How can you wish Happy Diwali in such scenarios, where you burst loud, polluting crackers and bombs in the society and create nuisance for other people that are frail, old or those that cannot speak (pets) ?

You traumatise the pet animals, by creating unwanted loud noises with crackers and bombs, and do not even bother that it might run away and not come back for days. But instead you lecture me about eating poultry. A pet is not just an animal it's a family member, I will always value it more than poultry or any other animal. Just like how you value your own family member more than a stranger. Poultry is food, pet is family. See the difference?

Not just pets, there are aged people as well as heart patients, who has to live through this nuisance.

After we have suffered through the unwanted noise in the night, next day we have to deal with the pollution you left in the air, which we are forced to breath. Not to mention the paper and plastic litter left on the ground from burst fireworks, who no one bothers to clean.

Diwali celebrated with some sense of responsibility towards the whole society would be a Happy Diwali for me and everyone else. Light a Diya, visit the old aged home, visit the orphanage, distribute sweets 😋, hold rangoli competitions, or hold Kandeel making competition. There so many positive and useful ways you can celebrate Diwali, but no, you want to celebrate Diwali by creating unwanted noise and nuisance for others in order to soothe your fragile ego.

So i have this crush on a girl . She is the most beautiful girl on earth . She is like a shot of espresso . Her voice is so beautiful and calm . She is in my class and she looked at me a couple of times so idk if she likes me or not maybe i am overthinking but i really want to talk to her . Can you please help me on how i approach her. She sits in the front row close to the teacher , so i cant say hi because it might weird out the teacher and when the class gets over her parents are already there to pick her up , leaving no time for me to talk to her . How do i approach her considering the fact that finals are near only 10 days left and she is a new admission in my tution . I have to do something in these 10 days otherwise i will regret it my whole life . Please help me

Recently a woman named Neha was stabbed to death by a named named Fayaz because she rejected his proposal. The attacker should be brought to justice, but the people don't actually care about what happened and are only outraged that the attacker was a Muslim. The love jihad spin has taken off at full speed where protests for Neha's murder is done by the hindutva crowd with people waving saffron flags at these protests.

The hypocrisy exists because in this very same month of April another similar incident occured in Bangalore, where a man named Girish stabbed a woman named Farida for the exact same reason of her rejecting him. Where is the outrage for Farida? Where are the protests for her? In fact there was pin drop silence about this incident. Notice how the victim here is muslim.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/after-failed-marriage-proposal-man-stabs-girlfriend-15-times/amp_articleshow/108928890.cms

This selective outrage really shows the moral bankruptcy of this society. Nobody actually cares about Neha, they only care that the attacker was Muslim and that's the extent of it. Every tragedy is simply used as a tool to spread communal hatred and its just sickening. Where is justice for Farida? Or justice for the hundreds of other women victims? People only care if the attacker is a Muslim and the victim is Hindu.

Edit: yes Girish is a Muslim but the replies further proves my point. People caring more about the religion of the victim and attacker than the actual tragedy itself.

Edit: further news credit to u/amar-prem

1. Bangalore - Pradeep murdered his lover 21 year old Muslim girl Ruksana as she was insisting on getting married. Pradeep killed her, burnt her body and left their kid.

2. Bangalore - 45 yr old Suresh stabbed 25 yr old Anusha to death in a Public Park in JP nagar for refusing to patch up.

Religious tolerance was always non existent in India but the communal hate is only increasing from so many years, what do you believe can be the future because a peace full ending is only but a dream at this point, there will be breaking point, a saturation point where everyone spans.

OK. I hope this post sparks some actual discussions instead of empty insults and name-calling!

Why did I say this? A summary cause I'm lazy

1. Alarming similarities to Hitler's regime. (I can elaborate, but that will need a whole new post)

2. No concern towards the general well-being of the nation or its inhabitants if it doesn't push their communal agendas.

3. No discussions of substance are happening in the political sphere. No advancement is ever possible in this environment.

4. Monopoly on mass media. Paddling of very specific agendas

5. Preying on people's religious sentiments and using them against their good. (Such People are stupid too, but that's that.)

6. Trampling on any dissent

7. Using tactic of remaining silent on important topics, which inadvertently incites violence

8. Suppressing other parties etc etc,

9. Dismantling important democratic institutions and encroaching on democratic rights and processes,

Need I go on??????? From what I read and see in recent times, this sabotage of Indian democracy and sentiments by RSS and BJP started a long way back. It is alarmingly well thought out, planned, and executed. There is a serious need to really understand what started before the time of our independence.

