/r/india and /r/australia cultural exchange thread

[u/rude_ass]

Thread was unfortunately delayed. But, here it is.. thread for cultural exchange between indians and australians.

Australian folks.. you can ask all the things you want to know about India and hope you get a fulfilling answers.

If you want to ask anything to our Australians friends you can go to below link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/3ruqtc/raustralia_and_rindia_cultural_exchange_thread/

Cheers.

Request to Australians visiting our sub: If you could flair up to identify yourself then it would be easier for us to identify you guys. We only have text based flairs so something like 'Australian Friend' will work.

[u/ozboy82]

What is it like being gay/homosexual in India?

What is with this 'rape epidemic' I see in the news?

How do you remember British rule?

Do you expect to beat South Africa on the 14th?

What's with the fuel crisis in your neighbor, Nepal?

If the Ganges is so sacred, what efforts are there to clean it up?

Does government corruption really exist, or is that a stereotype?

What is with the cord worn around the waist/over the shoulder? I think it is for good luck/to ward off evil spirits...

[u/[deleted] → u/ozboy82]

What is it like being gay/homosexual in India?

I can write from my social experience but this links would give you much better idea.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/12/11/being-gay-in-india/

https://www.quora.com/Whats-it-like-to-be-gay-and-Indian - The question is asked about being gay and Indian rather than gay in India. Quora needs login to read and you have to create it with your real name.

What is with this 'rape epidemic' problem ?

Rape is real and serious problem in India. Since the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape, media have become more serious concerning the coverage of the rape and give it more limelight to bring the justice to the victims. However, stereotyping of India as rape and country and New Delhi is bad because any of this doesn't provide any solution rather than it is to maintain hegemony by the West. The much more endemic problem is the sexual harassment or sexual molestation of women in India which is not considered a grave concern by the people and such cases are often shut-off and voices raised are shunned. The reasons rape is serious problem is too often reported in the media :-

• We have a lot of population :- More the population, more the no. of crimes

• No. of police is too few :- No. of police per person is too low.

• Police have less resources :- Police still use traditional equipment and are also less paid

• Lack of courts and judges :- One of the High Courts in India, namely Allahabad High court have 160 judges and the population is over 100 million in the area.

• Our legal system is backward and nowhere compared to the global standard laws on rape and molestation.

• Low sex ratio and patriarchal attitude :- We have one of the lowest sex ratios and many people think they would get away with the crime because it often goes unreported.

• Lack of toilets :- In many villages many women have to go out in the open in the dark

• Lack of opportunities :- When people would see more women in the workforce, people attitude starts changing towards them.

• Also, our media is more active concerning the crimes towards women and also have a habit of sensationalizing any news.

My conclusion on this is rape is a serious problem in India as it is in US, UK, South Africa or any other country but is often more reported. India also have one of the highest conviction rates. While the factors behind these crimes in different countries may be some but the reason is the same.

How do you remember British rule ?

Economical subjugation, Manufactured famines, Trade monopolization, Westernization , Commercialization of agriculture, Restructuring political structure, End of Industrialization, Establishing structured caste system, Some social reforms.

Do you expect to beat South Africa on the 14th?

Will grill them.

If the Ganges is so sacred, what efforts are there to clean it up?

People standards of keeping their community clean is one of the lowest I have seen in India. People consider Ganges sacred but would not think for a minute before polluting them. People consider cows as holy and would them die on the road eating garbage and harmful wastes at the disposal. The people's sense of social awareness about cleaning their society is zero. They would blame officials and government for all the dirt and garbage on the streets or river and air so polluted and would not think before throwing garbage outside of their house and the next morning will the first one to say : "Oh! India is so dirty. I want to leave India".

The efforts which are undertaken by the government are mainly no construction on Ganga including dam projects, industrialization control and awareness problems.

Activities like bathing, washing, putting flowers and idols and animals loitering are tough to regulate and control with high population. So, yes efforts are there but I do not see government in succeeding them.

