Road rage, stunts and social media posturing: Are Thar owners driving a dangerous stereotype?

Barely a day later, the irony emerged. a thar Found drowned in a Delhi lake after a stunt allegedly went wrong. Soon after, a video surfaced of a YouTuber spraying petrol on his Thar at a fuel station, purportedly for viral content. And then came another clip, of a group of boys in a Thar assaulting a woman outside a hotel in Delhi, which drew comments like, “This is what the DGP was talking about”.

Rewind a bit. In September, five students were killed in Gurugram when a speeding Thar overturned after hitting a divider. In the same month, an ACP’s son was arrested for mowing down a property dealer and then overturning his SUV to crush him. Earlier this year, a Thar owner in Delhi mowed down a security guard after he objected to the continuous honking of the horn. The list goes on (see box at end of story).

So how did the revival of a classic Indian jeep, once considered sturdy and reliable, turn into shorthand for aggression, stunt-for-reels and reckless bravery? Experts point to its impressive structure, high seating arrangement and commanding road presence, which gives drivers both a literal and figurative feeling of power. Add countless viral reels that glorify off-roading, rule-breaking, and hashtags like #beastmodeon, #modifiedthar and @offroadadventure that invite affectation and pretentiousness, and you have the perfect butterfly effect.

Still, can all Thar owners be painted with the same brush? Many people say that they are being unfairly targeted. Mahindra Group did not respond to our requests for comment.

What did Haryana DGP OP Singh finally say?

“If it is a Thar, how can we let it go? The choice of vehicle reflects your mentality. People who drive Thar do stunts on the road. The son of an assistant police commissioner ran over someone while driving the Thar. He wants to free his son, and we asked him in whose name the car is registered. It is in his name… so he is the rogue element.”

Thar owners feel they were unfairly targeted: Police stop us, not cars with blackened windows and dazzling headlights

Actor Ejaz Khan, the proud owner of a Thar, says, “I drive a Thar and am part of a WhatsApp group called ‘Thar Lovers’. I don’t double-check my lane if a Thar is crossing me! I’m actually more careful around foreign-made SUVs, especially at night. During the rains in Mumbai, when the roads become suspect, this car helps me navigate with ease. As far as reckless driving is concerned, if someone has this bug, he can kill someone even on a bicycle!”

Actor Rohit Roy, who is also the first Thar owner in Mumbai, says, “I have seen what kind of social media stunts people do with the Thar, but the car is not the problem, the people are the problem. If you give another vehicle to the same person, they will do the same thing. I have been driving the first Thar since its delivery in Mumbai. I also own six superbikes and have never done a single stunt on them. For us, safety is paramount. We really need to encourage the youth. There is a need to educate.” So they don’t misuse any vehicle like this.”

Adding to this, Thar enthusiast actor Gul Panag says, “I think there are certain generalizations that are sometimes taken out of context. Personally, I am not a fan of any kind of generalization.”

Archit Arora, a chartered accountant by profession, shares this view and says, “I wanted to buy a Thar since I first saw it 15-20 years ago, the design attracted me. I finally fulfilled that dream four years ago. But if the DGP himself labels us this way, it trickles down to every checkpoint. I am constantly stopped by the police, while cars with black mirrors and bright headlights are not even challaned. Is.”

Highlighting the need to focus on bigger battles, pharmacy student Anika Sominder says, “Honestly, there are much bigger issues that the police should be focusing on instead of profiling drivers based on their vehicle. I am sometimes stopped just because I am driving a Thar, but usually when they see that I am a woman they let me go. Still, because of the car they drive, someone is Shouldn’t be stopped either. This kind of profiling doesn’t solve anything.”

Adding her voice to the issue, MBA student Lavyansh Gaur said, “I bought the Thar for its features. It is a very capable and refined car. A lot of my friends drive it and none of them have road rage. Some people might, but we are not all creating chaos on the roads.”

“Discipline is everything to me, and this car is the epitome of that. This is my second Thar. During Covid, I also delivered food to policemen on duty. I have helped catch snatchers. But as soon as they see my Thar, I stop and check. It’s profiling, plain and simple,” says Kabir Mehra, who runs a women’s fitness institute; Provides martial arts training to children.

Gang of Thors’ Amarjeet Singh, who has 14.8K followers on social media, feels it is unfair to classify people this way.

He says, “The Thar sinking in the lake was not a stunt, it was an accident that was falsely publicized. During the floods in Gurgaon, our group was actually out to save people. You can’t classify people like that. We have eminent members, including people from the army. We drive responsibly.”

We do not classify: Delhi Police

Additional CP Traffic Dinesh Gupta says, “We take action against reckless driving and those who perform dangerous stunts regardless of the vehicle. We do not classify. This year, there have been 8 fatal and 9 non-fatal accidents involving the Thar in Delhi. This figure is not very high, so it is not that everyone driving a Thar is a crook.”

psychology and perception

Tracing the vehicle-related perception, psychiatrist Dr Rahul Chandhok says, “Just like some people like to flash their gold, diamonds or iPhone, many like to show off the Thar as a possession, a way of saying, ‘I belong to this exclusive club’. Even manufacturers promote it like this. Have you ever seen the Bullet promoted as a daily commute bike? Similarly, the Thar is marketed as a statement. is done.”

Adding another angle to the observation, psychiatrist Dr Deepak Raheja says, “Cars like the Thar often become an extension of one’s identity, a symbol of strength, independence and rebellion. When that identity is insecure or exaggerated, it can manifest as aggressive or chaotic behavior on the road. The issue is less with the car and more with the mindset that it attracts or enhances.”

Psychologist Sreeja de Behl believes, “We can’t generalize a brand and say only a certain type of person will buy a car. This is bracketing and labeling. What worries me more is the increase in risk-taking behavior and impulsivity without weighing the consequences.”

Gunjan Ryder, Clinical Psychologist says, “To understand situations, people tend to negatively generalize and brand certain vehicles. This stems from our tendency to stereotype based on certain incidents. This is not entirely true or fact-based. In many cases, the ‘personality’ of the vehicle and the personality of the driver get entangled, giving the car a bad name instead of focusing on the aggressive behavior of the driver.”

A Thar went in the wrong direction and hit several two-wheelers in the car-market area.