Jayant Bhandari 印度：比你想象的更糟糕

印度：比你想象的更糟糕

Jayant Bhandari，《美國複興》，2024年12月19日
https://www.amren.com/features/2024/12/india-its-worse-than-you-think/

大多數西方人對印度一無所知，除了對印度教、瑜伽、大師以及或許還有點寶萊塢的模糊概念。對這類人來說，這篇文章將是一個沉重的打擊。

我在印度中部的博帕爾長大。從我記事起，我就在父親的印刷廠工作。我在附近的印多爾市學習工程學，後來去英國曼徹斯特商學院攻讀MBA。我回到印度，為一家英國公司成立了子公司，並取得了巨大的成功。住在德裏期間，我為印度主流媒體撰稿。我曾在印度和世界各地廣泛旅行。

我最初回到印度，是想改善它，但11年後，我意識到印度就像一艘正在下沉的船，腐敗日益猖獗，愈發無恥，民眾墮落，社會分崩離析。我從未見過一個誠實的官僚或政客。我申請移民加拿大，申請在創紀錄的三周內就獲得了批準。

我現在為東亞和西方公司提供在印度投資的谘詢服務。我告訴他們的大部分內容在他們聽來都誇大其詞、不切實際、令人難以置信。在經曆了一番折騰、戲劇性事件和巨額虧損之後，他們開始相信我的話。然而，由於拒絕了解印度，這種學習從未製度化。這是一種政治正確，一種侵蝕西方價值觀內核的毒藥。

我小時候在印度長大，學到的道理是“強權即公理”。權力經常被濫用，掌權者仿佛擁有上帝賦予的剝削和支配他人的權利。權威的展現有時過於極端，以至於質疑權威或期望當權者履行職責都可能招致報複。當權者似乎認為，他們的職位並非服務他人，而是為了個人利益。

那些表現出尊重的人似乎溫順地接受了較低、屈從的地位。善良的人不得不隱藏他們的同情心，因為友善被視為軟弱。

在印度，我很少看到當權者主動解決自己負責的問題。我上大學的時候，一個在廚房工作的未成年男孩被清潔工強奸並雞奸。我舉報了這件事，但當權者不僅沒有做正確的事情——這完全是他們力所能及的事情——當局和同學們還威脅我，如果我繼續追究此事，將麵臨嚴重後果。他們缺乏同理心，還嘲笑我和那個男孩。

是的，這裏麵確實有虐待狂的成分。印度人以他人遭受的痛苦為樂。當局的態度就像德裏那位位高權重的官僚，他告訴我，他的黑牌威士忌好喝得多，因為他知道大多數印度人喝不起。

這讓西方人感到困惑。如果他們有權有勢，即使他們腐敗，在既無所得也無所失的情況下——雙方都很窮，收受賄賂也無妨，而且也不會冒犯關係密切的人——他們也會做正確的事，把涉嫌強奸的凶手繩之以法。這些印度人什麽也不做，連一根手指頭也不肯動，除非有獎勵：金錢或性。他們的冷漠是無底洞。

上級可能會認為做好自己的工作是娘娘腔。如果你能逃避責任，就會被認為是大男子主義。在那種文化中，做正確的事很少有任何自豪感或榮譽感。如果你叫水管工來修，他會覺得不弄髒就走是有失身份的。他可能會故意敷衍了事，即使做好並不需要更多時間。傲慢、自負、奴性、種姓製度、部落主義和奇思妙想交織成一張複雜的網絡，驅使著這種行為。他表現出對你不屑一顧，並通過留下一片狼藉來占你便宜。而他的顧客，作為同一枚硬幣的另一麵，很可能會看不起甚至剝削那些工作做得好的人。

如果你做得不好，就意味著你不會被叫回來嗎？對於那些從一開始就沒有標準、缺乏遠見的人來說，這無關緊要。對於那些想要做得更好、更公平或生產更好產品的人來說，幾乎沒有積極的反饋。

公平、正義、信任、同理心和公正對許多印度人來說是陌生的。他們很難區分是非對錯。即使公平無需付出任何代價，他們也漠不關心。此外，如果他們可以不付出任何個人代價做好事，他們仍然寧願不做，因為這可能被視為軟弱的表現。印度人被灌輸要順從的思想。這種思想根深蒂固，以至於印度人甚至會稱呼那些比他們稍高的人為“先生”。他們往往卑躬屈膝、阿諛奉承、諂媚奉承。但這不應被誤認為是

尊重，因為尊重對印度人來說是陌生的。當他們稱呼你“先生”時，這隻反映了他們在互動中將你視為強者的觀點，這與他們“強權即公理”的觀念一致。一旦你處於弱勢，他們就會貶低你。

