There are a lot of countries that have laws completely different from those in America for example. There are some things that you can do in your home town country that's completely harmless like kiss your woman in public, which might be illegal in another believe it or not. Do you know of somethings that you have heard of that's kind of ridiculous but still illegal? Anything is good knowledge to know.
I'm so eager to hear what others will have to share on this topic. I know what you mean about how the simplest and seemingly most harmless actions may be regarded as taboo or frowned upon and even illegal in other countries. The last thing I would want is to get into trouble and spoil a beautiful trip all because I was ignorant of the rules and the law in that country.
As long as you obey the law then I know that you will be on the safe side. I don't know much about traditional taboos that can be avoided but I think they may not land you in jail. Indian communities are civilised nowadays and most have adopted modern lifestyles. This has made India to be more welcoming to foreigners.
Just like the others have mentioned above just abide by the law, and you won't get into any trouble. For someone coming from a western country, things like wearing short skirts or clothes which show a lot of skin in public is a bad idea. Kissing or getting too cosy with your partner is always not seen as appropriate in public, keep all this kind of stuff behind locked doors. There are no significant strict laws in India, just the general which very few abide by anyway.
There are a lot of things you can get away with in India that you wouldn't be able to get away with in America to be honest. People in India really aren't really fans of following rules and standards in general. Lots of things such as underage drinking, getting pirated movies, jaywalking etc are a pretty normal part of life in India. There are also aren't any super-strict laws in the country like you would find in Middle Eastern countries, such as dress codes etc. The one big exception to that is that homosexuality is still illegal in India, although that doesn't stop anyone. But as people have said things like kissing in public or women wearing revealing clothing would be considered vulgar my most people, even this varies depending on the region. It is unlikely that they will do anything about it, you should be fine, but its best avoided just to be on the safe side.
My Indian friend told me that two men kissing on the cheek is no problem but apparently holding hands is? It's not too weird if you think about it but still, I can see how homophobia is still a very big possibility in India. Also, it's easy to get in trouble anywhere don't go finding it.
Depends on where you are from, to be able to compare it to India. I know they are a bit more strict, compared to the US. In the US where I am from, you see tons of couples hanging on each other, kissing, rubbing on each other even, all in public! You can get in trouble for that in India. If you are going to India, just use common sense, it'll get ya a long way. Just be respectful, thats all.
Generally tourists are given a wide berth when it comes to things that would be mess up the people within the culture. The locals may complain about the tourists but they need the money that comes from tourism.
What happens if you get into trouble while in India? How does the law differ from the law in the United States?
You do not have to worry about getting into trouble in India at all unless you are doing something that is illegal, eg. Consuming controlled substances or having alcohol in a dry state. Even if you are caught doing this a proper legal procedure is followed like any other civilized nation. You won't be caught for Jaywalking even if the cop sees you. They are lenient when it comes to these small agencies. India is the only place on earth where you can find people of so many different religions living in peace and harmony. So those who think India is a place where a foreigner can get into trouble without commiting a crime, stand corrected.
When I saw this post, I just recalled the Indian's action movies where often people get followed and trucked down by gangs immediately as they arrive at airport. Just to be clear, -this is so controversial in real life when you arrive in India. That was my first question I asked my brother-in-law who's Indian the moment my sister introduced him as her fiancee at a dinner out-event. The way he talked about India has always vividly promised to visit India real-soon to see this beautiful country with the most spiritual kind people on this planet. Such trouble just seemed to happen on a movie, after he honestly talked about his country to us. I'm longing to be there real-soon!
