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I'd argue that this "jugaad" happens everywhere when people are under extreme pressure and have no good expectations of getting anywhere following the rules.

Here in Brazil there are lots of young people that gets into drug dealing just because they don't have nothing better to do. The grow up in extreme poverty and society would very much like them to be dead or in prision, so they take their chances... sometimes its better to risk a bullet to the head to get rich and respected than to know that you'll be always poor and risk getting killed by police or drug dealers.

And of course, this is just an example. I don't know if this qualifies as "jugaad", but sounds a little similar.

I would say you're off slightly. I think it's basically improvising very frugally to make stuff work when it should've been close to impossible. It can be dangerous, It can hurt others, selfish or just plain useful, but there's no way you can deny the ingenuity.

Here're some awesome examples of jugaad:

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/559248_35987216408...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2389399780_7e7c15f2d7.jp...

http://www.myindiapictures.com/pictures/up1/2012/06/funny-ca...

http://www.myindiapictures.com/pictures/up1/2012/06/funny-ro...

My personal favorite: (Steaming milk on the roadside with a pressure cooker)

http://sagarmukim.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/jugaad.jpg

There's tons more examples like this, but you get the point.

This is an universal trait of people trying to cope with limits. I've always know it as "ingenio mexicano" or "mexicanada", roughly translated as mexican wit. It is a matter of national pride and accepted wisdom that nowhere in the world people are as cleaver as we are.

See some examples at: http://quependejadas.com/tag/gracioso/page/2/

The most amazing thing is that most of these images are probably not Mexican at all, but stolen from redneck sites (search for: Look, I fixed it). That is 100% in character with the spirit of mexicanada. Why actually fix anything when I can find someone else who did it and steal the credit!!!

> He missed the "jugaad" all around him - people, in their struggle for survival, do all sorts of things.

What a colossal waste of human resources.

Imagine if all those poor people were instead lifted up to the middle class so that they wouldn't have to focus on surviving each day, and could put that "jugaad" to something actually useful - research, science, arts, creating things and doing work that benefits others as well.

If you've been to India lately you would see that this is already happening. There is a new, massive, middle class forming. Nothing happens overnight but it has certainly been improving over the last decade.

Yes , that is a good idea . Tell me which switch to flip...

Great comment. You have hit the nail on the head. One has to immerse oneself into the ocean of sweat, dirt and garbage to see the real india and what makes it tick. It is like swimming in an ocean of raw-sewage with a 1000 foot, 1000-headed serpent.

>> The most unfortunate in India are amongst the most fatalistic - they give up trying. : This is again so true. Experienced first-hand with some of my relatives. You might be initially surprised at their mindset and the self-reasoning, but then you will realize its part of their coming to terms with life.

If you consider the rain-forests of Amazon as an evolving experiment by nature, I consider the human-forests of India as an evolving experiment by nature as well.

It has been explained to me that it is common for many indians to justify another person’s plight by believing that a condition of suffering is that person’s ‘karmic destiny.’ Therefore it would be ‘bad karma’ to help such a person.

Well, that perception, if it has been presented to you, is false. In fact, in India, whenever someone is discouraged to help someone out, the most popular argument is "Why bother? It's not your problem!" or "It'll be more trouble than it's worth" - just like anywhere else in the world.

Surely the belief in karma/reincarnation and the caste system are mutually reinforcing on some level though?

EDIT: But the part about it being "bad karma" to help some people and not others, that definitely sounds like somebody has misunderstood somewhere.

Well, the caste system exists and the inequalities exist - but they exist purely due to economic and political incentives.

Belief in karma and reincarnation has got nothing to do with it. And even the victims of this system know this.

I want to nitpick slightly, if I may, albeit the point is not related to the general discussion of poverty in India.

There is also some modern, relevant benefits to identifying someone's caste: it is an indicator that someone comes from a similar cultural or religious upbringing. That you speak similar dialects of Hindi. This is important when, say, marrying.

This says nothing of the caste system as institutional discrimination, but it's worth mentioning that caste is not "purely" an economic/political bit of culture.

Yes, caste system is embedded in the culture. It is not purely economic/political in nature. It is used by politicians because it is there, socially. This form is racism exists so deep in India. You can witness this:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

* India Untouched - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1552060/

* India's broken people - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJr0UlcNTA

There is whole sect in India which is segregated, tortured everyday for being born as a lower caste and it does not even end with their death. They have to clean others' feces by their hands (yes even today) and this is considered a norm. Rich, higher caste still instill this in their own kids to be wary of the "dirty people". Kids born into Dalit families are reminded of this by not letting them eat with other kids, not letting them wear same clothes and being asked for their caste again and again. This system is kept alive.

This all still exists and is in abundance. Point to note is that this is not just in rural, uneducated parts of India. Honestly, the concept comes from Hinduism. As a major religion for centuries, it has a code-of-conduct by Manu to divide the society into 4 major parts. But now it is a part of every sect in practice.

It exists and it is social.