你要麽高人一等，要麽低人一等——因此，你要麽是施虐者，要麽是被施虐者。平等是不可能的。來訪者很快就會明白，“請”和“謝謝”被視為軟弱的表現，隻適用於那些想要貶低自己的人。

印度人無法維持英國人建立的製度。這些製度已經被掏空、腐敗，變得掠奪成性。憲法和法律幾乎毫無價值。驅動這些製度的唯一力量是賄賂和關係。無論你接近最高政治領導人還是最卑微的官僚，他們都會公開且毫無羞恥地索要賄賂。

2023年12月10日，印度巴特那，活動人士焚燒國大黨議員迪拉吉·薩胡（Dhiraj Sahu）的肖像，抗議腐敗並追討現金。圖片來源：Santosh Kumar/印度斯坦時報比哈爾政治與治理（圖片來源：© Imago via ZUMA Press）

街頭智慧備受推崇，逃避法律製裁的罪犯則受到讚揚。我的一位親戚曾驕傲地告訴我，他租的房子永遠付不起房租。他賄賂了地方當局，才讓房東無法把他趕出去。

在一個缺乏信任的社會裏，當一個人被騙時，他很少會向騙子尋求正義。相反，他會欺騙他人。男人虐待女人，女人虐待孩子，孩子虐待動物。動物會攻擊任何它們能攻擊的東西。高種姓的??印度人虐待低種姓的人，而低種姓的人則與其他低種姓的人爭鬥，以決定誰更優越。這是一個永無止境的不信任和專橫的循環。

西方人談論英國人正式確立的四五個種姓製度。這混淆了問題，因為它給人一種誇張的結構感。實際上，印度有14億個種姓。所有的互動都是為了衡量你。你最終要麽壓迫別人，要麽被壓迫。所謂的低種姓人比高種姓人更有種姓意識。

印度的大多數種姓問題在新聞中都是用被動語態描述的。某某被壓迫和虐待。沒錯，受害者是低種姓的人，但壓迫者通常也是同樣低種姓的人。當一個低種姓的人掌權時，他喜歡向高種姓的人炫耀。還有什麽比虐待他人而不受懲罰，或者——如果你是個水管工——留下一片狼藉更能炫耀權力的方式呢？不同的人炫耀權力的方式取決於他們能逃脫多少懲罰。

許多人公開撒謊。每個人都知道每個人都在撒謊，但無論如何，每個人都會撒謊。許多印度人讓自己相信自己的謊言，以至於他們再也無法區分事實和虛構。即使你不必或不想這樣做，你也必須誇大其詞，撒謊，因為你知道你的聽眾會根據你所說的話做出調整。對話往往被個人的物質利益所驅動。每筆交易都是一場零和博弈——或者可能是一場負和博弈，因為施虐傾向可能是其中的一部分。

你可能認為與家人共事會很安全，但他們最終可能會成為你最大的敵人，因為即使是他們也會背叛你。榮譽不是社會準則的一部分。印度人是原子化的群體，不懂忠誠。印度人普遍把黃金藏在自家，甚至連家人都不告訴。

我從未（我是謹慎地使用這個詞）在印度簽訂過任何合同。行賄必須技巧嫻熟。如果你在法律糾紛中與對方發生衝突，法官和警察會收受雙方賄賂。你的律師會與對方以及你麵前的法官勾結，最大限度地索取賄賂。這聽起來可能難以置信，但這並不能改變現實。

大多數美德的詞匯都來自波斯語、土耳其語或英語，而不是印度本土語言。但僅僅因為這些詞匯進入了印度語言，並不意味著印度人接受了這些美德；它們被曲解了，成為了舊習俗的幌子。

每個人都在自己的房產周圍築起堅固高大的圍欄。每個人都在買房的那天就這麽做，因為鄰居們會盡可能地侵占他的土地。我搬到西方國家好幾年後才明白為什麽人們不建圍欄。

我第一次去英國旅行時，驚訝地發現動物並不害怕人，也不會攻擊人。令我驚訝的是，當權者並不指望人們卑躬屈膝或敬畏。多年來，我一直感到不安，仿佛除非行賄，否則就不算履行了自己在交易中應盡的義務。

我的祖父母和父親在財務上誠實守信，並且對自己有很高的自尊心——這在印度實屬罕見。印度有很多善良、理智、有道德、理性的人。

我雖然在印度，但我的手指比我認識的印度人總數還多；一個早上我就能找到那麽多誠實的美國人。以印度的標準來看，我們家還算正派，人脈也很廣。這使我免受許多墮落的侵擾，也讓我能夠忽略那些我聽到的故事。

