Hypocrisy in Indian Society

India is an apt case to study hypocrisy in twenty first century societies. Let us consider  an example that proves our hypocritical nature. Moral policing done by certain quasi-political, quasi-social groups is known to many of us as they usually make news headlines. Alcoholism, ‘inappropriate’ dressing, disco parties, cheer girls, bar dancers etc are some acts that are still ostracized by Indian society and will probably continue to be ostracized because we have consciously adopted modern practices while retaining our past values. These social restrictions have been applied on women more stringently than men which is an anomaly that needs to be corrected. But, I fail to understand the mentality of women organizations who instead of fighting against social evils ask for loosening the social restrictions thus emphasizing that women also have an equal right to practice social evils. I have also seen a discrepancy in the views of the people who support that women should wear what they like, they should go to disco parties, they should be free to consume alcohol, etc and can follow ‘western’ ideas in general. When asked if they would welcome such a behavior by their mother, sister or wife, there follows a long silence which reflects the inherent hypocrisy.

This is what some intellectual have called ‘blind’ following of western culture and thus we are not westerners but pseudo westerners. Traditional and modern cultures exist together in Indian society and that complicates things sometimes leading to friction between them. ‘Blind’ following of a foreign culture is only a temporary phase in the societies that are evolving every day. Foreign culture is tweaked to suit the local indigenous culture before it is accepted as a ‘way of life’ leading to a conclusion that the theory of ‘blind following’ is not entirely true.