It's going to be hard for the caste system to stay rigid because in larger cities there is no way of verifying any of this. In bigger cities like Mumbai, it's already pretty apparent with most kids growing up indifferent to the complex caste adherence of the past. Most of these kids would not be able to attribute a caste to people based on their last names as that knowledge has been lost. Going with the theme of this thread, this is definitely not true across the board but definitely applies to the large majority, at least in major towns and cities.

British found solution to the caste menace and promptly gave independence to Christians/Anglo-Indians/Sikh/SC/ST communities in 4th August 1932 Round Table Conference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_Award

Caste is the most insidious poison to ever walk the face of the planet, far worse than all the wars, disease, famine and genocide committed, because the people on the right side of caste find ways to justify it.

Justifying someone's misery as 'bad karma' was told to me by Eileen Weintraub, the founder of http://www.helpanimalsindia.org. She tries to teach local indian communities how to organize local community animal shelters... which helps with the cut down as animal dung littering the streets, among other things.

Anecdotally, about ten years ago, when walking down a street once, a poor girl started following me around. I reached into my pocket and gave her a handful of whatever loose change I had lying around in there. She continued to badger me for the next 10min, even while I tried crossing the street multiple times to get her off my trail.

I once got stopped by a couple that gave me a story about being left away from home and no means to get back etc... I gave them Rs.50 and they kind of stared at me with bewilderment like "that's all you're giving me"

(And keep in mind that I'm not a white guy standing out in the crowd - I look just like every other Indian on the street :) )

Small things like this make me slightly more reluctant to give money to people on the street. I prefer to donate via charities that I help out with instead.

That is truly horrible.

This is just false.

I have been discouraged from helping people, mostly for the reason that it could turn out to be more trouble that it's worth, but I have never been given this reason. Also, your explanation makes no sense from a theological perspective. I've always been taught that helping people will earn you karma, so it's in your selfish interest to help those in need.

I did not say that this was 'right', I merely said that it is one justification that is commonly used. Google "interfering with karma" and you will read various interpretations. http://www.thubtenchodron.org/GradualPathToEnlightenment/wor...

Here's an excerpt "If someone is born in an unfortunate situation, for instance into a very poor family, we explain it as due to past bad karma. We try to do more good karma this life in order to ensure we have a better rebirth. Is this chasing after happiness in life after life correct?

Some people say, "Those people are poor because of their bad actions; therefore they are morally inferior. We shouldn't try to improve their situation because that would interfere with their karma. Rather, they should accept being in a lower class and try to create positive actions so they will be rich in future lives."

Say what you want, that is a disgusting justification for ignoring others suffering

Besides the point others have made that many Indians don't think like this anymore, I just want to point out that it is possible to believe in karmic destiny and not use that as an excuse to not help people. The 'therefore' part of your observation doesn't necessarily follow from the premise and is more of an excuse used by people to justify behavior.

I agree completely, my apologies if I made it sound like a mathematical postulate.

I think we call that "hustling" in America. It is common amongst poor folks around the world and can lead to run-ins with the authorities. It seems more like treading water than a path to independence, to me.

It appears to me that the most unfortunate people eventually give up regardless of country. I don't blame them. Being poor is discouraging especially if you are older.

Jugaad: A New Growth Formula for Corporate America

by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja | 2010

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/01/jugaad_a_new_growth_formula_...

Still sounds a lot like "the hustler mindset" to me.

I like the comments from that page. Here's one I'll cherry pick:

Indranil Roy Chowdhury wrote: Seems like Jugaad has become a fad these days as I keep hearing the term every now and then in conferences and beyond..But the very essence of the term has been highly misplaced..To start with 'Jugaad' has a negative connotation to it and shouldn't be seen as innovation..I suggest Innovation should be kept away from the ambit of 'Jugaad'.

The problems with confusing Jugaad with innovation are;

(1)Jugaad is a short term mindset and doesnt serve anyone, while Innovation should be something that can have long term impacts

(2)Jugaad is a Tactic used in daily life, while Innovation is a long term Strategy..

(3)Jugaad is a way which corrupts the system or makes use of systemic loopholes, while Innovation is something that brings a solution which can in turn strengthen the system.

I shall quote an example here which is a classic example of Jugaad:

In India electricity theft remains a major problem. With govt's initiatives the problem has been curtailed to a large extent, hence the instances of theft have come down significantly. So what people have started doing is that they steal electricity from lines to TV antennas which take 49V..How? Simple solution..put a step up transformer in the way..convert 49 to 110v or 220V and light your bulb..

Now the question is would we like this to be seen as innovation ??? Or should it be left as 'Jugaad' ?????

All the con men the author seen in India, they are all jugaads. His post mentions several types of jugaads he saw in India.

Do you realize that majority of Indian population has no jugaad to provide food for their family. Well we "The Pizza Hut Kings" choose to overlook it and pretend that everything works.

"jugaad" is the equivalent of a 'hack'. When there are limitations imposed by circumstances, people try to 'hack' the system, without paying any attention to when they cross the legal line.