The Stereotypes In Our Heads
Remember Ek Duuje Ke Liye? The 1981 Bollywood hit that told the story of a love affair between a Tamil boy and a Punjabi girl?
One of the scenes I remember from the film features the traditional, vegetarian God-fearing Tamil mom being horrified to find egg shells that have been thrown into her backyard by the non-vegetarian Punjabi neighbours. Remember that? Everyone had a good laugh. It fit the stereotypes in our heads. After all, we all think of Madrasis as the idli-dosa and curd rice-eating folks. And we associate the Punjabis with Tandoori Chicken. And these stereotypes lead to our beliefs which get ingrained in our heads as facts. We believe Madrasis are Vegetarians. Punjabis are non-vegetarians. Right?
Turns out, we are wrong.
According to a 2018 survey by the Registrar General of India, only 33.25 per cent of people in Punjab are non-vegetarians. And the corresponding number in Tamil Nadu is 97.65 per cent. Yes, you read that right. Only 2.35 per cent of the people in Tamil Nadu are vegetarians, while in Punjab, 66.75 per cent of the people are vegetarian. Surprised? I was when I first came across the data.
My first reaction was to question the source and dismiss the data as erroneous. Can’t be, I said to myself with the air of a person who is confident he is right. They must have got it mixed up, I thought. And the clincher of course, was to tell everyone, ‘come on, I should know, I am a Madrasi’. Now that’s often our reaction when we are confronted with facts that don’t match our beliefs. We question the accuracy of the data. And we cite anecdotal evidence – or a personal experience ‒ to prove we are right. As John Kenneth Galbraith put it, “Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” Happens a lot inside organisations.
One of the defining traits of strong leaders is the ability to think again and change their minds. They operate with a mindset where they are happy to challenge their beliefs. They look for the facts and the evidence. And they happily let go of the stereotypes and beliefs. Narayana Murthy, the Infosys founder, was known to say, “In God we trust, but everyone else brings data to the table.” It’s a line that became almost a credo at Infosys.
Good idea then to break the stereotypes inside our heads. Just because you have always believed something to be true does not mean it is true. Once you accept that, and allow data to triumph in the fight inside your head, you will find yourself on the road to understanding the world better. You’ll discover new knowledge and insights too.
What the Madrasi-Punjabi-Veg-Non-veg Paradox has done for me then is, it has taught me to challenge my beliefs. To guard against the stereotypes that inevitably form in my head. Every time I am convinced I am right, and I find myself dismissing a contrarian viewpoint, I remind myself about vegetarians in Tamil Nadu and Punjab. And I begin to realise I may be wrong.
Horribly wrong.
Good idea for you too to challenge your long-held beliefs. Break the stereotypes inside your head. The reality might surprise you. Get ready to be surprised.