在普通的印度人中，談話內容都是誹謗朋友、八卦朋友、討論名人、交換迷信以及對其他群體的敵意。印度教徒憎恨穆斯林，穆斯林憎恨印度教徒，錫克教徒憎恨印度教徒。這些群體之間互相爭鬥，導致每個人都分裂成不同的群體，但他們對其他群體的仇恨表麵上將他們團結在一起。

示威者抗議印度加爾各答北德裏市政公司突然發起的“反侵占”運動。在穆斯林與印度教徒發生暴力衝突後不久，北德裏市政公司拆除了幾處人行道上的建築物，例如商店。 （圖片來源：© Sukhomoy_ Sen/eyepix via ZUMA Press Wire）

直到在英國生活了一年，我才真正理解了榮譽和忠誠的概念。那一年，有人告訴我，在宣傳我工作的組織時，不要誇大其詞。我第一次意識到，人們說真話隻是為了追求真話。我一直都知道“真話”這個詞，但直到第一次，我才真正領悟了它的本質。

理解印度的基本原則是：它是一個不道德、不理性、缺乏價值觀的社會。你試圖灌輸的任何價值觀都會像水從鴨背上流淌一樣，最終消失殆盡。

我目睹了印度社會的持續惡化。基督教傳教士和歐洲殖民者灌輸給印度人的優雅和文明，正在慢慢消磨殆盡。

我清楚地記得我離開印度的第一天。從希思羅機場到曼徹斯特的火車上，我看到的最初以為是些乏味的房屋、幹淨平淡的水道和空氣。火車上的喧囂和寧靜讓我感到茫然和沮喪。我不知道該如何應對這種沒有持續衝擊感官的境況。

隨著時間的推移，我意識到，對於大多數印度移民來說，這導致了一種強烈的欲望，想要在他們搬進的貧民窟裏重現印度的景象。他們追尋熟悉的氣味、喧囂和持續不斷的喧囂。他們重現了永無止境的情緒化、徒勞的衝突、混亂和智力的近親繁殖。

當我們被允許暢通無阻地進入曼徹斯特的學校，後來又進入我工作的辦公室時，我和我的移民同胞們常常懷疑，英國人是否如此天真，如此輕易地信任我們。是什麽阻止了我們偷走眼前的一切？大多數移民從未真正理解“信任”和“感恩”的意義。更糟糕的是，他們發現抱怨往往能帶來好處——而好處恰恰是他們在多元文化的西方唯一真正關心的事情。人文主義和文明價值觀從未觸動過他們的內心。

有一次，我和一個朋友在曼徹斯特開車兜風。他喝了幾杯酒後闖紅燈，被警察攔了下來。警察對他的尊重令我震驚。在印度，警察甚至會羞辱和剝削乘客。我的朋友被帶到了警察局，在警察開車送我去的路上，我解釋了如果這種事發生在印度，我們會受到怎樣的對待。

當時我住在曼徹斯特一個犯罪率很高的地區，我走路回家時，警察有時會跟蹤我。我問警察為什麽他們從不攔下我或盤問我。他告訴我，他們跟蹤我是為了確保我的安全，沒有正當理由無權攔下我。我第一次開始理解英國人對個人空間的尊重，這也是另一種價值觀，也開始在我心中紮根。

警官讓我的朋友坐了一兩個小時清醒過來，然後就放他走了，沒有立案。我開始意識到，英國的當權者可以靈活運用法律，考慮到法律背後的精神；而在印度，法律隻是掠奪的借口。

當然，英國早已今非昔比。多年來，警務工作不斷發展，以適應來自第三世界移民帶來的最低標準所帶來的挑戰。

統計數據在印度人的心理中無法產生共鳴。他們沒有灰色地帶的概念；一切都非黑即白，對細微的差別毫無欣賞力。這種缺乏比例感導致他們優柔寡斷，無法評估事物的價值。最終，無節製的情緒主宰著生活。我身上也曾有這種心態的一部分。將我的思維與理性、道德和西方價值觀重新整合是一項艱巨的任務。

我曾就讀於印度最好的工程學院之一，並自認為富有創造力、果斷果斷、腳踏實地。然而，當我開始觀察英國的社交互動和行為時，我發現自己缺乏自信。就連雜貨店老板也顯得更加自信

