The effect seems to be particularly pronounced in Indians who are trained in engineering. My friends and I have often engaged in completely useless debates on pretty much everything. And mind you, the arguments are not just passion driven. Even though the subject matter of the discussion may be mundane, we Indians try to put in elaborate, well thought out and seemingly logical arguments behind our stand. We argue passionately, and enedlessly.

This one time we were having dinner at a Thai restaurant, and on the wall behind us there was a painting of sorts which was showing a chariot of sorts. Someone proclaimed that the painting was depicting a scene from the //Ramayana// where //Ravana// is kidnapping //Sita// aboard his //Pushpak Viman//. This was followed by heated arguments from both sides on why or why not that chariot could indeed be Pushpak — people invoked everything from history to mythology to the state of automotive vehicles and the importance of wheels in any flying artefact and so on.

I have hung out with plenty of non-desi groups and I’ve never seen these people engage in anything even close to the kind of discussions I have with my friends. I wonder if its just cultural. So what do you think? Are Indians generally more argumentative?