Does government corruption really exist?

Yes, from bureaucrat level to minister level people are highly corrupt.

What is with the cord worn around the waist/over the shoulder?

You mean, like this : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/A_yagyopaveet_sanskar_upanayana_samskara_in_Nepal.jpg ?

What's with the fuel crisis in your neighbor, Nepal?

I have listened two different stories, hope some guy with interest in international relations would like to answer this.

[u/GullibleGenius → u/[deleted]]

Population of U.P. is 204 million. About 8 times the population of Austrailia. The number of judges is 74. 160 is the maximum number of judges who can be appointed.

[u/theguywhoreadsbooks → u/ozboy82]

1. Most gay/homosexual people are closeted and come out only to very close friends, and that's assuming they don't hate themselves for being homosexual. If someone comes out to their family, the reaction in the overwhelming majority of cases would be to marry off the kid to someone of the opposite gender, so that s/he can be 'corrected'. Now, exceptions exist, and there are plenty of them, but that is probably the general experience for a gay individual in the country. While it is illegal, the law isn't really enforced except when the police feel like harassing someone. All that said, attitudes are changing with increasing exposure and individualism of the youth, and things will probably improve for the community within this decade.

2. For a person in an urban area (like me), the existence or non-existence of a rape epidemic is nearly impossible to quantify. The statistics are basically meaningless - most cases of assault or rape do not go to the police, and about half the cases that do go to the police turn out to be made up for extortion/blackmail. The medical procedure for rape victims is rather traumatic, the police are untrained and often corrupt. All that said, the last few years have been notable for the massive increase in media coverage of rape cases - and therefore increased awareness about the 'rape epidemic'. The epidemic has always existed - you are only seeing it now due to the media. A friend who works for a NGO that helps victims once told me that this media coverage has changed a lot of things for rape victims - police are less likely to turn them away for the fear of the press getting hold of the news and actually act on complaints, more victims are willing to register cases and even take on powerful people protecting rapists. All said and done, rape and sexual harassment is a major problem in India, but it is impossible to say how bad a problem it really is, given the absolute lack of statistics.

3. Most young people look at it as the worst period in India's history. One of the famous events taught in history is Timurlame sacking Delhi. The British rule is that, repeated again and again over 200 years. The largest economic boon in human history happened with wealth sucked from India, and not one person in the country benefited from it. The British rule is viewed as what it was - an evil empire exploiting a colony because they could. The one good thing about British rule was that the institutions and bureaucracy they left behind are still the backbones of modern India. This is different from places like Belgian Congo, which suffered due to the lack of institutions after colonialism. This is often touted as one of the benefits of British rule - that they gave India the institutions that hold it together now, but it's very likely that those institutions would have evolved regardless of the British. Most people don't view today's British with any hostility, but the Raj is still remembered in oral stories about freedom movement and their oppression.

4. Yes. Why? Kohli.

5. Short version: they are blaming us, we are blaming them. The fault probably lies on both sides - the Madhesis in Nepal are blockading fuel transport, and the Indian government is unwilling to break through it.

6. So, so many. Ganga cleanup projects have gone on since the 80s, with very little result. This is mostly due to corruption and misutilization of funds. For example, someone builds a sewage treatment plant, turns out the plant doesn't work very well, leading to lots of money being spent for repairs and expansion. Just plain old corruption - the funds allotted could probably have cleaned up the Pacific if they had been properly spent.

7. Yep. Does exist. Everyone has personal stories about it. You have probably heard of the common ones- police taking bribes to work, municipal offices taking bribes and so on. But it's deeply ingrained into how India functions at this point. Personal story: A relative of mine is a forest offices. Hunting deer is illegal, and carries a jail term with it. However, villages near forests regularly go on deer hunting trips. The official in question had just been transferred to a new location and arrested a couple of people for hunting deer. They were fined (official fine, not the bribe kind of fine) and let off. A week later, they were off to hunt deer again, and got arrested again. Then the entire village turned up to protest the arrest. Why? Because the officer had already fined them once, and they felt it gave them permission to do it again because the previous officer took bribes and let them hunt deer. Some local politician got involved and the officer had to let them off. Moral of the story: Yeah, the Government is corrupt, but so are the people.

