What is the reason Indians call others Sir, Madam or Saheb etc?

[NoobP]

नाम or name is enough..we Indians always want to add more to that in a pleasing form.
Do let us know if you come across something like an आशुभ नाम then.. It would be interesting going through such आशुभ list of names..

Good name(which mean your official/real name in Indian conversation) does make name in india, like for example, there was a kid who was used to be called Gobor(cow dung) by the ppl in our area, Yah, ppl(indians) have some embarrassing nicknames, so Indians ask for good name which is again your official name, tho I find asking good name weird and don't use it.

And I think आशुभ नाम is referring to nickname in your context.

 

[rootyme]

This TBH! I have lived in Hyderabad for most of my career and people have always been respectful to any stranger they encounter. Most folks address others with -garu suffix which is equivalent of "ji" of in Hindi unless they know the person they are addressing is definitely younger than them. Point being, we are always taught to be respectful towards others.

Correct.

When people don't have much to worry about, they start taking issues with anything and everything. This entire topic is centred around stupid inferiority complex and nothing more than that. In other words, this is gossiping instead of intellectual deep dive into anything meaningful.

Stupid how Indians stand. Stupid how Indians sleep. Stupid how Indians talk. Stupid how Indians stroll. Stupid how India culture is. India = Stupid.

I mean where do you use "Sir"? In your workplace, govt offices, and while addressing your teachers. My question is what the hell is wrong with this? It all boils down to individual preference. If I prefer maintaining distance with somebody I'll always use words like this. The individual gets to decide if he/she replaces "sir" with "officer" or not. It's upto the individual to decide if he is okay with calling somebody by his/her name.

Respecting elders, touching feet are the foundations that are laid upon Indians as kids. To what extent individuals use that in their personal lives purely depends on the individuals themselves.

When a "Indian" calls you "Sir", it doesn't mean that he is being necessarily servile. If one "Indian" is servile, it doesn't mean most Indians are.

So much hate for aunty gossiping and what is this now. If somebody gives somebody else "too much respect", why would one take an issue with that as a third party?

 

[nRiTeCh]

Good name(which mean your official/real name in Indian conversation) does make name in india

स्कूल का नाम & घर का नाम is the simple difference.

like for example, there was a kid who was used to be called Gobor(cow dung) by the ppl in our area

Thats an exception and 1 in a lac and I'm sure not because of this gobar person the good name thing got introduced.

And I think आशुभ नाम is referring to nickname in your context.

Never said that or such context in fact logically asking if there's a good name then there should be also a bad name and if not, then no such thing as good name exists.
Any btw why this good name crap only followed in India?

 

[Mr.J]

Any btw why this good name crap only followed in India?

'Good name' is literal translation of the Hindi term शुभ नाम. If anything you should ask them why you say शुभ नाम instead of just नाम.

 

[ashish]

'Good name' is literal translation of the Hindi term शुभ नाम. If anything you should ask them why you say शुभ नाम instead of just नाम.

Its so filmy.. in my lifetime I have came across countless interactions and what people ask is aapka naam kya hai. Indians have a tendency to make it an extra and add their sugary words just to impress or up the rep of the opposite unfortunate indian again.

 

[alekhkhanna]

What an absolute troll thread. Getting triggered just for the same of it. A billion + people and only one concept is correct? Everything has context. Never used "Sir" etc at work since everyone calls everyone by name, but go to government offices and immigration officers etc, and what do you want to do? Ask them their name and create unnecessary complications since all they are used to is sir/mam?
Life needs to be simple. This level of trigger over sir/mam is only seen with jobless Americans who think holier than thou of themselves, and is sadly getting to Indians who I guess have no life to think about such petty issues.

 

[ashish]

What an absolute troll thread. Getting triggered just for the same of it. A billion + people and only one concept is correct? Everything has context. Never used "Sir" etc at work since everyone calls everyone by name, but go to government offices and immigration officers etc, and what do you want to do? Ask them their name and create unnecessary complications since all they are used to is sir/mam?
Life needs to be simple. This level of trigger over sir/mam is only seen with jobless Americans who think holier than thou of themselves, and is sadly getting to Indians who I guess have no life to think about such petty issues.

We should have a group here for members to list down their real good names and also bad names for some I'm sure they do have hence the argument over good bad and I hope someone doesn't come up with an ugly name as well which will complete the famous line..the good, bad and ugly.
Everyone is living in their own bubble as to how they were raised and their own theories and hence the argument.
however, its with Indian only and only certain upto few asian countries which have already given up on this good name concept.

