SUCH scenes may be witnessed in any place in urban India -- marking the emergence of a new culture of families or friends piling into cars and heading for certain spots in the city where they satisfy their small urges such as eating ice-cream, drinking colas (or whatever), smoking cigarettes, chewing betel leaves (paan) -- and collectively becoming a nuisance. They may be actually enjoying the late hours after their day’s work is over -- which in itself cannot be objected to. Yet, all of them display certain arrogance that has no consideration for others around. That is the point of real problem -- the collective disrespect of such people for the society around them. It must be noted pointedly here that most of these people are young and rather unmindful of what effect their action could have on others in the society. If someone picks up courage to tell these people to move their cars to make way for others, they mill together to dare the do-gooder. Many of them also declare that they know many people in high places and could not be touched even by the law. Probably, this confidence is not without reason.

 

For, the cops on night patrol also do not seem to disturb these groups -- that can be found by the dozen in any urban centre. These people, thus, represent the class of neo-power elite whose claim to fame is their money (earned in whatever manner). In social terms, there should be no objection to some people making good money. The objection is also not there to their having connections in high places. But the trouble is that both these attributes are often used to threaten the other lesser mortals and browbeat them. The trouble is with their culture of arrogance. In fact, we come across such people every now and then in our daily life. When some of us resort to such behaviour, an instant sense of disgust rises in the minds of others. For, such a display of social arrogance and power does not come without its filthy side as well. Some years ago, the loud-thinker often found himself stopping by such groups and pushing them to start behaving properly.

 

He must confess that he got only a limited success in his attempt to make such groups see good sense and conduct themselves with dignity -- for themselves and for others. These days, after having suffered many rebuffs from such people with extraordinary doses of arrogance, the loud-thinker has learned his lessons all right. Yet, every now and then, he gets the urge to pick up fights with such people. He, of course, refrains from doing that now. Yet, he does not mind noting that he would be happy really to tell such people openly how they represent a culture of crassness and arrogance -- that makes them look so stupid no matter their expensive clothes and cars and habits and that they represent certain social indignity that suits nobody.