Indians: inherently unhygienic ?

The Messiah

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Indians: inherently unhygienic? Indian writer touches third rail

My Indian friends and I joke around a lot about me as the typical white American guy visiting India. Cows! Con men! Colors! Most people I've met in India have restricted their reactions to my westerner-in-the-east experiences to gentle teasing. When I stuck a picture of a man urinating in public on my Facebook page, calling it one more picture of what you see everywhere you go in India, people weren't as patient. What was I doing? Insulting the nation? Focusing on the ugly because it's what all the westerners do when they visit India? Why does India provoke such visceral reactions in visitors?

Public urination, public defecation, dirt, garbage, filth, the poor living on the street — talking about these things, even acknowledging that they're in front of your face, risks making your hosts unhappy, and possibly angry. It's the third rail of India, and the voltage can be lethal. That's why I was surprised when B.S. Raghavan decided to touch it with all 10 fingers.

Raghavan's column in Business Line : Columns / B S Raghavan : Are Indians by nature unhygienic? newspaper begins with this headline: Are Indians by nature unhygienic?

Consider these excerpts:

From time to time, in their unguarded moments, highly placed persons in advanced industrial countries have burst out against Indians for being filthy and dirty in their ways of life. A majority of visitors to India from those countries complain of "Delhi belly" within a few hours of arrival, and some fall seriously ill.

There is no point in getting infuriated or defensive about this. The general lack of cleanliness and hygiene hits the eye wherever one goes in India — hotels, hospitals, households, work places, railway trains, airplanes and, yes, temples. Indians think nothing of spitting whenever they like and wherever they choose, and living in surroundings which they themselves make unliveable by their dirty habits. "¦

Open defecation has become so rooted in India that even when toilet facilities are provided, the spaces round temple complexes, temple tanks, beaches, parks, pavements, and indeed, any open area are covered with faecal matter. "¦

Even as Indians, we are forced to recoil with horror at the infinite tolerance of fellow Indians to pile-ups of garbage, overflowing sewage, open drains and generally foul-smelling environs.

There's plenty more that you can read in that story, but I'll direct you to the article. I'll also ask you some questions:

- Some people say you shouldn't point out these problems, and that every country has problems. Do you agree with this statement? Why?
- Does anyone disagree with Raghavan's descriptions of these sights and smells?
- Is this even a problem? Or should people get used to it?
- Should visitors, especially ones from countries where people are generally wealthier, say nothing, and pretend that they don't see unpleasant things?

As for me, I can say this: I got used to it, but I would be lying if I said I didn't notice it. Indians notice it too. Otherwise, people wouldn't suggest public shaming campaigns against people urinating in public, they wouldn't threaten fines for doing it, and they wouldn't respond with relief to plans to finally make sure that toilets on India's trains don't open directly onto the tracks. Of course, these are people in India. It's a family, taking care of business the family way.

As for me, the message usually seems to be: "If you don't love it, leave it." It would be nice if there were some other answer. Acknowledging problems, even ones that are almost impossible to solve, makes them easier to confront.

Indians: inherently unhygienic? Indian writer touches third rail | India Insight
 

Iamanidiot

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That is well known. But why is it so ?
Lack of collectively responsibility wet to public property.Only Tamizh have this sense of collective responsibility of public property.South India may be the North fares badly
 

Bangalorean

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If "Indians" are "inherently unhygienic", perhaps the writer should explain why Indians out of India are the most exemplary citizens/visitors, wherever they go.
 

Yusuf

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Indians keep themselves clean, their houses clean. Once outside, it's :facepalm:

I mean I have this problem near my house. Everyone from the surrounding houses dump garbage in a place near the house while I take the trouble of going to the nearest public dump. These idiots don't mind dumping outside and getting infected by mosquitoes but won't take the trouble to go to the dump area.
 

Known_Unknown

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Indians are pivately hygenic.Publicly a broken sewer.
They're not even privately hygienic. How many use a deodorant, wear fresh socks daily, groom their body hair and wear aftershave?

I think t has to do with poverty, most people, even those of the middle class used to be poor one or two generations ago, and hence are not savvy to western standards of hygiene as it was a question of affordability.
 

hit&run

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Like KU said poverty is the big evil. But then we need good teachers at schools and kill our laziness.

Personal hygiene.