堅定而果斷。我意識到我的思緒被混亂的思維和相互衝突的動機所籠罩。

即使是我在印度優越的成長環境，也讓我根深蒂固地形成了層層錯綜複雜的世界觀，以及不誠實、詭計多端的行為。盡管我本意是好的，但擺脫它們並重塑思維卻花了幾十年的時間。我意識到並試圖改變的任何錯誤信念，都會與其他根深蒂固的信念和思維模式發生衝突。這就像試圖在我的認知結構城堡中重新砌上一塊破碎的磚塊，同時又不破壞整個結構。有時，我不得不喝得酩酊大醉，才能找到短暫的理智。

隨著時間的推移，我注意到我的睡眠質量開始提高，精神也更加自由。甚至我的身體也開始發生變化，堵塞我思緒的陰雲也開始消散。一種周圍人都在支持我的安心感對我幫助極大。那些導致慢性壓力的混亂和矛盾的想法開始消散。

我祖母常說的兩句話，我曾經覺得是老掉牙的，但如今我卻深以為然。她認為有些人必須處於饑餓的邊緣，因為如果給予更多，他們就會製造麻煩。盡管她是我認識的最平等的人之一——和她的司機兼裁縫成了朋友——但她還是會提醒我，並非每個人都有資格擁有一席之地，除非他身體條件允許。

“人權”是一個西方概念，大多數印度人難以理解。他們不懂得尊重個人。跟他們談論“權利”隻會導致困惑。他們無法區分“消極”權利和“積極”權利。例如，當人們教導他們財產權時，他們學會了保護自己的財產，卻不承認他人的權利。當女性被教導強奸是一種侵犯時，她們可能會開始在各種情況下都看到強奸，並將其作為剝削男性的工具。當她們接觸到權利的概念時，她們從接受自己悲慘的生活轉變為懷有怨恨的受害者心態。

除非人們具備道德、理性、因果關係和其他西方價值觀的基礎，否則你無法教給他們任何好的東西。沒有這些基礎，西方文明的成果隻會將人們常常隱藏的享樂主義傾向轉化為更加邪惡的東西。每一種文明的成果——教育、西方服飾、繁榮、西方製度——在印度都被扭曲了。

英國人留下的製度已被掏空，變得純粹地掠奪成性、殘暴成性。之所以發生這種情況，是因為在後英屬印度，當權者將權宜之計和獲取財富視為人生的唯一目的。今天的印度甚至缺乏歐洲人到來之前那種模糊的法治。正??因如此，當印度最終崩潰，英國人到來之前那種類似塔利班的獨裁體製從廢墟中重生時，情況才會有所改善。

由英國工程師詹姆斯·A·富勒上校設計的孟買高等法院。圖片來源：benbeiske via Flickr，CC BY-NC-SA 2.0。

沒有西方傳教士的引領，基督教被印度的迷信和巫術“滋養”，淪為巫毒教。語法被拋在一邊，英語也常常淪為洋涇浜語。

教育和西方服飾被奉為一種貨物崇拜的心態。人們關注的是獲得證書和穿著西裝，仿佛這些外在的象征本身就能賦予地位和物質利益。同樣，教育也不被視為促進智力發展或成為更優秀人類的手段。相反，在獸性欲望、權宜之計和對資源不道德追求的驅使下，大多數印度人對自我提升嗤之以鼻。

教育應用於那些通過巫術思維處理信息的非理性思維，會成為一種負擔，使這些人比未受過教育的人更糟糕。

印度人的心靈本應先被塑造成道德理性的化身，並充滿榮譽、紀律、尊重和正直，然後才能接受正規教育，汲取西方文明的果實。可惜的是，這充其量也得經曆一個長達千年的過程。

經濟學中有一個“中等收入陷阱”的概念。我更傾向於將印度的處境稱為“低收入陷阱”。與專業經濟學家的觀點相反，這些陷阱有著深厚的文化根基；幾乎不可能逃脫。

繁榮既沒有帶來社會和平，也沒有帶來智力和精神的提升。印度人不懂得“舒適”的概念。大多數富有的印度人建造華而不實的房子並非為了舒適，而是為了炫耀財富，並控製那些比他們弱小的人。更糟糕的是，近幾十年來西方科技進步帶來的輕鬆繁榮，已經偏離了對理性和道德的追求。社交媒體成了傳播神話、迷信和色情內容的平台。信息技術革命並沒有帶來啟蒙。

世界上最貧窮的地區！

如今，印度的奇思妙想和迷信比以往更加根深蒂固。享樂主義盛行，家庭支離破碎。

大多數印度人身居高位後，變得傲慢自大，甚至有虐待傾向。這並非出於掩飾自身能力的不足和心理弱點，而是源於他們堅信傲慢和虐待狂是權力和階級的標誌。這也是一種應對文化灌輸的根深蒂固的自卑感的方式。殖民者曾經灌輸給印度人的優雅和文明，如今已蕩然無存。