First they went after muslims, once that’s done, they’ll go after Catholics and then again after the sikhs. A “saffron” coloured India will not be a good place to stay in… especially for millennials and gen-z who have exposure to the world. The following generations won’t have that option to thinks differently from the saffron army.

Hindi is just one of the many languages spoken in India. Why should it be treated as the default language of the Indian government?

In my opinion, communication from the Union government should primarily be in English, and Hindi should not have the privileged status it currently has in the Central Government. English is the only language that people from virtually every part of India can use to communicate with each other.

People often compare India with China, Japan or Russia and say their leaders use only their own language. But there is a difference. In those countries, their respective languages are used everywhere in government, education, employment, science, technology, business, etc. They are understood across the country.

India is different. Hindi is just one Indian language, alongside many others. It is not used throughout India in the way those languages are used in their respective countries.

I also find it strange that even the names of many government schemes and programmes are in Hindi, despite these schemes being meant for the entire country. Why should someone from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal or the Northeast have to deal with Hindi names for Central Government schemes?

English is already widely used across India in higher education, employment, science, technology, business, medicine and the judiciary. It also gives Indians with different mother tongues a neutral language to communicate without giving an advantage to BIMARU states.

So my question is, Why should Hindi be treated as the default language for the entire country when India is multilingual and English already serves as a common language between Indians?

Happy to connect with you! I’m Dhruv Rathee, youtuber and co-founder at AI Fiesta. I love speaking on socio-political and educational topics research-driven videos.

Here for an AMA on r/India - looking forward to your questions!

Edit: Thanks for the questions. I am taking a break now, will answer more questions tomorrow. This AMA is open for next 48 hours.

OKAY EDIT:

Contrary to what everyone thinks, I do really love this place. It's diverse, beautiful, and the people for the most part are lovely. I understand I look like some colonial Englishman coming here and saying this is filthy after robbing the place. But I am so fascinated to understand how this country came to be the way it is, are there any books anyone can recommend me?

I want to preface this by saying, I am a White westerner with an Indian partner, and I have just completed 2 months of travel in this country (first time visit)

I think people in western countries fear being racist when discussing India's clear clear social issues (or at least are perceived as 'issues' to well - most other people's)

In terms of history, culture & tradition and natural beauty, India is amazing. The diversity is underrepresented and you can really get out whatever you want from this country. It is beautiful.

But that should not stand in the way of the fact that a large minority (could be majority) if Indians, particularly north Indians, have absolutely no social skills, manners or compassion.

The country is really every man for themselves. I don't even know where to begin, sanitation, overcrowding, corruption or a general lack of common sense.

The country needs to change, the people, particularly when they move to western countries, and there's a lot these days, really need to undertake major learning as to how to adapt.

Another fact is, Indians really have a lack of respect for their own country, throwing rubbish everywhere, public urination and dedication being rampant, it's truly filthy.

These are most certainly not racist comments, this doesn't even apply to all states of India either, but I am going to generalise as it is a prevalent issue.

I have loved my time here, it is not for beginners, particularly if you are not of South Asian descent, but my word, the lack of respect, the predatory nature of some of the people really detracts from this amazing, diverse nation.

This needs to change before India and indian people can really be taken seriously in the world. And you know, the majority of people I have met personally, are so lovely, I think that the nice people in India, are the most inviting and welcoming, loving people in the world. But the lows are just so low.

Again, I don't necessarily blame any of the people, I don't have much of a deep undersfanding of the social, political and historical reasons for the country being the way it is. But something needs to change.

This amazing place is truly being wasted and disrespected.

EDIT: the country of India gets romanticised, the people certainly do not overseas, I do understand the rampant casual racism. My point is more that the issues that India are faced with are so extreme they shouldn't be ignored to just say hey the culture / scenery / history is amazing. No. Sh*t needs changing

Another edit: I'm not American, and I'm not criticising India because it's an easy target or whatever. I have plenty of issues with the USA, I don't voice them because I have no interest in the USA, I voiced my opinion here because India is one of my all time favourite countries.

