Vietnam is the latest stage on which a newly rich, aspirational Indian middle class is demonstrating to the world how badly brought up it has been. First, a clip went viral on social media showing a group of Gujarati tourists staging garba on the tarmac in an airport in Vietnam, as if this is the norm back home. More recently, another clip went viral showing a family from Maharashtra misbehaving in a restaurant and picking a fight with the staff when the latter objected to bad behaviour by what clearly appeared to be a badly brought up child. Rather than admonish the brat, the father began beating the staff. Don’t be surprised if friendly Vietnam joins a growing list of countries that are blacklisting Indian visa seekers.
Socially unacceptable behaviour by the newly rich is not new. What is new is that many feel empowered and entitled enough to behave badly with impunity. In the past, Indian tourists were generally known to be low-profile, polite and reasonably well behaved. In many countries, Indian immigrants have earned the reputation of being good citizens. This is not to say there were no exceptions. I recall viewing a video on a Singapore television channel that showed an Indian litter the street and many I met after that was aired protested that such behaviour was the exception, not the norm. It seems to have increasingly become the norm.