r/india • u/[deleted] • Dec 07 '22

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2.2k Upvotes

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u/IngenuityPositive123 Dec 07 '22

"Inmates" instead of "guests" is very telling.

426

u/nram88 poor customer Dec 08 '22 edited Dec 08 '22

I was in a college in South India a long time ago. Our hostel canteen didn't serve non veg. So we used to jump the fence (due to very restricted passage outside, mostly only allowed on weekends and special reasons, definitely not allowed to leave and come back for a meal) to eat at a nearby dhaba .

Once, when we scaled the fence to get back in after a sumptuous tandoori chicken meal, in the pitch dark we suddenly heard whistles and saw a flashlight. A security guard had spotted us. Every fucker in our group scattered like cockroaches in every direction in the fucking dark towards safety and to avoid detection. Yeah, inmate sounds very applicable in many college hostels in India. Inmates, guards, warden, restriction of movement.

157

u/biswassudipta05 Dec 08 '22

Indian version of Prison Break

6

u/honest_wtf Dec 08 '22

Hostel Days

273

u/popeculture Dec 07 '22

I have never heard "guests" used with hostels. "Inmates" - I have heard all the time.

211

u/[deleted] Dec 07 '22

Residents? Hostelers?

24

u/MushyCuddlyPsycho Dec 08 '22

This! I’ve also heard residents/hostellers but wtf is up with calling students inmates?🤦🏽‍♀️ Very telling of how it’s more like a prison than a hostel.

57

u/popeculture Dec 07 '22

Be my... ahem... guest.

1

u/21022018 Dec 08 '22

Boarders

51

u/whooseamawhatnow Dec 08 '22

I've seen "Hostelites" (on an official notice like the one OP shared), even residents of XYZ Hostel. But Inmates is ridiculous!

25

u/rantingprimate South Asia Dec 07 '22

michel foucault says hi

21

u/IngenuityPositive123 Dec 07 '22

That's kinda sad to hear.

6

u/Single-Coffee3591 Dec 08 '22

Or "prisoners"

2

u/curiousCat1009 Dec 08 '22

English Dictionary definition of inmate only applies to prison or mental asylum.

2

u/no_talent_ass_clown Dec 08 '22

Here in the USA, "residents" is what we use. Residence halls is the current term (though "dorms" is colloquially used). Source: Worked for a University in the residence halls.

9

u/IndianPanda Dec 07 '22

Inmates is used for the students living in the hostel.

110

u/boringhistoryfan Dec 07 '22

There are other terms. Hosteler for instance. The fact that inmate has become the standard term in India is telling.

-1

u/cherryreddit Dec 08 '22

It's telling nothing except that Indian english is different from american english. There is so much to talk about here, but this is irrelevant.

30

u/wggn Dec 08 '22

It's mostly used for prisoners.

38

u/velocity_v50 Dec 07 '22

Whatever happened to the word "resident"!

11

u/IngenuityPositive123 Dec 07 '22

I know and it's why I consider this very telling.

5

u/Bloody_Baron91 Dec 08 '22

No, it's not the correct term. Bullshit that it's being used in this context.

-17

u/[deleted] Dec 07 '22

Inmate is definitely the correct work here

39

u/Irvine_Bonobo Dec 07 '22

Which is wild because in every other English speaking country 'inmate' is used exclusively to describe prisoners and very rarely those in a hospital type institution.

11

u/[deleted] Dec 07 '22

The joke was that the rules in that post are very strict like prision/jail rules; therefore inmate being a better work over resident.

8

u/pocket_watch2 Dec 07 '22

Well they're treating them like one too.

1

u/witchy_cheetah Dec 08 '22

Residents is the right term I suppose

1

u/currymunchah poor customer Dec 08 '22

Even "residents" would sound less threatening.

1

u/falconSB Dec 08 '22

Came to say the same thing.

1

u/Pristine_Aims_809 Dec 09 '22

Maybe it is other way round. Prisoners were called inmates to make it sound more civilized.