Navigating 'Illegal Expectoration' or Spitting.

Of Evergreen Issues!

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash

In no other country have I seen as many people spit on the streets as I have in India.

It is a trait unique to the masses.

They will spit anywhere, on the sidewalk, on the roads, against the walls, and out of bus, train, auto, or car windows. Their ingenuity is a marvel in itself.

The sole aim appears to be to discharge whatever is bothering their mouth or throat - the leftover half-chewed tobacco or betelnut or the remnants of the paan that when spat, deliver a reddish tinge to the public walls which are hard to erase, or as is most often the case, just plain spit.

Paan is a specially made local concoction of edible green leaves with various stuffings intended as an after-meal mouth freshener.

Numerous anecdotes show the impact of this behavior.

Once, a man had his hair splattered by random spit from a bus window, and despite his loud remonstrations, the bus sped away, its passengers indifferent to his protests against such uncouth behavior. Abandoning his errand, the man rushed home hastily to wash his hair multiple times, attempting to physically and mentally erase the distressing act.

Another time, a man got the tail end of a spit on his pants on a public bus. He delivered a soliloquy about the lack of manners to no one in particular, as the culprit remained unseen. This was followed, when home, by frenzied washing of the legs with soap and water, for at least 15 minutes to remove any trace of the random particles believed to have escaped the leg of the pants and touched the skin.

The compulsive urge to eliminate the remnants of spit is a common need among all those who suffer inadvertent contact.

No step taken by the public authorities over the years has diminished the passion of the average Indian to spit.

In a desperate attempt, authorities in certain states resorted to plastering the outer walls enclosing office buildings and the walls of their stairwells with 2x2 white wall tiles adorned with painted images of Gods and Goddesses, intending them to act as a holy deterrent. While these measures worked to a certain extent, a little further down the walls, absent these Divine reminders, the evidence accumulated.

In another innovative approach, railway station management began to fine individuals on the spot, helping shore up their cash-strapped coffers by as much as $10,000 per month.

The issue has now extended its reach to Leicester, England, and Brent, North London, areas with a substantial Indian population, as UK councils grapple with the challenge of containing the problem of 'Illegal Expectoration,' as one council termed it. Fines for this offense range from £80 to £150.

Fun fact: Did you know this was also a common problem in New York in the 1800s? The Tenement Muesum’s blog reports that Europeans visiting the city were disgusted by the ubiquitous spitting habit of males. It is now unlawful in many US states.

As some municipalities were unable to stop the act, their next best solution was to install aluminum buckets mounted on rods in certain unfortunate public spaces, labeling them 'Spittoons,' and then promptly forgetting about them.

If you happen to walk Delhi’s renowned Connaught Place, with its beautiful white Georgian facade, be cautious around the corners. Spitters have generously utilized these long-forgotten Spittoons. In some corners, walls with missing buckets tell their own story.

Or if you find yourself walking the roads of India, whether at the airport, on shopping streets, or barefoot near a temple, keep your spit radar on high alert.

For every person who engages in spitting, there are threefold more individuals who dread the prospect of being spat on. They carefully navigate the roads, avoiding potential 'spitfalls' while walking. Unfortunately, no amount of staring down a spitter before they execute their action seems to work. Dirty looks are wasted on them, as they perceive nothing inherently wrong about the action.

Yet, others continue to grapple with the mystery of why people frequently spit in public.

An enterprising journalist, Jason Overdorf, sought to understand why a significant number of patients at a large hospital in Delhi were engaging in this act. The best quote in his article came from a doctor: “When we looked at the reason for spitting, about 80 percent said it was a habit, and about 16 percent said it was because they chew betel nut and tobacco.”

Certain civic-minded and hygiene-conscious individuals in India have advocated for the fining, taxing, and punishing of these spitters by administrators.

Well, now the problem, as an Indian export, is also confounding the good councillors of England.

Interestingly, one unintended side effect of masking during the pandemic was a reduction in spitting!

To date, I have not seen any public campaign to 'Protect India from Spit.'

So, beware of the menace of spit in India, and as it turns out, also in parts of England!