And these days, life is too fast to waste and someone will directly ask what your first name or last name or poora naam to be precise without any licking crap "sirji apka shubh naam bataye ji aap humari file paas karva de.". well gone are such slavery days. Nobody gives a F about any babu or taboo.

 

[rootyme]

Everyone is living in their own bubble as to how they were raised and their own theories and hence the argument.

This is true.

What's also true is that not all bubbles are necessarily good. Have seen some real trash takes and I agree with @alekhkhanna that this is a pointless troll thread.

What an absolute troll thread. Getting triggered just for the same of it. A billion + people and only one concept is correct? Everything has context. Never used "Sir" etc at work since everyone calls everyone by name, but go to government offices and immigration officers etc, and what do you want to do? Ask them their name and create unnecessary complications since all they are used to is sir/mam?
Life needs to be simple. This level of trigger over sir/mam is only seen with jobless Americans who think holier than thou of themselves, and is sadly getting to Indians who I guess have no life to think about such petty issues.

Grass is always greener on the other side. Some people just love bootlicking westerners and India bashing comes naturally with that, somehow.

 

[PunkX 75]

Reading through this thread was gold!

My (personal) theory is simple - You can call whomever you want by their first name (work or otherwise) as long as it's polite. If you want to call them sir/saar/ma'am (including Sarkari people), that's fine, too.

Also, as a side note: Most American children don't call their parents by their first name (my personal experience/opinion). It's however, more common with step-parents, more so because most (American) kids have an emotional disconnect with them. This has also been confirmed by my aunt and uncle who've lived in the US since 1981.

 

[rootyme]

Some clown takes just a few posts back.

Good names, bad names, ugly names. Seriously?

"Shubh Naam" roughly translates to "First Name". It's just an Indian equivalent of things you use everywhere, even while signing up for a Google Account. If "Shubh Naam" is crappy, tell Google that asking for "First name" is also crappy. That no babu or taboo thing allowed, gone are those slavery days. Jesus!

When somebody asks your "Subh Naam" he is being respectful to whatever name you have. In regional languages (non-official/educational settings), when you ask somebody his/her name, you generally need to specify "subh naam" to get this point across that you are looking for the "Full name" and not the "nick name". This sort of loses its relevance in formal English since "name" always refers to "Full Name", unless stated otherwise.

This is not something that's used to discriminate between names. There is no such things as "asubh naam". Ugly name is a new invention right here lol. Maybe tell Google to ask you for your "Full name" instead of separately asking for First, Middle and Last name, if this is a ground breaking issue.

Unwatching and ignoring.

 

[Mr.J]

Some clown takes just a few posts back.

Good names, bad names, ugly names. Seriously? The trolling peaked right there.

"Shubh Naam" roughly translates to "First Name". It's just an Indian equivalent of things you use everywhere, even while signing up for a Google Account. If "Shubh Naam" is crappy, tell Google that asking for "First name" is also crappy. That no babu or taboo thing allowed, gone are those days. Jesus!

Yes, the concept of 'Shubh Naam' is 'First Name'.

However, Indians of the years past translated those two words separately.

 

[letmein]

Unwatching and ignoring.

Uncleji, you were the one who bumped up this nearly 1.5 years old thread.

 

[rootyme]

Uncleji, you were the one who bumped up this nearly 1.5 years old thread.

-----

 

[ashish]

This is true.

What's also true is that not all bubbles are necessarily good. Have seen some real trash takes and I agree with @alekhkhanna that this is a pointless troll thread.

Grass is always greener on the other side. Some people just love bootlicking westerners and India bashing comes naturally with that, somehow.

Because it's like flaming an old issue and once done you are exiting innocently.
Another typical indian khujli after sir/saheb/goodname.

 

[rootyme]

It gets worse from here. And I don't want that. I must clarify that I hold no grudges against any members here and I am not looking for fights with people senior to me. I didn't aim to "flame" issues, but such is the nature of debates I guess.

Definitely didn't expect that uncleji remark from letmein. It was in poor taste to say the least. Maybe more on the way if I post further. Safe to say, this was my last debate on TE.

Will be careful to stick only to Tech related discussions from here onwards. Thank you.

 

[blr_p]

I've noticed a tendency of Indians to call everyone they feel is higher up or is a known personality as Sir or Saheb or boss etc. Is it out of habit being brainwashed for years by the education system or because our education system and everything that works in our country has roots going back to the British officers who wanted everyone to call them Sir?

I usually refer to teenagers as Sir madam uncle aunty

Frankly it is off putting and demeaning imo.

THAT is why I do it

Never fails to get a rise out of them

In the West, some children address their parents by their first names. So if we are not doing the same here, does that mean the relation is any different?

A German friend used to do this with his mother and it always threw me and yeah I agree no different.