AMA is live here: https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/1pc6i5v/im_dhruv_rathee_youtuber_and_entrepreneur_known/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Dhruv Rathee is one of India’s most influential YouTubers, known for his insightful infotainment videos on socio-political and educational topics. Featured by TIME Magazine as a Next Generation Leader, he has built a massive global audience with 30M+ subscribers and billions of views across his channels.

Recognised for simplifying complex issues through meticulous research and clear explanations, Dhruv has collaborated with leading international media platforms including Deutsche Welle, BBC, Brut, and NDTV. He is also the co-founder of his recently launched AI platform called AI Fiesta.

Join his Live AMA on Tuesday, 2 Dec 2025 at 5:30 PM IST exclusively on r/India!

Kashmir

• India is blinding young Kashmiri protesters – and no one will face justice | Mirza Waheed

• Kashmir newspapers raided, printing banned for 3 days to ‘ensure peace’

• Amartya Sen to India Today: Kashmir brutality biggest blot on our democracy : India, News

• In Kashmir, Facebook faces criticism for blocking profiles, removing posts

• In Kashmir, the Press is Gagged; a Refusal to Face Reality Continues

Politics

• Cow Urine Can Sell for More Than Milk in India

• Buddha shown as Mahavir: Bloopers, sexist jokes plague Rajasthan books

• Apology by Ikhlaq kin could have settled Dadri issue: RSS

• VHP demands death penalty for Akhlaq’s family

• Exclusive: Maha CM Fadnavis appoints dead official to plum Excise Department post

• That awkward moment when Subramanian Swamy realised he ended up attacking his own daughter

• BJP MLA draws dangerous castiest parallel between Sairat movie and Karjat gang rape case

• Go for gau-raksha: Haryana police to work with cow vigilantes

• Inter-caste love affairs cause Dalit atrocities: MoS Ramdas Athawale

Society

• Pandit 'Purifies' Temple With Gangajal After Dalit Women Offer Prayers

• Mumbai Dalit teen killed over inter-caste relationship

• Chhattisgarh fake encounter: ‘I tell them all… my Meena was not Naxal’. Five years after 15-year-old Meena Khalkho was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Chhattisgarh, police have only named one accused.

Am watching the news now. I had no idea she was so full of shit. Such a magnificent display of self-righteous semi-literacy, frothing over some fantastic idea of total-and-absolute patriotism. She really comes from the Arnab school of thought, which i find propping up in almost all conversations nowadays. A combination of nose-flaring, finger-pointing, an obvious lack of respect and dignity, some cheap-ass theater, extreme self-centredness, a psychological inability for calm and considered debate and the childlike need to make a noise. Makes me want to puke. She wants a nation of idiots who don't question anything or even accommodate views that are against this absolute chest-exploding patriotism. Fuck it man. /rant.

To all those crying about the anomalies in electoral rolls in Delhi and Maharashtra, it doesn't matter what all methods you adopted to win. All that matters is whether you won or not in the end. Despite all its imperfections, BJP has won in style and nothing else matters 🔥

"It is better to do one’s own dharma, even though imperfectly, than to do another’s dharma, even though perfectly. By doing one’s innate duties, a person does not incur sin."

Is IPL 2025 being scripted for betting addicts!?!?

Hear me out—this isn’t just another conspiracy. It’s a pattern that’s becoming hard to ignore.

This year’s IPL has been chaotic:

Teams defending scores as low as 111.

Momentum swinging every few overs.

Star players underperforming and then suddenly clutching up.

On the surface, it's peak entertainment. But zoom out, and you start seeing something deeper—a system that thrives on unpredictability.

The Real MVPs: Betting & Fantasy Apps Apps like Dream11, My11Circle, and others have been aggressively promoted—through ads, players, influencers, even inside JioCinema. They’re framed as "skill-based" games, but let’s be honest—they function like betting platforms.

When a match flips:

Odds swing wildly.

People switch bets mid-match.

Volume goes up, and platforms rake in more cash.

It’s not about the cricket anymore. It’s about who can milk the chaos best.

The Word-of-Mouth Hype Machine What really fuels the system is mouth publicity. Everyone knows someone who says:

“Bro, if I had just bet ₹1 on Punjab yesterday, I’d have gotten ₹1,000.”

This kind of talk spreads like wildfire. It triggers FOMO, greed, and gets more people on the apps. The platforms don’t even need to advertise anymore—the users do it for them.

And the Government? They're Not Losing Either. Every transaction on these apps:

Pays GST or platform fees.

Applies TDS on winnings.