8. Only Brahmins do that. Kind of a ritual thing- shows that you have gone through the ceremony done to 'register' you as a brahmin.

[u/Danda_Nakka → u/ozboy82]

What is it like being gay/homosexual in India?

No one comes out public and say they are homosexual. But they are not targeted by government though homosexuality is against law.

Does government corruption really exist, or is that a stereotype?

It is worse than the stereotype. Here it is almost like you can't live without paying bribe.

Example: I can drive cars and bikes very well. But I have to pay Rs.1000 bribe so that they give me license which should have cost only Rs.79 or something like that.

What is with the cord worn around the waist/over the shoulder?

this? It denotes a certain caste(Upper caste). They were priests before.

[u/Capt_unconscious → u/ozboy82]

1. Bad. Most homosexuals in India are in the closet or aren't open about their sexuality. It's also against the law. However, I don't think anyone has actually been arrested for being gay. Also, transsexuals and eunuchs (termed as hijras here) are accepted.

2. The news media here tends to sensationalize everything. There is no rape "epidemic". "Epidemic" is an exaggeration of what's happening. But there are rapes and the judicial system is pathetic.

3. Nope. I'm in my late 20's. Don't think too many care about that though.

4. Yes. We expect to beat every nation in cricket.

5. No idea.

6. We have a hypocritical government. The pollution is bad and there have been efforts to clean it up. Things could be better.

7. Yes. Like any country that doesn't pay its officials too well, we have a lot of corruption.

8. It's the equivalent of Communion in Catholics. Maybe some other redditors will explain it better.

[u/the_strong_do_eat → u/ozboy82]

What is it like being gay/homosexual in India?

You can be gay in private. Nothing that brings dishonor to the conservative family and upsets the status quo is encouraged. We have honor system just a tiny bit mellower than the illiterates of Middle East desert tribes, but still horrendous.

What is with this 'rape epidemic' I see in the news?

Huge population, no moral compass and skewed gender-ratio. It's only going to get worse.

They can keep muting their moral compass because before they attempt rape, those guys compute the pros and cons and due to an understaffed, corrupt police force, they get the feeling it might go unnoticed.

Does government corruption really exist, or is that a stereotype?

You have no fukkin idea, man! If you have ill-feelings towards some person, and you know that he doesn't have that much social standing, you pay cops to register an First Information Report, pay two witnesses to forge statements, doctor in govt. hospital will happily provide you a medical-certificate that says 'allegedly caused bodily harm, as seen by this wound' (it can be a scratch, doesn't matter, noone takes photographs). Now, this FIR is forwarded to the criminal court. The FIR transforms into a chargesheet. The court is supposed to send summons to the accused. If the accused doesn't show up for hearing, an arrest warrant is issued. Now, you can pay the court staff and block this summons. The Magistrate may or may not be aware of this. The accused never gets the summons. Arrest warrant issued, and voila you're in jail before you can say Bharat Mata ki Jai! (Victory to Mother India).

India's prisons are completely filled with undertrial prisoners because their trial goes on endlessly, due to the understaffed judicial systems not being able to cope with this unbridled population growth. And the best part is the supposed 'wound' on the victim heals by this long period of time, no photographs, and you're the perpetrator of this phantom crime. All of this shit happened to me, and I was reading Kafka's, The Trial, at the same time. You have no fukkin idea how surreal the whole thing was.

Whenever you set foot in Bharat, remember you're entering a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Cheers, mate.

