THE TRUTH BEHIND THE ‘Q’ AS FOUND IN THE LACK OF IT IN AN INDIAN QUEUE

We Indians are notorious for the usage of the ‘Q’. In fact we always fail to understand the implications and the connotations of the ‘Q’. ‘Q’ for us is just another letter in the English alphabet. We fail to understand that ‘Q’ stands for Quality though we understand the word Quantity which in terms of the population, we have in plenty. We use the ‘Q’ without any respect for the rigours of self discipline and the values that it entails. In fact at times we even substitute ‘Q’ for ‘I’ which shows our own selfishness and lack of empathy to others. For those of you who still do not understand the ‘Q’ I am referring to, I must clarify that the ‘Q’ I am referring to is the English word ‘Queue’.

In this connection I must share with you all a news item that I read recently which claimed the popular TV show 'Satyameva Jayate is all fake and humbug’ and that Amir Khan the host of the show who claims he is trying to change the nation for the better; doesn't himself follow rules and regulations as posted by a Chennai resident Shyamala Ashok on her Facebook page. The post immediately went viral on most social networks.

She says "I was in the queue to scan my baggage at Chennai Airport. Aamir Khan of Satyamev Jayate just breaks the line followed by his escorts and a few others.... If these guys do not have a simple concern that many others have been waiting in line and that they should also obey rules, why the hell are they associated with programs such as Satamev Jayate etc. - It's all fake and humbug."

In this respect I must tell Shyamala that "Satyameva Jayate" is just a TV Programme and is only interested in TRP ratings and not in the values it propagates.... This is typical of most of us Indians. We believe that rules are meant only for others and that we can justify our own breaking of the rules under some excuse or the other.

The Queue by its very absence in our country shows the lack of another ‘Q’ which is Quality. Most of us find ourselves in a situation where we have to compromise in the queue; I wonder how many of us really follow the queue. We in India do not like to be behind others and prefer to be one-up on the others, that is why we prefer to break the queue rather than follow the queue.

The population of our country is such that we have large numbers flocking for almost anything that is in demand. Be it the queue at the ration store or be it the queue at the petrol bunk or be it the queue at the railway station, we simply do not have the patience to wait for our turn and would rather prefer to get ahead of the others and thereby save time which we would rather spend idling at a coffee shop or at a park bench ogling the girls who go by rather that waste our time in a queue.

The following of the queue reflects on the character of the people of the country in which the queue is found. Unfortunately the queues in our country are only meant to be broken and not to be followed with self discipline.

There are many instances where I have experienced the vagaries of the Indian Queues or the lack thereof but I do not want to bore you with the details and would like to now place a ‘Q’, sorry Question before you. Why is it that we Indians do not respect the queue system? Is it sheer ignorance or plain selfishness? What do we find so bothersome about the Indian queue that we would rather break it than follow it?

While discussing the behavior of Indians in queues within India, I should not forget to mention that the same Indians, steadfastly abide by the queues while they go overseas. However, I should also mention that the same Indians when they return to their Indian soil and stand in the line at the immigration counter, immediately change colours and start breaking the queue. Are we Indians chameleons that change colour according to their environment?

While the breaking of the queues was more common in earlier times in places where the poor had to compete with the rich and had to resort to queue breaking, I find that even the rich and the so called educated are prone to breaking the queues without hesitation even in the elite stores in the posh malls and plazas of the country.

What does this reflect? Does it reflect a malady in the Indian psyche or does it merely reveal our plain selfishness and lack of concern for the others standing in the queue. Your views please….