{"id":4146,"date":"2016-07-12T05:26:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T23:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4146"},"modified":"2016-07-12T05:26:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-11T23:56:13","slug":"hampi-vandalism-indians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=4146","title":{"rendered":"Hampi Vandalism: What Thrills Do Indians Get By Destroying Public Property?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u00a0\n

S<\/span>crolling through Twitter this weekend, I thought the Islamic State had returned to its old tricks. There was a video of three men at what was obviously a historical site, toppling over pillars that were erected centuries ago, captioned \u201cRuining the ruins\u201d. Destroying the ancient <\/p>temples<\/span><\/a>, statues, and pillars at sites like Palmyra was after all one of IS\u2019s favourite attention-seeking tactics, but no matter the similarities, this video wasn\u2019t from them. Instead, it was a group of Indian tourists destroying priceless history at Hampi, solely for the laughs.<\/span>\n\nAuthorities are on the lookout for the culprits, but the video from Hampi is evidence that nothing unites Indians like a bit of good old-fashioned <\/span>vandalism<\/span><\/a>. At national monuments and UNESCO declared heritage sites, we love to tack our own legacies onto these already legendary structures, whether it\u2019s declaring our love for someone (Bunty Babli), writing \u201cMukesh was here\u201d, or just writing down all the cuss words we know. There are all those single, lonely souls who scribble their mobile number on walls or inside trains, hoping that after all the prank calls, perhaps one day your soulmate will call you as well.<\/span>\n\nIt\u2019s tragic to think how in 1632, Emperor Shah Jahan was looking out over the town of Agra and planning to commission the construction of the <\/span>Taj Mahal<\/span><\/a>, an undying monument to love. Centuries later, in 2019, some rando can leave his own undying love note on the once-pristine, now-stained white marble walls of the tomb. Lord Curzon, who had ordered the restoration of the Taj Mahal in the early 1900s had written to his wife saying, \u201cIf I had never done anything else in India, I have written my name here, and the letters are a living joy.\u201d Perhaps we\u2019re taking the former Viceroy\u2019s words too literally.<\/span>\n\nAnd it\u2019s not just the monuments; we also want to leave our mark (literally) on any government-funded amenities. Remember when passengers on the <\/span>Tejas Express<\/span><\/a> between Mumbai and Goa damaged its entertainment screens, stole the headphones, tore the seats, and stole the neck rests? The misconduct was so rampant that Indian Railways took the call not to fit future Tejas Express trains with such aircraft-like entertainment features. From ticketless <\/span>travel<\/span><\/a>, to stealing health faucets, mugs from the toilet, and even blankets and pillow covers, there have been innumerable instances of passengers playing with national property on the Indian Railways network.<\/span>\n

And it\u2019s not just the monuments; we also want to leave our mark (literally) on any government-funded amenities.<\/blockquote>\nWhile the Railways might bear the worst brunt of our destructive tendencies, we see this blatant disregard for civic sense in practically every public space, as motorists drive down the wrong way, pedestrians decorate pavements with paan stains, and lines for queues are treated like the optional question on the <\/span>exam paper<\/span><\/a>. In India, public property is treated as free stuff, and free stuff is there to be used as recklessly as a bumper car at an arcade.<\/span>\n\nAn <\/span>article<\/span><\/a> on HuffPost asks the question \u201cWhat Joy Do Indians Get Out of Vandalising Public Property Like the New Tejas Express?\u201d, and the answer is as simple as \u201cWe are like that only.\u201d In it, the author writes, \u201cFor decades, the people of this country have defecated in the open, treated any wall or street as a spitoon, touched priceless <\/span>statues<\/span><\/a> found in historical sites, and carved their love letters on the walls of ancient monuments. Millions of them still do all these things without impunity \u2014 because they know they can get away with it.\u201d<\/span>\n\n