No concept of sterilization, cooking and serving food with hands without gloves even at best of the city shops and big fat marriages.

No concept of tissues, still using dirty handkerchiefs even the elitist ones.

One question, how many use face tissues at home and in bedrooms especially the married ones :p. ?

One systemic infection cost average 5k to 10K in India with long or short term unpredictable recovery. Only washing hands 4 to 5 times a day can save millions. Then covering your cough, blowing nose on tissue (not inhaling the sputum, sooo, sooo, we do) can make a great difference to this nation ridden by Tuberculosis.

Public:

Indian railway, spit spitters, scoundrels urinating and defecating in open are offenders to be punished or corrected ASAP.

Men taking charge of garbage dumping, toilet cleaning (spot less walls, doors, floor and toilet seat) from women in the house and ''kaamwali''.

Relieving monopoly of one particular community or class cleaning your cities; a profession running in their family paid heavily by taxpayers money.

Or at least provide work force the education, training, mechanical tools, machines and respect & dignity they deserve.
 

Yusuf

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Why can't the city initiate trash pickup?
The system was there. It's broken now. It was a privatized. People used to come home to pick up. And then they started demanding money to pick up. Then they used to just burn the garbage near our houses after picking up from the houses in the area.

All kinds of issues these days in my city wrt to garbage disposal.

My city civic admin has kinda become mom existent. And yes corruption is rampant.
 

srikanth

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This is one of the biggest problem which caused me a lot of suffering.:mad:
 

Ray

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In personal hygiene, Indians are inherently very clean.

They are unclean in community cleanliness!
 
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Singh

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They're not even privately hygienic. How many use a deodorant, wear fresh socks daily, groom their body hair and wear aftershave?

I think t has to do with poverty, most people, even those of the middle class used to be poor one or two generations ago, and hence are not savvy to western standards of hygiene as it was a question of affordability.
Westerners wipe their ass with toilet paper, it cannot be beat. :bs: :troll:
 

Singh

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Delhi has trash pickup, courtesy stupid MCD van with eardrum piercing siren and loudspeaker. Indians don't have a civic sense. Why should I go the extra mile, when the other guy will not is the attitude.
 

Ray

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Delhi has trash pickup, courtesy stupid MCD van with eardrum piercing siren and loudspeaker. Indians don't have a civic sense. Why should I go the extra mile, when the other guy will not is the attitude.

You should go the extra mile because you are a concerned and educated citizen.

Jo mere hai, who tera and jo tera hai wo mera!
 

Ray

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Westerners wipe their ass with toilet paper, it cannot be beat. :bs: :troll:
I find that habit abhorring!

And it is also environmentally dangerous. It is depleting the forests to roll out the toilet paper! :pound:

During the WW II, where things were rationed, the British were issue 3 toilet paper per day - Clean, Wipe and Polish!
 

rock127

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Indians keep themselves clean, their houses clean. Once outside, it's :facepalm:

I mean I have this problem near my house. Everyone from the surrounding houses dump garbage in a place near the house while I take the trouble of going to the nearest public dump. These idiots don't mind dumping outside and getting infected by mosquitoes but won't take the trouble to go to the dump area.
Its a common thing in India ie keep inside clean and push kuda-karkat outside.I think Indians lack hygiene as a whole(specially in public) and this comes since everyone thinks outside is not their responsibility and seriously lack "National Prestige". :tsk:

And I gotta say education/poverty is not really the culprit since educated ones are no less. One of my friend is educated but still likes to pee on roadside often without a shame.The neighbour would spend mosquito coils inside the home but would not attack the dirty corner outside his home where all the mosquitos comes.So I have to go outside and kill them by sprays often since thats the safe heaven(I wish Indian govt could do the same to Paki mosquitos too.. lol ). :taunt:

In hotels/dhabas the attitude of workers is usually pathetic, even after telling them to clean they dont do it and take it for granted and make lame idiotic excuses. :rolleyes:

Westners not wiping their ass clean is indeed dirty and pathetic but thats not going to defend what we do in public.
 

Known_Unknown

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Westerners wipe their ass with toilet paper, it cannot be beat. :bs: :troll:
I'd argue that's another sign of their cleanliness and civilized nature compared to Indians. Why would you smear your hand with $hit on purpose, then deem that hand "dirty" and developing a habit of eating with the other hand? :taunt:
 

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