西方創造的財富讓印度人如癡如醉。然而，他們卻未能理解財富背後的含義。他們把西方與好萊塢的刻板印象聯係起來：穿短裙的女孩、放蕩不羈、酗酒吸毒、炫耀財富、在豪華辦公室工作、控製他人。這才是真正的靈魂，曾經被維多利亞時代的道德觀和伊斯蘭教的束縛所遮蔽。這是回歸前殖民時代、前維多利亞時代、享樂主義文化。

英國人是天賜之物。沒有他們，情況隻會持續惡化。印度最終將抵消它從西方獲得的所有好處，並回歸到前殖民時代的方式。它將分崩離析，如果它的大部分人口淪為戰爭和饑荒的犧牲品，並衰落到歐洲人到來之前的水平，我也不會感到驚訝。

大多數印度人除了金錢、性和生存之外，什麽也想不到——這正是一個平均智商為77的社會所期望的。所有西方賦予他們的價值觀都被歪曲和腐蝕，以達到這些目的。印度人沒有十誡。他們對這些價值觀如此漠不關心，以至於即使有人強行灌輸，他們也依然渾然不覺。對此，你無能為力，隻能努力理解來自印度和其他第三世界國家的移民會對西方造成什麽影響。

本文改編自最近在土耳其博德魯姆舉行的“財產與自由協會”會議上的一次演講。

India: It's Worse Than You Think

Jayant Bhandari, American Renaissance, December 19, 2024

https://www.amren.com/features/2024/12/india-its-worse-than-you-think/

Most Westerners know nothing about India beyond vague ideas about Hinduism, yoga, gurus, and maybe a dash of Bollywood. To such people, this article will be a rude awakening.

I grew up in Bhopal in central India. Since as early as I can remember, I worked in my father’s printing press. I studied engineering in the nearby city in Indore and went to Manchester Business School in Britain to do an MBA. I returned to India to set up a subsidiary of a British company, which was a huge success. When I lived in Delhi, I wrote for the mainstream Indian media. I traveled widely in India and around the world.

I had first returned to India with the idea of improving it, but after 11 years, I realized that India was a sinking ship, with worsening and increasingly shameless corruption, degraded people, and a society that was falling apart. I had never met an honest bureaucrat or politician. I applied to emigrate to Canada and my application was approved in a record three weeks.

I now advise East Asian and Western corporations on investing in India. Most of what I tell them sounds to them exaggerated, unrealistic, and unbelievable. After much dance, drama, and a great deal of lost money, they begin to believe what I tell them. However, this learning is never institutionalized because of a refusal to understand India. This is a form of political correctness, a poison eating away the innards of Western values.

When I was a child growing up in India, I learned that “might makes right.” Power was often abused, with those in control acting as if they had a God-given right to exploit and dominate others. The display of authority could be so extreme that questioning it or expecting those in power to do their duty might lead to retribution. Those in authority seemed to believe that their positions were not for serving others but for personal gain.

People who showed respect appeared to have meekly accepted a lower, subservient position. Kind people had to hide their compassion, for being nice was seen as a weakness.

In India, I have rarely seen someone in authority take the initiative to solve a problem he was responsible for. When I was at university, an underaged boy who worked in the kitchen was raped and sodomized by the janitors. I reported the matter, but not only did no one in authority do what was right — something well within their power — the authorities and fellow students threatened me with severe consequences if I pursued the matter further. Devoid of empathy, they also made fun of the boy and me.

Yes, there is an element of sadism here. There is some degree of pleasure that Indians take in the pain suffered by others. The attitude of the authorities was like that of the high-placed Delhi bureaucrat who told me that his Black Label whiskey tastes so much better because he knows that most Indians can’t afford to drink it.

This confuses Westerners. If they had power, even if they were corrupt, in a situation where there was nothing to gain or lose — no bribes to receive since both parties were poor, and no risk of offending someone well-connected — they would do the right thing and book the alleged rapist. These Indians would do nothing, not even lift a finger, unless there was a reward: money or sex. Their apathy was bottomless.

Doing your job may be seen as effeminate by those above you. If you can shirk your responsibilities, you’re considered macho. In that culture, there is rarely any pride or honor in doing what is right. If you call a plumber for repairs, he will see it as beneath him to leave without creating a mess. He may deliberately do a shoddy job, even if doing it well wouldn’t take more time. A complex web of arrogance, egotism, servility, casteism, tribalism, and magical thinking drives this behavior. He shows his contempt for you and gets the better of you by leaving a mess. His customer, as the other side of the same coin, might well look down on and exploit someone who did his job well.