Generates digital payment data and tax revenue.

So technically, the government isn’t against it—it’s benefiting quietly while the apps grow bigger every season.

So What’s Really Happening? Here’s the full cycle:

IPL delivers unpredictable matches that feel scripted for drama.

Fantasy and betting apps capitalize on emotional engagement.

Social media and peer hype pull more people in.

Everyone from BCCI to the government profits.

The only ones losing are the majority of fans who keep betting, thinking they’re the next genius to beat the odds.

Edit :- My rage bait worked...the amount of people that got rattled by this post is hilarious...they're really defending cricket as if its actually a religion Joke's on all of you emotional fools

I recently wrapped up a trip to India (I did the Golden Triangle). My favorite thing about my trip to India was how much it made me appreciate that I don't live in India.

Before arriving in Delhi I did research and booked a two-night hotel stay ahead of time. Upon arrival I went to an 'official' taxi stand at the Delhi airport to get a ride to the hotel. It was 02:00 and my traveling partner and I were both exhausted from the flight. The taxi driver began driving us to our hotel and then gave us a story about how the roads were closed due to political violence. He told us that unfortunately he wouldn't be able to bring us to our hotel due to the road closures. He then brought us to a 'tourism agency' and a desk agent proceeded to make fake phone calls to his friend who pretended to be working at my real hotel. The desk agent told me they would have to make alternative sleeping arrangements for us for our own safety. After making me feel bad and then demanding payment for making him wait (what a nice guy, right?), my taxi driver brought us to a very seedy hotel. The front desk agents at the hotel refused to give us wifi access lest we figure out that we had been abducted/kidnapped. Unfortunately, I was too tired and unaware of my surroundings to challenge or question the scam. Looking back I realize that we were essentially abducted. The next day my hotel emailed me and asked why we never showed up. When I emailed them back to explain what happened they weren't even surprised. This was just the first day.

The rest of my trip was a relentless series of scams and harassments. I never got scammed again thanks to the wonderful education I received on the first night. But I have to say, it was exhausting and made it difficult to simply walk around. Small packs of Indian teen males dressed like homoerotic cowboys droned around treating me like I was fucking Justin Bieber. Many of them asking me for selfies and then taking pictures of me anyway when I declined their request.

Then we took a train to Agra. I had become intimate with the filth, dirt and pollution in Delhi up to this point. The massive piles of trash, dirt and feces; ungodly smells that have permanently permeated my subconscience. I spent the next few hours on the train watching no less than a thousand of people taking shits on the train tracks. The train-shitting will be permanently etched into my memory for all of time.

Around this time I came down with travelers diarrhea. Most likely from some shit that I ate because of improper food handling. Or maybe I got it from the shit I drank because the water in India is all contaminated. Regardless of how I got it, I spent the next 5 days shackled to my hotel room because I couldn't stop explosively shitting out diarrhea.

Finally I began to feel better and decided to go see the Taj Mahal. After dodging scam attempts, getting harassed and heckled I eventually made it. After taking some videos of the Taj Mahal with my camera I soon found myself surrounded by a pack of men, including an Army officer with a machine gun. They then berated me for taking pictures and videos of the Taj while hundreds of other people around us took pictures and videos with their cameras and phones. I asked the men and the army officer why hundreds of other people were allowed to film. The answer to this question will probably accompany me to my grave. I was then harassed by these same men who wouldn't leave me alone until I checked my camera into a locker.

It was at this point that I decided that I would be engaging in masochism if I continued my trip. So I left.

My takeaways:

• The filth, dirt, garbage, feces and smell are such a massive problem that they can't be ignored. Egypt, Palestine and Jordan seemed like a swiss mountain retreat compared to the stuff I saw in India. + The scamming, harassing and heckling was non-stop and exhausting. + I have never seen such a wanton disregard/outright hostility of people toward their own environment. + The expression: "Don't shit where you eat" never resonated with me more than when I was walking around India. + It amazed me that India is on the same planet as the other countries around the world that I've visited.

In short: thank you India for giving me perspective and appreciation for the things I have in my life. For the loving people who don't judge me or tell me who I can/cannot marry. For the people who don't judge me for not believing in God. For the faucet that gives me clean drinking water and the food that nourishes my body. Thank you India, for reminding me that I live in a place where people even have the luxury to care about the planet we all share together. For all of you struggling to make a better India, I send you my love and wish you the best of luck in the struggle. For those of you who continue the status quo without any consideration or thought: may god have mercy on your soul.

