Michael Tandy
Staff Associate, Language Learning Center
Dept. of Asian Languages and Literature
University of Washington


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AFP <C-afp@...>
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india, clari.news.law_enforce,
clari.world.asia+oceania, clari.news.issues, clari.news.issues.misc
Subject: India's "brat pack" under attack for rising crime

(FEATURE) by Abhik Kumar Chanda

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (AFP) - An increasing number of rich, young
Indians are flouting the law with seeming impunity, confident that
their family connections will protect them from even the most
serious criminal charges.
The latest incident, where the grandson of India's former naval
chief ran down and killed six people in New Delhi after a drunken
party, before fleeing the scene, mirrors the attitude of the new
affluent generation, experts say.
The offender, Sanjeev Nanda, a student at a prestigious US
business school, was driving a BMW valued at six million rupees
(143,000 dollars). The car had been illegally imported and did not
even have a valid number plate.
Although Nanda is in police custody, there is wide scepticism
that he will be punished.
The case follows several burglaries, shootings and fatal
instances of drunken driving where the well-connected young
offenders have got off lightly, or not been punished at all.
Sociologist Ashish Nandi told AFP the "brat pack" was
increasingly taking to "a hedonistic lifestyle across India" and
looking to crime for thrills and excitement.
"In north India, they come from nouveau riche families as well
as scions of old families," he said. "In other parts of the country,
old money shows more restraint in these things.
"The values of society have gone wrong. Austerity is ridiculed
now and the idea that wealth can be invested into good work and
charity as an obligation is scoffed at. Consumption for the sake of
consumption is valued and celebrated."
Before the Nanda case, a 19-year-old Delhi woman rammed into a
New Delhi policeman trying to stop her after she jumped a red light.
She drove on with the injured man on the bonnet, until he fell off.
Another New Delhi 20-year-old whipped out a gun and shot his
friend's gardener, saying: "I kill people like this." The rich
builder's son is currently in jail serving time.
Nandi warned the phenomenon would increase and that "nobody can
do anything about it."
"It is the Americanisation of violence here. More than 32,000
people die of homicide every year in the US and we are going to
reach that level soon," he said.
"The affected people are almost psychopathic. If the meaning of
life comes from driving a BMW and drinking expensive Scotch and
doing what one pleases, there can be no checks. Perhaps a satiation
of luxury could reverse the trend."
New Delhi joint commissioner of police Amod Kanth, also a social
activist, said the new generation of urban rich was going astray
because of indulgent parents, who showered them with gifts and huge
sums of money.
"It's the money that makes them go blind," he added.
"They don't respect the law."
Child psychologist Gurmeet Kaur, who counsels students from
elite New Delhi schools, said absentee parents, busy making money or
leading hectic social lives, were also part of the problem.
"In many cases where parents don't give time, I find the kids
grow up with misshapen personalities. They are prone to violence if
they don't get what they want."
Media commentator Sumer Kaul said crime was also rising because
it went unpunished.
"They bribe the concerned functionaries," he said, adding the
"rich and influential" went "scot-free" every time.
Kaul said the glorification of consumerism had changed the "very
concept of a 'good life'" which was "unabashedly mammonish, devoid
of any perspective, any restraint, any morality."
"Everyone wants a slice of the new cake and sets out to grab it.
The rich want to flaunt the goodies the richer are flaunting. The
'demonstration effect' is affecting all classes."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a lot worse than you think. The average ISKCON devotee sees the influx
of Indian immigrants into America as proof positive that they are
materialistic. But ask any Indian women, especially those from conservative
families, why they choose to stay in USA, and they will give you a shocking
answer.

The bottom line is that women are not protected in India anymore. These rich
boys go around accosting young, single women, trying to talk to them, touch
them, etc. Ramya herself described numerous, numerous, numerous such
incidents of boys chasing her all the way back to her apartment, trying to
get inside her apartment. She was almost *killed* once after our engagement
when a bus driver saw her in the street and tried to run her over (she only
told me about this after the fact). Several times I asked, why not complain
to the police? She was even more afraid of the police than she was of these
ruffians. She said that frequently the police would do nothing, because the
boys were often sons of rich ministers or businessmen. Also, complaints
lodged against the boys would often trigger a bribe to have the policemen
give trouble to the innocents who lodge the complaint. The police officers,
when pressured to make an arrest in such situations, would then go after the
people whose rights were being violated in the first place.

Police officers in India also conspire with these boys to rape young ladies
on their way to school, college, etc. Ramya told me of several cases that
were publicized in Hyderabad while she was there.

It isn't entirely a problem of the boys either. Ramya told me that most
girls in India these days are inviting this behavior. They dress in
attractive clothing and associate with boys, going with them to cafes,
restaurants, etc. Boys learn that this sort of casual association is the
norm, and push themselves onto more conservative girls who know better.
Ramya tells me that no girl in India has been spared this treatment.

Does hearing of this devilry make your blood boil? It should. First of all,
we need to learn several things from this. First and foremost, women need
protection in India, more so than in America. Don't ever leave a wife or a
daughter alone ANYWHERE (not even in South India). Second, the government is
hopelessly corrupt, and this only goes to show the great need for a
Krishna-conscious government that would be above such selfishness. I am
reminded of Mahaaraaja Parikshit, who, upon seeing the torture of the bull
and cow, immediately drew his sword to kill the offender. Today's
politicians who simply take money and look the other way, so evil have they
become.