If you do a bad job, does that mean you do not get called back? That doesn’t matter to people who have no standards to begin with and who do not think ahead. There is little positive feedback to those who want to do better, be fair, or make better products.

Fairness, justice, trust, empathy, and impartiality are alien to many Indians. They have a hard time telling the difference between right and wrong. They are indifferent even when no cost is associated with being fair. Moreover, if they could do good without any personal cost, they would still prefer not to, because that can be seen as a sign of weakness.

Indians are indoctrinated to be submissive. The indoctrination is so profound that Indians address those even slightly above them in authority as “sir.” They tend to be servile, sycophantic, and ingratiating. This should not be mistaken for respect, because respect is foreign to Indians. When they call you “sir,” it reflects their view of you only as the stronger figure in the interaction, consistent with their view that might makes right. They will demean you the moment you are in a weaker position.

You are either higher or lower — therefore, you are either abuser or abused. Equality is impossible. A visitor learns very quickly that saying “please” and “thank you” is seen as a sign of weakness and is reserved for those who wish to demean themselves.

Indians cannot maintain the institutions established by the British. These institutions have been hollowed out and corrupted, becoming predatory. The constitution and laws hold little value. The only forces driving these institutions are bribes and connections. Whether you approach the highest political leaders or the pettiest bureaucrats, they openly and unashamedly demand bribes.

Activists burning an effigy of Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu in protest against corruption and recovering of cash on December 10, 2023 in Patna, India. Photo by Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times Bihar Politics And Governance (Credit Image: © Imago via ZUMA Press)

Street smarts are highly valued, and criminals who evade justice are celebrated. A relative of mine, brimming with pride, once told me that he would never pay rent for the house he had rented. He had bribed the local authorities to make it impossible for his landlord to throw him out.

When someone in a society without trust is cheated, he rarely seeks justice against the cheater. Instead, he cheats others. Men abuse women, women abuse children, and children abuse animals. Animals attack whatever they can. Higher-caste Indians abuse those in lower castes, while lower-caste people fight with other lower-caste people to determine who is superior. It is a perpetual cycle of mistrust and arbitrariness.

People in the West talk about a system of four or five castes that was formalized by the British. This confuses the issue, for this gives an exaggerated sense of structure. In reality, there are 1.4 billion castes in India. All interactions are about sizing you up. You end up either oppressing others or being oppressed. The so-called lower caste people are more caste conscious than the higher caste people.

Most caste problems in India are described in the news in passive tense. So-and-so was oppressed and abused. Yes, the sufferer is a lower caste person but the oppressor is often of a similarly low caste. When a lower caste person rises in power, he loves showing it off to those from higher castes. What better way to show off power than by abusing others and getting away with it or — if you are a plumber — by leaving a mess? Different people show off power according to what they can get away with.

Many people lie openly. Everyone knows everyone lies, but everyone lies anyway. Many Indians convince themselves of their lies so that they can no longer differentiate between fact and fiction. Even if you don’t have to or want to, you have to exaggerate and lie, for you know your listener will calibrate to what you say. Conversations are often driven by personal material gain. Every transaction is a zero-sum game — or perhaps a negative-sum game, for sadism may be a part of the equation.

You may think you will be safe if you work with family members, but they may turn out to be your biggest enemies, for even they will betray you. Honor is not a part of the social code. Indians are atomized people and do not know loyalty. Indians across the board hide gold in their own houses and do not tell even family members about it.

I have never (I am using the word advisedly) had a contract honored in India. When you bribe, you must do so skillfully. If you have an opposing side in a legal fight, the judge and the police will take bribes from both sides. Your lawyer will collude with the opposing side and with the judge right in front of you to maximize bribes. This might sound unbelievable, but that does not change reality.

The words for most virtues come from Persian, Turkish, or English, not native Indian languages. But just because the words came into the language does not mean Indians accept those virtues; they were perverted and became a façade for the old ways.

Everyone builds solid, high fences around his property. Everyone does this the day he buys a property, because his neighbors will encroach on his land if they can. It took me years after I had moved to the West to understand why people don’t build fences.

When I first traveled to the UK, I was amused to find that animals weren’t fearful of or aggressive toward people. I was surprised that those in power didn’t expect servility or reverence. For years, I felt uneasy, as if I wasn’t fulfilling my part of the transaction unless I paid bribes.

My grandparents and father were honest in financial matters and held themselves to a high standard of self-respect — an anomaly in India. There are good, sane, moral, rational people in India, but I have more fingers than the total number of such Indians I have known; I can find that many honest Americans in one morning. By Indian standards, our family was decent and well-connected. This shielded me from much depravity and made it possible to ignore the stories that I heard.

