Nobody wants an efficient subordinate in India. Each level of social or professional position craves for a person who is of lesser calibre than them, under them. The cumulative effect of this social psychology is that any organisation looks like an inverted pyramid, in terms of the calibre of the persons working in it. But then the organisations function beautifully, as most organisations in India, are basically having the same design.

In this language environment, the lower man does exist in the lower indicant level. If this man were to display very elegant manners, and intelligent ways of doing things, by communicating efficiently to the others, it could cause severe distress in others. Actually, such persons are usually displayed as dim-witted buffoons in the mainstream cinema. For, a lower indicant man to sit and decently deal a crisis would seem mighty funny to the onlooker. They would also sense a catastrophic upheaval happening in the society.

For the purpose of illustration, one may visualise a scene like this: The boss sends his lower staff to clear a parcel from the Parcel office. When this deliveryman reaches the Parcel office, he is impeded by a lot of obstacles, right from the need to communicate with the Parcel office Manager who is in his house. He immediately calls the Manager, goes from one obstacle to another, clearing each one, one by one, in a most efficient manner. When this deliveryman reaches his office, the boss may be relived. Yet he would be a bit uneasy about the capacity of his junior-most, menial-level staff, who displayed such efficient demeanour. He would be more at ease with a man who would make mistakes and can be tormented, and disturbed. Apart from this, this man’s own immediate seniors would all be terribly disturbed by this person who is not keeping his intelligence and efficiency to his social and positional levels.

What would be welcome, is a man who would find it most difficult to make independent decisions. And he should come a multitude of times or at least call a multitude of times, and get sanction for his each and every move. Then his senior would be happy, for each call would confirm his own managerial worth. He would have enough opportunity to call him a stupid idiot, and also tell his wife and his immediate associates how much of an idiot the subordinate is. Yet, for all this, this subordinate would be valued.

At another level, the efficient deliveryman’s antics would certainly create deep psychological problems in the Parcel office social hierarchy.

We can put it like this: In places where there is strict regimentation, and levels and positions are fixed, feudal language does not cause disruption. It would only cause a sort of tongue-tying of individuals. However, in places where positions are not yet clearly fixed, and a lot of persons of varying age factor, family background, financial soundness, calibre and various other non-tangible characteristics come and have to function together, each would compete to establish a social hierarchical system that would suit him or her to advantage, as per this language.

This would cause a highly disturbing social atmosphere. Even though, after some time, it may seem that things have stabilised, at crucial situations, one would find that things go wrong, due to seemingly simple mistakes. These small, yet crippling mistakes and errors would not have happened, had there been just one simple talk between the persons concerned. However this simple communication would not take place. For both the persons concerned would not like to concede to the social hierarchy, the other is trying to communicate in and establish. There would be a recurring factor of irritation whenever such communication comes forth.