[roy_libran]

What a Hare-Brained move by the authorities!

In the absence of actual Red-Flags that one could put up on a vehicle, this kind of Caste/Community badging served as a loud and clear warning to others around to give such impeccable citizens of the country a wide-berth. Add dark tinted windows and a few other 'markings' to the mix and this class of people used to stick out anywhere at all, and could be identified from quite some distance!

Forcing them to get rid of these explicit markers doesn't remove them from the roads, but hapless people like me would henceforth struggle to identify them.

[Raghu M]

This is one menace seen on Hyd roads too. Flaunt a party's flag on the dashboard (color is enough to know which party they belong to). Sport your caste on vehicles (cars mainly). While it might not be wrong to sport them on the windshields or somewhere else, they openly sport them on the registration plates. I also don't see a purpose as to why someone even does it. They don't wear it on their clothes surprisingly. That would be the easiest way to let other know of their caste and party allegiance.

[amitayu]

The only purpose of those stickers is to ensure you do not get violent with someone of your caste in a road rage!

No Jat will hit a Jat (or a Gujjar hit a Gujjar), but the moment both contestants get down from their cars with the hockey sticks and see the other car has a different sticker, its time for action!

[amitayu]

Originally Posted by hserus

This does need to be done but given that the Delhi police has a much larger issue to deal with (farmers agitation fallout besides all the other law and order issues), it is surprising that they picked now of all times to actually enforce this after spending years not caring about it at all.

Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome was burning around him.

This is been done by Gurgaon Police which comes under Haryana Police, right?

Even then, the police forces in the NCR region are starved for bribes and are coming up with new means to enforce steep fines. This is just another innovative means of earning some extra bucks

[Thilak29]

Karnataka: I have seen vehicles with stickers indicating their caste, especially in the Old Mysore belt.

Kerala: I have seen vehicles with stickers indicating their affinity towards some middle eastern country which may have helped put bread on their plate.

Tamil Nadu: I have seen vehicles flaunting their allegiance to a political party by hoisting the party flag/Leader's photo within the vehicle.

Maharashtra: I have seen vehicles depicting Maratha pride with various symbols and text on their vehicles.

Bangalore/Chennai: I have seen vehicles proudly flaunting university stickers where they or their children must have got an education.

We are all after some identity but draw a line beneath us when judging them.

[unknownartist01]

I welcome this move. In most parts of North India (especially UP and Harayana) caste based discrimination is still rampant today. These folks are not some intellectuals who are fighting for their freedom of speech/expression.

In my view, some flaunt their caste indicating that they are proud of their ancestry which they deem superior than others. Others stick it on their cars to indicate that they belong to a known community and any attempt to engage them would invite the wrath of their whole community. Especially in NCR, this is true for all OLA/Uber cabs and majority of them can be seen with caste based stickers - not sure if this is to keep other drivers at bay or to warn the policemen not to harass them unnecessarily.

Any such practice negates all the efforts and progress India has done in doing away with caste based social behaviour of individuals which mostly results in oppression. Also, roads are public property and any act of expression/speech which might offend others needs to be curbed. The fundamental right of freedom of speech/expression is sacred as long as it doesn't conflicts with another fundamental right of equality.

[wooka]

Originally Posted by hserus

This does need to be done but given that the Delhi police has a much larger issue to deal with (farmers agitation fallout besides all the other law and order issues), it is surprising that they picked now of all times to actually enforce this after spending years not caring about it at all.

Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome was burning around him.

Love the backdrop comparison.

The govt has been making people run around to get HSRP plates and stickers when COVID is everywhere. At some places the queue is a few hundred meters. Talk about sense and sensibility. Fasttag for vehicles that cross one toll a year? Why not just enfore 3x the fee in fasttag lanes but allow cash to continue - the long queues should be discouraging enough.

Green tax, scrapping, NGT norms in NCR, and in my case, that a barely used 15 year old k series engine (I have a swift zxi Jan 10 model) is really up there in emission performance but is liable to be phased out soon and needs crummy pollution checks every 3 months, else extortion is the name of the game (most of the PUC points by my house have shut down).. Money making racket. When I got back from Bombay post the lockdown in October, and had to take the car for servicing, I was stopped by the cops for PUC - 2 minutes from the house and 1 minute before JKM motors, door to door.

I have an Azad 4x4 sticker on my Thar - I didn't ask for it, but it's there. Will I be penalized?

[offtopic]
BTW, I've been reading your posts and meant to ask - between AMSoil signature and their 5W-40, could you tell me if the latter is significantly inferior? I'd think the higher upper range helps with driving to Agra in the summers. Thar CRDe here.

[EightSix]

Originally Posted by unknownartist01

These folks are not some intellectuals who are fighting for their freedom of speech/expression.

Sure they aren’t, but are they not Indian citizens? Do they not deserve the right to freedom of speech and expression?