Among ordinary Indians, conversations revolve around backbiting, gossiping about friends, discussing celebrities, exchanging superstitions, and animosity toward other groups. Hindus hate Muslims, Muslims hate Hindus, and Sikhs hate Hindus. These groups fight among themselves, leaving everyone atomized, but their hatred of other groups superficially unites them.

Demonstrators protest against the sudden “anti-encroachment” drive carried out by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Kolkata, India. The NDMC demolished several pavement structures such as shops, shortly after a period of Muslim-Hindu violence. (Credit Image: © Sukhomoy_ Sen/eyepix via ZUMA Press Wire)

I doubt I understood the concepts of honor and loyalty until I had lived in Britain for a year. During that time, someone told me not to exaggerate when promoting the organization I worked for. For the first time, I began to see that people wanted to speak the truth simply for the sake of truth. I had always known the word “truth,” but for the first time, I began to grasp its essence.

The foundational principle to understanding India is that it is an amoral, irrational society devoid of values. Any values you try to instill will slip off, like water off a duck’s back.

I have seen a continual worsening of Indian society. Whatever grace and civility Christian missionaries and European colonizers instilled in Indians has been slowly eroding.

I distinctly recall my first day outside of India. On a train trip from Heathrow Airport to Manchester, I saw what I initially thought were dull-looking houses and clean, unremarkable waterways and air. The lack of hustle and bustle and the calmness of the train ride left me feeling disoriented and gloomy. I didn’t know how to cope with a situation where there was no constant assault on my senses.

With time, I realized that for most Indian immigrants, this led to a compulsive need to recreate India in the ghettos they moved into. They sought the familiar smells, noise, and constant hustle and bustle. They recreated never-ending emotionalism, fruitless conflicts, chaos, and intellectual inbreeding.

When we were granted unhindered access to the school in Manchester and later to the office where I worked, my fellow immigrants and I often wondered if the British were so naïve as to trust us so readily. What was to stop us from stealing everything in sight? Most immigrants never truly grasp the significance of “trust” and “gratitude.” Worse, they discover that complaining often leads to benefits — the only thing they genuinely care about in the multicultural West. Humanistic, civilizational values never touch their hearts.

Once, a friend and I went for a drive in Manchester. Having had a few drinks, he ran a red light and was pulled over by the police. I was stunned by the respect with which the officer treated him. In India, the police would have humiliated and exploited even the passengers. My friend was taken to the police station, and as I was driven there by an officer, I explained how we would have been treated if this had happened in India.

At that time, I was living in a high-crime area of Manchester, and the police sometimes followed me when I walked home. I asked the officer why they never stopped or questioned me. He told me they followed me to ensure my safety and had no authority to stop me without legitimate cause. For the first time, I began to understand the British respect for personal space, another value that was also starting to take root in my mind.

The officer made my friend sit for an hour or two to sober up, and then let him go without booking him. I began to realize that those in power in Britain could apply the law flexibly, considering the spirit behind it; in India, laws were excuses for predation.

Of course, Britain is no longer what it once was. Over the years, policing has evolved to accommodate the challenges presented by the lowest common denominator introduced by immigrants from the Third World.

Statistics fail to resonate in the Indian psyche. There is no sense of a grey area; everything is black or white, with no appreciation for nuance. This lack of proportionality leads to indecisiveness and an inability to value things. In the end, unrestrained emotions drive life. I carried a part of this same mindset with me. Realigning my thinking with reason, morality, and Western values was a difficult task.

I attended one of the best engineering colleges in India and believed myself to be creative, decisive, and well-grounded. However, as I started witnessing social interactions and behavior in Britain, I found I lacked confidence. Even the grocery store owner appeared more confident and decisive. I realized my mind was clouded with confused thinking and conflicting motivations

Even my privileged upbringing in India had ingrained into me layers upon layers of confused worldviews, and dishonest, scheming behavior. Despite my best intentions, shaking them off and rewiring my thinking took decades. Any erroneous belief I became aware of and tried to change clashed with other deeply ingrained beliefs and mental patterns. It was like trying to replace a broken brick in the castle of my cognitive constructs without destabilizing the entire structure. At times, I had to get drunk just to find a fleeting sense of sanity.

With time, I noticed that I began to sleep better and felt mentally freer. Even my body started to change, and the mental cloud that had clogged my thoughts began to lift. A reassuring sense that those around me had my back was immensely helpful. The confusing and contradictory thoughts that had caused chronic stress started to fade.