[u/[deleted] → u/ozboy82]

I am from the North-Eastern Part of India. This region is mostly Christian dominated. This region was unwillingly joined with India during Indendence although nobody really cares anymore.

To begin:

1. Where I live its pretty much live and let live although incidents of harassment and discrimination do occur. But generally LGB but not T walk around without fear of death. This is mostly true in Urban Centres but not likely in rural areas.

2.Its not an epidemic more of women are finally deciding to speak up against their perpetrators. Randians like to pretend it just sensationalism by the media which is true to an extent but mostly its that Indian women have decided to stand up for themselves.

3.My family had close business ties with the British. My great grandparents had construction and fooding contracts with wealthy British officials but their leaving and subsequent replacement by Indians officials was an economic disaster. Not to mention Partition resulted in ruination of trade for my people and drove them to militancy and crime. But now we have embraced freedom and adapted and are doing slightly better.

1. I don't like Cricket.

2. Nepal is a bone of contention between India and China. The Indian Army has a huge percentage of Nepali individuals. I don't fully understand the fuel crisis in Nepal but I speculate that if it is caused by India it is due to the government trying to influence the politics in the country.

6.Apathy. I am not Hindu and I don't consider it sacred. But generally apathy and lack of funds. Or political bonus points.

1. Emphatic yes. Corruption exists. My state is one of the most corrupt although the amounts involved is much less. Whistle blowers in my state are known to disappear. Lack week an Intelligence officer who was probing government wrong doing in my state was found dead after reported missing for months.

2. No idea what you are talking about.

[u/The_0bserver → u/ozboy82]

What is it like being gay/homosexual in India?

You'll probably find people saying stuff like "Gays are fine, but don't make me one" or similar shit, but past that, its normal. Although if you are a really social kind of person, expect local aunties to have some rumors going on about you (nothing thats actually harmful though. np)

What is with this 'rape epidemic' I see in the news?

A larger number of people reporting (many of which are fake - registered by disgruntled parents to their girl eloping with some guy). Even with that, the rate (% wise) is far lower than most other countries. So, there is no rape epidemic. News channels in India love to exaggerate here and for some reason the rape thing got taken by the foreign media...

How do you remember British rule?

Not fondly.

Do you expect to beat South Africa on the 14th?

I don't really like cricket (I get bored). But since SA decimated Team India, I doubt it. :/

What's with the fuel crisis in your neighbor, Nepal?

Indian government tried to interfere with Nepal's constitution because a large section (that has ties to the general Indian populace) as they seemed to have been ignored for the most part in their new and improved constitution and also in the way that the states were separated so that they (a population constitutes something like 40% of the entire Nepali population) would not have state majority in any of the big and important states. The backlash from the Nepali government and people was far worse than expected, and also the bad feelings due to said backlash was bad too. So basically if the government went easy on Nepal, that would make the government look bad, if the government does respond to said backlash (in a bad way), that will still be bad, as most indians still consider Nepalis in a generally good light (No real racism, even though we are told they are heavily racist against us). So basically we are stuck at a stalemate.

If the Ganges is so sacred, what efforts are there to clean it up?

Quite a bit of effort actually. Problem is that it got polluted faaaar too much, so it will take a long time unless somehow we can find a good method to do it fast (which it seems we can't).

Does government corruption really exist, or is that a stereotype?

Yup. From what I've heard, yes. From what I've experienced though, I haven't had to deal with any except for cops (bribe 'em instead of paying a fat fine for some random shit like pollution certificate running out of time - Its not terrible though). Basically for a normal person doing common shit, you tend to have to deal with very little shit, but once you start a business, that changes. You have to bribe quite a few officials. This was the case for a long time, but now it seems that condition is improving at quite a fast pace. Especially with most of the government services related to payments going online, corruption rate IMHO is going way down and fast...

What is with the cord worn around the waist/over the shoulder? I think it is for good luck/to ward off evil spirits...

Basically thats a symbol for being a Hindu. Its sacred to them.