When Fear Replaces Respect: What India’s Rulebook Reveals About Emotional Intelligence and Cultural Identity

This is taken from an economics time article where this example comes from - see the Article why all Indians are rule breakers

If you’ve ever sipped a cold Kingfisher beer in Mumbai without a permit, technically, you’ve broken the law. According to Section 40 of the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949, drinking alcohol requires a permit. It’s a detail most people overlook—but it reveals something far bigger: a country caught in a psychological tug-of-war between imposed control and inherited wisdom.

India today has over 7,000 national crimes on the books—many with prison terms attached. Even small businesses or everyday citizens face labyrinthine regulations. From bizarre registration requirements for relationships to tax rules that penalize honest mistakes, the system feels not just excessive—but emotionally exhausting.

As an emotional intelligence coach, I see this through a particular lens. Emotional intelligence is about awareness—of self, of others, of the systems that shape our interactions. And what we’re seeing in India isn’t just a problem of policy. It’s a disconnect between systems of governance and the emotional reality of the people they’re meant to serve.

Colonial Echoes and Emotional Disconnection

British colonial rule didn’t just control territory; it rewired identity. Laws were introduced not to reflect the people’s values, but to impose control. The result? A legal system that feels alien—one that never quite belonged. These laws outlived their creators, but not their consequences.

When rules are disconnected from culture, when they don’t arise from shared ethics or emotional understanding, they breed resistance. People follow them not out of respect, but fear. And there’s a profound emotional difference between the two.

Fear is reactive. Respect is conscious.

Fear fragments. Respect connects.

Fear triggers avoidance and deceit. Respect invites responsibility.

Laws Without Empathy

Rules that ignore the emotional and cultural fabric of a society don’t make people more law-abiding—they make them more distant, more disengaged. Overregulation becomes an emotional burden. It teaches people not to trust the law, but to survive it. In EQ terms, it erodes trust, diminishes psychological safety, and undermines relational integrity.

And yet, India is also a land where ancient traditions are upheld with reverence—passed on for centuries not through enforcement, but through love, value, and identity. Why? Because those practices were emotionally intelligent. They were built on connection, not compliance.

This is where modern systems often fail: they ignore that humans don’t just need rules. We need meaning. We need to feel seen, respected, and trusted. Without emotional resonance, rules become noise.

Rebuilding Systems That Feel Human

EQ offers us a framework to begin healing this. Whether you’re leading a team, running a company, or shaping public policy, emotional intelligence reminds us that sustainable systems are those that:

• Honor lived experience. Ask: Do the people this affects understand and connect with it emotionally?
  
• Build from within. What emerges from shared values lasts longer than what’s imposed from the outside.
  
• Respect agency. When people are treated with dignity and autonomy, they naturally rise to the occasion.
  

India doesn’t lack intelligence or tradition. It doesn’t lack discipline or innovation. What it often lacks is emotionally intelligent governance—a system that understands the difference between obedience and integrity, between pressure and purpose.

The Bigger Picture

The conversation isn’t just about India. It’s a universal lesson: when any society relies too heavily on external regulation without internal resonance, it risks losing its soul. True change—whether personal, cultural, or political—requires more than laws. It requires emotional alignment. It requires us to care not just about what people do, but why they do it.

The path forward is clear: less fear, more respect. Less control, more connection.

Because in the end, the most powerful systems are not the ones we fear—they’re the ones we believe in.