Readers, I challenge you. I challenge you to a “Random knowledge about India face-off!” It’s pretty obvious that I’ll instantly beat you all. Trust me, I know weird facts about our beloved, wide-variety and super-united nation (now that it’s the World Cup season and all) that you definitely don’t.
I can see that you’re disturbed by this awe. Here are some of the most random, unknown and insane facts about India .Go through some of my picks to let the truth set you free!
1. It’s ILLEGAL to take Rupee, the Indian currency out of India.
I know, right? Foreign nationals and Non-residential Indians aren’t allowed to carry the Indian Rupee abroad! The rule’s been here for long now, but the RBI has tightened enforcement only lately. These individuals travelling abroad are to dispose off all their currencies or convert them to other currencies at prevailing rates before departure.
In airports, NRI’s and Foreign Nationals are allowed to carry a maximum of Rs. 10,000 for miscellaneous expenses. However, when they board the aircraft, they are to remain rupee-free!
2. Indian Police are given Moustache-Pay!
Yes! Police Officials in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh are given a raise in pay for growing a moustache. Weird isn’t it? Also, it’s surprising that neither does it coincideswith many fashion fads nor does it with #NoShaveNovember. A Police Official was reported saying, “Moustaches are improving the personalities of our constables. They are acquiring an aura of their own. They are creating a positive impression on the local people and getting a lot of respect.”
The officials believe that the moustache shall lead to better motivation and more importantly, respect from the general public. Amazing indeed!
3. Indian cows have photo ID cards.
Just when you thought I won’t tell you this. Yes, In West Bengal, to prevent Indian cattle being smuggled along India’s border into Bangladesh, authorities have come up with a solution to issue Photo ID cards for the cattle.
Thus, people of Murshidabad, a village bordering Bangladesh, were advised to get ID cards for their cows by the authorities. Valid for two years, each laminated cattle ID card, apart from displaying the picture of the animal and its owner, carries vital information about the animal, such as its color, height, sex and length of horns. It carries the owner’s name and address and sometimes descriptions of the animal like one “horn missing” or “half tail lost.”
- One woman dies every hour in India because of Dowry-related crimes:
The National Crime Records Bureau said that, an average of around 8200 women die every year due to victimisation of dowry related crimes. Now that’s insane! This also means that every one hour or so, a woman dies. Though India lags slightly behind nations like Pakistan in this issue, dowry-crime is a significant social issue that requires immediate addressal.
Moreover, the breakup of these crimes are also proportional to the religion compositions respectively. That is, the ratio of dowry deaths are about the same as the ratio of population in India by religions.
4. A polling station for just one person exists in a forest!
A man in his early 60s, Mahant Bharatdas Darshandas is the lone voter for whom the Election Commission sets up a booth for every polling session at Gir forest, Gujarat. Darshandas, a temple priest, lives in Banej Tirthdham, a pilgrimage spot inside the Gir sanctuary and looks after an ancient Shiva temple there.The logic behind setting up the booth is given by the Election Commission Guidelines, which state that no voter should have to travel more than 2 kilometres to cast their vote.
Democracy, all the way!
5. Inhaling in Mumbai = Smoking 100 cigarettes!
Read further and you may possibly never wish that you were in Mumbai! Pollution caused by cigarettes is measured in terms of the presence of Suspended Particulate Matter or SPM. SPM is classified according to its size with the smallest known as Respirable Particulate Matter or RSPM. RSPM is extremely dangerous because it is small enough to enter your respiratory system and cause all the breathing problems that smoking is known for.Accordingly, the acceptable amount RSPM in mumbai should be 100 units, that is, 50 cigarettes a day. However, on an average day, it is 200 units, thus making breathing there equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes a day.
- Indian Man survives 70 years starving!
Prahlad Jani, also known as ‘Mataji’ is the star here. When he tells you that he’s got it under control, he means that he’s got it under control. This, my readers, includes his hunger and thirst. This owner of a miracle belly claims to have had nothing since 1940.To all our surprises, two studies conducted in 2003 and 2010 conform to his claims. The ‘Mataji’ has also been featured in The Discovery Channel and Austrian documentary “Am Anfang war das Licht”. What a way to stardom!
7. Man weds Bitch: Only in India!
33 year old Selvakumar from Tamil Nadu, married Selvi, a stray bitch in 2007. Selvakumar believed that this would release him from the tough consequences of a curse. For, he had brutally undertaken dog killings some 20 years ago.The ceremony was graced by the presence of 200 guests. However, Selvi grew restless and ran away, post-wedding. But the couple were eventually united. Isn’t that beautiful?
Aaaannnddd that’d be seven facts you didn’t see coming. That also means that you’d just be a prospective loser in the challenge I proposed in the beginning. Nonetheless, as Indians, we‘re all to consider ourselves lucky to be a part of the world’s largest democracy with a stupendous degree of unity-in-diversity. Come on, where else will you find people with super-human powers that you have banners like the one below?
Picture Credits- Google images
By S. Shahid Abdul Majeed
