6 ms·

Why do Indian devs feel compelled to blame their parents, families, wives, society for everything? Come on guys, this is 2013 and not 2005. There are tons of p

by r0h1n 13y ago

Why do Indian devs feel compelled to blame their parents, families, wives, society for everything? Come on guys, this is 2013 and not 2005. There are tons of product startups in Delhi/Bangalore/Pune/Chennai. If you don't find one that works for you, start one on your own. Sure India isn't the US or Israel. But neither is it the India of 10 years back. Carpe diem!

nmudgal 13y ago
Yes, it is 2013, but most of the population is still stuck in 1980s mindset, they use whatsapp to chat but never really cared about "what the heck is android"? People still believe in child marriages (http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/india-snubs-u-n-on-child-bride-resolution/ http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/india-snubs-u-n-on-child-br...), families/society still think it is prestigious for them and their kids to work at Big IT/Non-IT/Govt Firms irrespective of their (kids) interest, rather than starting their own or working with startups. I think that's what author is actually trying to point out, that it is hard nut to crack.
krmmalik 13y ago
I won't defend the quality of the article itself and rants are never a good thing, but Westerners are never really going to understand how crippling societal norms in the Indo-Pak region are. Maturity has differing definitions in the East compared to the West and personally I think it's a little unfair to make comparisons. What's considered mature in the west can often be considered immature in the east. The youth that belong to ethnic minorities in the west often under go major identity crises, and takes them a very long time to come to terms with it. Yes, we're in 2013 and there are great start-ups in India, but I'll be the first to tell you these are still huge exceptions to the rule. Things are starting to change, definitely and things are starting to move, but it's still going to take time. You cannot begin to imagine the pressure young easterners face from their parents and their families to live to the ideals of their parents and extended families. I live in the UK, I could give you over 20 examples of my own life that held me back - Now i've learned to ignore those pressures and am taking corrective action, but believe me it's not easy. I could give you over a 100 examples of others. Even when living within the West, ethnic minorities have huge pressures from the sub-culture. It's never good to blame anything or anyone - that I agree with, but to suggest that it's easy to overcome the cultural obstacles would be an unfair statement.
- r0h1n 13y ago
  I'm sorry but I don't agree. Cultural notions and societal pressures exist in all cultures, and India is no different. Yet in a world that is being "eaten by software", if young, educated and ambitious software developers are bemoaning centuries-old practices for their inability to take risks, the blame lies closer than they think. If they can't handle the heat, they shouldn't be in the kitchen. Get a safe, salaried job and shut up. Else cope with it. Society isn't going to change overnight, so stop moaning about it. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm been seeing more than a few of these whiny posts on HN lately.
  - priyaranjan 13y ago
    IMO author isn't blaming anyone here. He has failed in 2 startups and riding the 3rd one, so he pretty much seems to be trying than just complaining. He is sharing his opinion about society with a catchy title (which isn't the only take away) and should be valued.
    - r0h1n 13y ago
      > Flat, marriage and family – 3 reasons why young Indians don’t turn entrepreneurs! Um, the whole point of the post is to blame those three reasons - all external, societal or environmental - for personal decisions that educated and young programmers don't make.
  - walshemj 13y ago
    But societal pressures and economic pressures are at least 1 if not 2 orders of magnitude higher in Indian and Arabic cultures than there is for white kids in the west.
    - krmmalik 13y ago
      Exactly. It's a rather arrogant for those in the West to presume they can know anything about this. They haven't the foggiest.
  - krmmalik 13y ago
rimantas 13y ago
> Why do Indian devs feel compelled to blame their parents, > families, wives, society for everything? Some culture thing? Just like "give me codes" mentality which is quite visible on dev forums.
- chattoraj 13y ago
  >"give me codes" mentality which is quite visible on dev forums. Related: I found this comment[1] on the blog post highly amusing: > Dude!! If only there was some way I could pass this on to my parents and aunts! I’ll send you their email addresses, can you please email them the link to this page? [1]: http://abhinavsahai.com/flat-marriage-and-family-3-reasons-why-young-indians-dont-turn-entrepreneurs/#comment-7603 http://abhinavsahai.com/flat-marriage-and-family-3-reasons-w...

