Indians need to break away from their habit of spitting anywhere and everywhere. And now is the best time to do it. If they stop now, they would do a great service to the nation. The coronavirus pandemic has sent the world into a frenzy and everyone is worried about this hazardous spitting culture. But here, I am not just talking about the literal spitting.
Spitting is ‘terrorism’
There are many reports on how people have been fined and arrested for spitting recently. And it is not just an India-specific phenomenon. From the US to Belgium, spit attacks are a real problem.
A 14-year old boy was charged in Britain for deliberately spitting and coughing at someone. A man in Delhi was arrested for spitting on a girl from Manipur and shouting ‘corona’. Another person from Kashmir was put behind bars after people complained that he was spitting on the gates of their homes. Two men from Bihar were also arrested in Mohali for spitting on notes. Gujarat has banned public spitting due to coronavirus.
In the UK, policemen are demanding deployment of ‘spit guards’ in public places. In the US, coughing can be considered as an ‘attack’ and may be prosecuted as terrorism during the Covid-19 crisis.
But in India, spitting has also taken a communal colour. In Bihar, the media has labeled the alleged incidents of spitting by Tablighi Jamaat members as ‘thook jihad’, which is being done to spread coronavirus.
In India, the spit culture is common and acceptable. The stain of famous ‘banarasi paan’ which I find in the corner of lifts often is a testimony to that. Even the famous Howrah Bridge couldn’t remain untouched. The bridge was at the risk of collapsing because it gradually became gutka and paan lovers’ favourite spot to spit. The half chewed betal leaves, lime and the acid in it were corroding the base of the bridge. Be it railway coaches, walls of pubic properties or parks, Indians don’t leave any chance to paint the town red with their spit.
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Obsession with spitting
And we cannot put the blame on just people who chew paan and gutka. The Indian obsession with spitting can be seen in many ways. I have seen mothers and grandmothers gently spitting or faking it on their children to keep them protected from ‘buri nazar’.
Lets not talk about the school teacher in whose class nobody would prefer sitting on the front bench because of the complimentary showers. On the streets, you’ll easily find people who think spitting is not only their birthright, but is some sort of an achievement too.
Hindi, which is predominantly the language of Northern India, is filled with metaphors about spitting. ‘Thoo-thoo karna’ ( to get ashamed), ‘thook kar chaatna’ (to eat one’s own words) etc. are popular idioms used during conversations. So spitting is not a taboo in our culture. Despite all this, some value of disgust is associated with it.
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Social media venom
When I said I am not just referring to the literal spitting this is what I meant. The spitting culture has transcended boundaries of the real world. In news channel debates, we often see how logical arguments take a back seat. It is unfortunately the same case with social media. There is hardly any space left for public discourse and discussion.
Every single dissenting opinion gets intolerable to an extent that spitting venom becomes the common practice. Trolls are always ready to tear you apart and they exist across ideologies and party politics. Trolling is their one and only ‘dharma’. It is the unifying factor.
News channels too, are spitting on each other in the name of ‘fast and accurate coverage’. Panelists are spitting on each other through their words, anchors are spitting on the audiences through their trashy coverage. It is time to acknowledge and realise that we should be done with all the spitting, literally and metaphorically. Coronavirus era could be a beginning for that.
Views are personal.