A Chinese woman who delayed a train for her husband would be lauded in India

Even though it was proved to be inaccurate, the hackneyed line in favour of totalitarian regimes used to be, “Say what you like about Mussolini, but he made the trains run on time.”

Punctual trains, since then, have become the hallmark of more than just autocracies and are even regarded as a benchmark of efficient, developed economies. So, there are many reasons for China to safeguard its reputation for on-time train schedules. That would explain the dim view the authorities took of a primary school teacher who tried to delay a train by two minutes so that her husband could also catch it. Even if the video of platform officials trying to wrestle her off the doorway of a superfast train from Hefei to Guangzhou had not gone viral, she would still have got short shrift.

Many Indians, of course, would be mystified by the incident on two counts. First, a delay of two minutes seems utterly inconsequential, given that trains in India arrive hours if not days late regularly with all passengers resigned to their fate.


Second, the woman was obviously displaying commendable devotion to her husband instead of departing on the train herself and simply leaving her latecomer spouse to catch the next one. Indians would not deem a reprimand and suspension to be fair punishment for such a minor delay and such major spousal attachment.