Those Indians who are ashamed are the respectable ones. Many of the elite feel no shame whatsoever, and in fact are quite haughty. Definitely not my type of people.
I've travelled in Thailand many times, and have now lived here for 7 months, and yes, I notice a much stronger sense of community, and have seen numerous people give what little they have to their family or their friends. I've seen such behavior throughout SE Asia, and am always awed and impressed. And it makes me want to do what I can to help those kind people.
I find the social bonds and the decency and the humanity in such poor countries as Laos and Cambodia to be much greater than in India.
Since a strong and cohesive society makes for a strong country, I believe most of the countries in SE Asia will develop much faster than India, which will be forever dragged backwards by its backwards caste system.
Onwards, Thailand!!
Thanks for the kind words and glad you like it here. Yes there are some good Indians. SE Asia developed completely differently and the cultures here look at life and people very differently as well. I also think this part of the world will develop faster than India. As you can tell there is a lot of energy here and a balance trying to be kept between progress and family values. It is certainly a challenge because the world is moving so fast, but with some good luck the balance can be kept.
If people can pull away from some of their beliefs for a moment and look instead for results, then they can perhaps realize that just because something is a tradition does not make it right. In the meantime it is right for us to point out the bad stuff when we see it.
Are you in Thailand now? And if so, what city?
In Chiang Mai. I'm Canadian, but had been living in Singapore for 5 years. When I lost my job last spring, I "retired," and decided to live in Thailand for a while – since Canada's quite expensive.
Now, I sometimes spend 9-10 hours per day on Steemit, or preparing more posts for Steemit. But it's better than working for a company! Much better!