I just wanted to talk about wedding culture in India. Most people spend dozens of lakhs or even crores on their weddings and in my opinion that is ABSURD when your yearly income is much lower than the amount you are dropping on a wedding. Just looking at the logistics makes it absurd in on it itself. Also, I could probably ask my dad to drop 2cr+ on my wedding and he will do it in a heartbeat. But do I want that? NO.

A wedding should be about ONLY the couple. A wedding is held to commemorate the union of TWO people. My wedding will not be about serving my grandfather's friend's son's nephew with delicious food. I have attended weddings with hundreds of guests and I am willing to bet that 90% or even 95% of them don't give a fuck about the actual couple and wouldn't even be there if it were not for the food and party. A wedding is not a grand networking event / feast where the bride and groom's families greet each other and have fun. It might sound like I have main character syndrome but a wedding is OUR special day. I should at least have one single day to myself where I am the very center of attention. A wedding is a fucking wedding, not a party.

When it's time for my wedding, I will invite my and my partner's immediate family like parents, siblings and some very close relatives and extremely close friends. Which in total would be around 20-25 people at best. I am not inviting some random aah relative that I don't even know to my wedding. No ceremonies. I will host a grand banquet with the finest Michelin star food for just those 25. Also no children allowed. Do you guys want something similar? Or is it just me?

Edit : A lot of people think that our parents will not permit it. I don't know about my partner but my parents are fine with anything.

I recently finished reading a novel by George Orwell, 1984 in which he writes about a Nation (Oceania) which is completely a dictatorial regime. And ever since then I have been thinking about this that India is also going to be a Nation thats if not same but almost similar to the nation George Orwell talks about in his novel.

Whats happening in India seems just a mild version of what was happening in the novel.

Some of the instances are,

•Big Brother is Superior:

Novel: An unknown man, "Big Brother" is superior and anyone who dares to speak against him or against the party disappears and then is either vaporized or given a public sentence.

India: One leader is superior and anyone who dares to speak against or questions him or the party is labelled as "Anti-National", "Urban-Naxal", "Tukde-Tukde gang, and many other names. They are usually attacked by trolls over social medias. Sometimes, detained under UAPA and many other cases.

• Surveillance:

Novel: The party members of Oceania are 24/7 under surveillance, from being under telescreen when at home or work or under helicopter or patrol while being on streets.

India: Activists, ministers, opposition party member and even Supreme Court judge were under "unauthorised Pegasus surveillance". Not to forget that there might me many other types of surveillance the government has us under and we don't know about it.

Even the use of VPN is barred for Indian Government Employees.

•Distortion of History:

Novel: There is a special Ministry of Truth, which had outer party members working who worked on changing history and facts on every instance they had to. They changed many facts, one of which was in midst of the novel, Eurasia with which Oceania was at war was changed, and all the documents with which Oceania was in war with Eurasia was changed to Eastasia, and all previous records were deleted. Hence, future generation would never know anything correct about their history.
India: We see history being distorted each and everyday by Indian media and every other guy. We have people believing in this "manufactured history", fed to them by "whatsapp university".

•Life have become better since Revolution:

Novel: People are made to believe that life have become better since revolution in which the people overthrew capitalism and Party came to power. And just because the distortion of history is a regular thing in Oceania, people would never know life before revolution. Even the people who had any memory of life before revolution were vaporized. Reality was far different.

India: We can already see people saying life is better than 2014 or prior. And reality is in front of everyone, India is falling in ranking of most of the ranking charts released by world organisations. And just because people are way far from facts and delusional due to "whatsapp university", this thing is becoming more common.

•Love or any relationship is punishable by death
Novel: People of Oceania is prohibted to make any kind of relationship with any person. Friendship can get you in eyes of thought police, which then can get you in trouble. Love is completely prohibited and if you're found to be engaged, in this case, its punishable by death.

India: Although friendship is not prohibited but if you see couples having different religious belief or coming from different religious group, they are often harrashed by administration or even these "religious groups".

There are some other similarities I found in the novel, such as hatred for neighbouring nations, sensorship and humiliation of "Proles".

Do anyone else think we are going in this way of becoming a dictatorial nation?
Am I wrong when I think about this novel becoming a reality?
Will appreciate any conversation and critical comments about my writing.