Why do Indians seem to have crab-mentality?

We do have crab mentality and unfortunately it is detrimental to the society, our governments and our corporate culture. Its not that the pie is not large enough, it is a fact that we have been made to believe that pie is just not sufficient for everyone else. Our country is primarily a socialist country and the primary motto of our government is to take care of us ( whether they do a good job is another issue) . But the years of scarcity mentality has created a huge dent in our mindset. A small look at the way our parents perceive government backed insurance policy vs us or the upcoming generation will reveal it. I don't have data to back it up but almost every Indian my age would have seen parents paying the policy to the end and then dutifully withdrawing the sum. I think that the new generation has far more choices now and thus new generation either does not know/understand/wish to understand what is government based policy is .They want to 'look at all options" before deciding on anything , not only policy be it choice of partner, choice of food, clothes etc . Since independence all we have done is stayed with artificial scarcity. We had one TV for family, one channel to watch, one brand of car to drive , One phone per household, A few gas connections per year ( still true) Lesser availability of land ( not lesser land) Lower access to prestigious institutes Higher poverty ( less access to food ) Controlled Gold controlled electronics controlled media controlled dollars while traveling This picture is only 20 years back. And these are just on top of my mind. Liberalization opened this up. Imagine taking away teenager's mobile or asking brother and sister to share one. It will be impossible to manage the fights. The mentality is however a difficult thing to cure. Parents do pass on their anxieties like problems with lack of money, lack of growth, poverty, benefits of early marriage and many others to their kids. Though now there is lesser rush for airplane tickets but imagine people queuing up for entering the plane early. Why? I think because the space is limited and people are still worried about it getting filled up. I think the crab mentality will disappear with time, provided liberalization of economy and society keeps going on.

Nice comment Anmol Sharma! Keen observer of the world just forgot to mention one thing which also holds us back. In fact, in reality, his comments do show the property too. It also is one of THE BIGGEST REASONS we have this crab mentality. We tend to lie in proportions so big to prove that we are right, that we don't care what we are saying, and what it may imply. Then, instead of accepting guilt, we throw all the words we can to prove that what we meant was right, even if that was something which was wrong. Mostly, even when they could not prove they are right, they wouldn't accept that they are wrong. They would change the context of the question, try to make others understand the circumstances he/she considered, or anything which makes sense to them and non sense to the others. Our mind does it in a reflex, and mostly, we wouldn't accept guilt under any cost. Also, more stranger than doing such things is the fact the person never realizes that he/she did something so wrong, and thus continues doing the same for the rest of their life. Question for you: Please provide ample proof which shows some place in Noida is more expensive than property in Central London..   I am assuming that: 1. A commercial area is in general more expensive than private property, as is mentioned at http://screencast.com/t/DeHqY5Cztx 2. Central London is more expensive than rest of London. So, please point out the property in Noida which someone can buy for Rs. 1360 crores (Rs. 1360,20,00,000 / $220 million) or more. Someone just paid it to own a house in London in 2010). ;) http://screencast.com/t/o6hPuDqzoB0 Thanks, Harpreet

Well, as per real vedic culture, slow and steady wins the race. But then, as arjuna described in india, varna sankaras kill the society, and india is now guided by such varna sankaras, so this race. Even nehru was in a hurry to make india a super power overnight and opened science and technology institutions. Philosophy apart, Indians always seems to be in a hurry. Actually, Indians are guided and follow a community called baniyas, and it is this baniya mindset which is destroying Indians. The mad rush to earn high paying jobs, lavish houses etc is virtually killing the joy of life from the Indians which has to be enjoyed in moments, and hence, everything happens slowly, at their own sweet pace. But in India,people try to achieve by short cuts. They think that by clearing exams, one can sit on the boards of the companies, can run nations etc, which is absolutely foolish. May god shows indians the path of light, otherwise, indians are doomed forever to burn in hell.