour.

India obviously is a vibrant and an arriving superpower but the common indian is still a timid individual, rather has a host psychology. We cannot do businesses individually, we are good at tennis doubles and awful at singles. We unite as a team when there is no other option. We like the herds and follow them religiously.

I think an indian individual has an instilled sense of insecurity when he is alone. Maybe it is the feeling, 'united we fail', that serves as a further justification of our failures that none is ready to espouse but everyone knows are inevitable. Whom to blame, huh?


Where is the Indian Individual's conviction? Why are we afraid to take decisions which are crucial to the fulfillment of our own dreams. Why are we so willing to tap the herd psychology and marry stereotypism when, I am sure, we have abundance of individual genius who can surpass the herd and set new benchmarks. Hitting the nail on the head, why do we need someone to protect us (a wall behind)? Maybe it lies in the way we have been brought up, following the stereotypical paths our parents have shown us but the change is needed and the society needs the change. Our country needs embodiments of individualism whom we can look upto and I am unsure whether plenty of them are in line.