‘We celebrate getting trapped in EMIs’: Woman questions India’s ‘strange definition’ of success, sparks discussion

A woman’s take on how Indian society defines “success” has sparked a discussion online. She questioned why people are often seen as “settled” after taking large loans, buying a car and getting married, while financial independence is often overlooked.A Bengaluru techie shared how household expenses left him unable to save ₹50,000 despite a high income. (Representational image/Gemini AI generated)In an X post, Neha Patel shared her thoughts on the expectations around success and being “settled” in India. She compared the perception of a 28-year-old earning ₹1 lakh a month and living independently with someone who takes on a 25-year home loan, a 7-year car loan and spends ₹50 lakh on a wedding.”Indian society has a strange definition of success. A 28 year old earning 1L/month while living independently is told he’s ‘not settled’,” Patel wrote.”But if he takes a 25-year home loan, 7 year car loan and gets married spending 50L, suddenly everyone says: ‘Ab ladka settle ho gaya,'” she added.Patel argued that financial independence is not given enough importance, while taking on debt is often treated as a sign of stability. “Basically you aren’t settled until banks own your next 25 years of salary,” she wrote.”We don’t celebrate financial freedom. We celebrate getting trapped in EMIs and call it success,” she concluded.(Also Read: Noida techie moves to Bengaluru for work, loses job within a month: ‘No idea what the best thing to do is’)What did social media say?The post drew several reactions from users, many of whom agreed that social pressure and the need to appear successful can influence financial decisions.Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Indian definition of success is the ability to showoff irrespective of your condition to do it.””The Illusion of Showoff in the Indian society is the root cause,” commented another.”True. If you’re financially Independent… people call you ‘wella’. If you are under a huge debt and almost broke financially people will say ‘kitna zimmedar hai’. Strange,” wrote a third user.”Seriously. All financial rules go out the window because ‘mummy papa and uncle aunty need to be impressed,'” said another.”This is true in the west too. Everyone’s success score is based on money and how much debt you can have access too. It’s nuts,” wrote one user.(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)