by r0h1n 13y ago

nmudgal 13y ago

Yes, it is 2013, but most of the population is still stuck in 1980s mindset, they use whatsapp to chat but never really cared about "what the heck is android"? People still believe in child marriages (http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/india-snubs-u-n-on-child-bride-resolution/ http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/india-snubs-u-n-on-child-br...), families/society still think it is prestigious for them and their kids to work at Big IT/Non-IT/Govt Firms irrespective of their (kids) interest, rather than starting their own or working with startups. I think that's what author is actually trying to point out, that it is hard nut to crack.

krmmalik 13y ago

I won't defend the quality of the article itself and rants are never a good thing, but Westerners are never really going to understand how crippling societal norms in the Indo-Pak region are. Maturity has differing definitions in the East compared to the West and personally I think it's a little unfair to make comparisons. What's considered mature in the west can often be considered immature in the east. The youth that belong to ethnic minorities in the west often under go major identity crises, and takes them a very long time to come to terms with it. Yes, we're in 2013 and there are great start-ups in India, but I'll be the first to tell you these are still huge exceptions to the rule. Things are starting to change, definitely and things are starting to move, but it's still going to take time. You cannot begin to imagine the pressure young easterners face from their parents and their families to live to the ideals of their parents and extended families. I live in the UK, I could give you over 20 examples of my own life that held me back - Now i've learned to ignore those pressures and am taking corrective action, but believe me it's not easy. I could give you over a 100 examples of others. Even when living within the West, ethnic minorities have huge pressures from the sub-culture. It's never good to blame anything or anyone - that I agree with, but to suggest that it's easy to overcome the cultural obstacles would be an unfair statement.

r0h1n 13y ago
I'm sorry but I don't agree. Cultural notions and societal pressures exist in all cultures, and India is no different. Yet in a world that is being "eaten by software", if young, educated and ambitious software developers are bemoaning centuries-old practices for their inability to take risks, the blame lies closer than they think. If they can't handle the heat, they shouldn't be in the kitchen. Get a safe, salaried job and shut up. Else cope with it. Society isn't going to change overnight, so stop moaning about it. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm been seeing more than a few of these whiny posts on HN lately.
- priyaranjan 13y ago
  IMO author isn't blaming anyone here. He has failed in 2 startups and riding the 3rd one, so he pretty much seems to be trying than just complaining. He is sharing his opinion about society with a catchy title (which isn't the only take away) and should be valued.
  - r0h1n 13y ago
    > Flat, marriage and family – 3 reasons why young Indians don’t turn entrepreneurs! Um, the whole point of the post is to blame those three reasons - all external, societal or environmental - for personal decisions that educated and young programmers don't make.
- walshemj 13y ago
  But societal pressures and economic pressures are at least 1 if not 2 orders of magnitude higher in Indian and Arabic cultures than there is for white kids in the west.
  - krmmalik 13y ago
    Exactly. It's a rather arrogant for those in the West to presume they can know anything about this. They haven't the foggiest.
- krmmalik 13y ago

rimantas 13y ago

> Why do Indian devs feel compelled to blame their parents, > families, wives, society for everything? Some culture thing? Just like "give me codes" mentality which is quite visible on dev forums.

chattoraj 13y ago
>"give me codes" mentality which is quite visible on dev forums. Related: I found this comment[1] on the blog post highly amusing: > Dude!! If only there was some way I could pass this on to my parents and aunts! I’ll send you their email addresses, can you please email them the link to this page? [1]: http://abhinavsahai.com/flat-marriage-and-family-3-reasons-why-young-indians-dont-turn-entrepreneurs/#comment-7603 http://abhinavsahai.com/flat-marriage-and-family-3-reasons-w...