My grandmother often said two things I once considered backward-looking, but I agree with them today. She believed that some people needed to stay on the edge of starvation because if given more, they would make problems. Despite being one of the most egalitarian people I knew — befriending her chauffeur and tailor — she would remind me that not everyone deserved a seat at the table unless he was fit for it.

“Human Rights” is a Western concept that is incomprehensible to most Indians. They fail to understand respect for the individual. Speaking to them about “rights” only leads to confusion. They fail to differentiate between “negative” and “positive” rights. For instance, when taught about property rights, they learn to protect their property but fail to recognize the rights of others. Women, when taught that rape is a violation, might begin to see it in every situation and use it as a tool to exploit men. As they are introduced to the concept of rights, they shift from accepting their wretched lives to adopting a resentful, victim mentality.

You cannot teach people anything good until they have the foundations of morality, rationality, causality, and other Western values. Without these foundations, the fruits of Western civilization serve only to turn people’s often-hidden hedonic tendencies into something more malevolent. Every civilizational fruit — education, Western clothing, prosperity, Western institutions — has been perverted in India.

The institutions left behind by the British have been hollowed out, becoming purely predatory and sadistic. This occurred because, in post-British India, those in power prize expediency and acquiring wealth as life’s sole purposes. Today’s India lacks even the vague rule of law that existed before the arrival of the Europeans. This is why it will be an improvement when India eventually collapses and the Taliban-like authoritarian system that existed before the British reemerges from the ashes.

The High Court of Bombay, designed by British engineer Col. James A. Fuller. Credit: benbeiske via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Without Western missionaries at the helm, Christianity has been “nourished” by Indian superstitions and magical thinking and has become voodoo. Grammar has fallen by the wayside, and English has often become pidgin.

Education and Western clothing have been adopted with a cargo-cult mentality. The focus is on obtaining certificates and wearing suits, as if these outward symbols alone confer status and material benefits. Similarly, education is not viewed as a means to foster intellectual growth or evolve into better human beings. Instead, driven by animalistic desires, expediency, and the unethical pursuit of resources, most Indians scorn the idea of self-improvement.

Education applied to an irrational mind that processes information through magical thinking becomes burdensome, making such people worse than their uneducated counterparts.

The Indian mind should have been made moral and rational and imbued with honor, discipline, respect, and integrity, before being formally educated and provided with the fruits of Western civilization. Alas, this would have been, at best, a millennia-long process.

In economics, there is a concept of the “middle-income trap.” I prefer to call India’s situation the “low-income trap.” Contrary to the beliefs of professional economists, these traps have cultural underpinnings; it is virtually impossible to escape.

Prosperity has led to neither social peace nor intellectual and spiritual growth. Indians do not understand the concept of comfort. Most rich Indians build garish houses not for comfort but to display wealth and control those weaker than themselves. Worse, the easy prosperity of recent decades, which is essentially a result of Western technological advancements, has derailed the pursuit of rationality and morality. Social media are a platform for exchanging myths, superstitions, and pornography. The IT revolution does not bring enlightenment to the poorest parts of the world!

Today, India is more entrenched in magical thinking and superstition than in the past. Hedonism is rampant, and families are falling apart.

When elevated to high positions, most Indians become arrogant and sadistic. This is less from a desire to mask their incompetence and psychological weaknesses and more from a genuine belief that arrogance and sadism define power and class. This also serves as a way to cope with the deep-seated inferiority complex instilled by their culture. Whatever grace and civility had once been imbued in Indians by colonizers has eroded.

The wealth created by the West hypnotizes Indians. However, they fail to understand the underpinnings of that wealth. They equate the West with Hollywood stereotypes: girls in short skirts, promiscuity, drinking and drugs, flaunting wealth, working in plush offices, and controlling others. This is the true soul, once obscured by Victorian morals and Islamic constraints. It is a return to a pre-colonial, pre-Victorian, hedonistic culture.

The British were a godsend. Without them, the situation has continued to worsen. India will eventually nullify all the benefits it got from the West and revert to its pre-colonial ways. It will fall apart, and I wouldn’t be surprised if much of its population falls prey to war and famine and declines to the level it was before the arrival of Europeans.

Most Indians cannot think beyond money, sex, and survival — just what you would expect of a society with an average IQ of 77. Every Western value given to them has been caricatured and corrupted for these ends. Indians have no Ten Commandments. They are so unaware of these values that they remain oblivious even if they are forcefully presented to them. There is nothing you can do about this, except to try to understand what immigration from India and the rest of Third World will do to the West.

This article has been adapted from a recent speech given at the Property and Freedom Society conference in Bodrum, Turkey.