In my view, some flaunt their caste indicating that they are proud of their ancestry which they deem superior than others. Others stick it on their cars to indicate that they belong to a known community and any attempt to engage them would invite the wrath of their whole community.

Especially in NCR, this is true for all OLA/Uber cabs and majority of them can be seen with caste based stickers - not sure if this is to keep other drivers at bay or to warn the policemen not to harass them unnecessarily.

This could be true and I’ll take your (and other BHPians based in North India) word for it. My simple question — if there was a situation where a Jatt or Gurjar got out of his stickered car with hockey sticks and assaulted a cop, would he get away scot free? No. He would be arrested/trialled/jailed. There already exist provisions in our law if an incident of violence takes place.

Why, then would you forbid someone from putting a sticker of his choice on his car! Besides, if an officer of the law gets scared of a sticker and does not pull over a car, HE IS AT FAULT.

Any such practice negates all the efforts and progress India has done in doing away with caste based social behaviour of individuals which mostly results in oppression.

If a officer is supposedly scared of pulling a [insert caste here]’s car over because of his sticker, then the country has definitely not progressed.

Also, the ancestors of all our North Indian brothers were but farmers and potters. Looking at the kind of views on this forum, IT IS US WHO ARE DISCRIMINATING AND STEREOTYPING that someone who has a sticker of his caste on his car would be violent on streets.

Because of these specific people, would you curb EVERYONE of the right to display his/her choice of stickers on cars?

Also, roads are public property and any act of expression/speech which might offend others needs to be curbed. The fundamental right of freedom of speech/expression is sacred as long as it doesn't conflicts with another fundamental right of equality.

Sorry, but I did not get this point of yours. How does being proud of your own heritage OFFEND others?

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Thanks!

[Kosfactor]

After the first amendment, the freedom of speech is anything but that. I guess soon they will bar people from having a moustache, since that may offend someone. Maybe we all have to have the same haircut, same clothes, same bicycle , same food as well...oh well are we becoming North Korea?

The very essence of this country is its unity in diversity! Its going to take decades for this thought to sink in and make sense for today`s generation because their schools have molded them in 'uniform'.

[mufeez1234]

Welcome move from the concerned department, but by extension shouldn't we also remove stickers indicating Govt vehicles as well?

[v1p3r]

I very much doubt this will hold up in a court of law. As long as the MVA/CMVR and HSRP requirements are not being flouted, you are free to paste whatever (non-commercial) stickers you want on your car.

There is a difference between putting a sticker of your caste on a car and being casteist. Putting a sticker saying you are XYZ caste is the same as answering a matrimonial ad for XXX caste only (actually less discriminatory). I am sure there are enough members here who have such entered into such unions, and you would be hard pressed to call them casteist.

Most surnames in India are very good identifiers of caste, region, and religion. Maybe we should also ban nameplates outside houses.

Originally Posted by hserus

This does need to be done but given that the Delhi police has a much larger issue to deal with...
Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome was burning around him.

This is Haryana police. Delhi police is different and reports to the union government. Of course, the police force across most parts of the world is normally incompetent. In India, they are also beholden to their political masters.

[AseemYadav]

Gurugram is a potpurri of distinct but interwining cultures. Besides the large cosmopolitan diaspora imported from outside, the locals include Jats, Yadavs and Gurjars. The Jats have become educated and developed with support from the local government being 25% of the population of the state. The Yadavs are quite developed and educated compared to their UP counterparts and comprise 6-8% of the state population but dominant in South Haryana and Gurgaon.

I am actually surprised a majority of people here are supporting putting caste identities on our sleeves. Down with casteism. We have to get rid of it someday to actually realise our true potential. If this is how educated folks think, I am afraid of what shit the common folks have up their minds. Freedom of expression is one thing, to express caste hegemony entirely another. This shit is here to stay for atleast the next hundred years.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by amitayu

The only purpose of those stickers is to ensure you do not get violent with someone of your caste in a road rage!

You mean it works like IFF system used by military?

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

After the first amendment, the freedom of speech is anything but that.

India's first amendment rights are very weak compared to US first amendment rights. We have plenty of laws (say blasphemy laws) that trample all over it and the SC has not repealed them. Posting something controversial on FB can land folks in jail in India. So let's not assume we have freedom of speech akin to USA.

However, caste identity is a very strong social concept in India. Banning the mention of it is not going fly, and it has nothing to do with FOS.

[one-77]

Welcome move. Any flaunting of caste will only help cement the discriminatory system in our society further.
But action must also be taken against stickers of political parties, religions, “xyz shasan”, police, media, etc on personal vehicles.
Why flaunt these if not to throw one’s weight around?

[Fernang]

Several members have already pointed out that this is a welcome move. But the implementation of said rule as always is going to be a problem. Some comparing the caste system to apartheid and racism are bang on point. We can argue that it is freedom of expression and it infringes on one's right to freely speak his or her mind, but the fact of the matter is (again someone has already mentioned) the only people displaying their care identities are from the socially dominant groups.