NEW DELHI – India is a country where traffic rules often take a backseat. In such a scenario where the rule of law gives way to the rule of might, a domineering on-road presence is helpful. After all, nothing screams “Don’t mess with me” more effectively than a menacing hulk of a sport utility vehicle (SUV).

In India, one SUV particularly – Mahindra Thar – has come to serve that purpose, so much so that it is feared and even loathed by many at the receiving end.

Its drivers often turn out to be those who use their Thars to throw their weight around and bully their way through crowded streets. They even transform packed Indian roads, which demand dexterity and patience, into arenas for reckless stunts with little regard for public safety.

Social media timelines are a scroll of shame for the vehicle with umpteen videos featuring antics and crashes involving Thars.

There’s one where a black Thar mows through several parked two-wheelers as its driver hurtles the wrong way on a busy city street. In another, a Thar driver chases pedestrians more than once, braking just in time to let them escape.

Then there are the more lethal ones – a woman pedestrian being flung in the air by a Thar that races onward instead of stopping to help her. In another, an elderly man is knocked off his two-wheeler by a speeding Thar that shockingly even reverses to hit him again.

Posting this video in July 2025, an X user, @KumaonJagran, tagged its Indian maker Mahindra Automotive and said: “Start mandatory psych tests before selling a Thar. You can’t keep handing weapons to maniacs.”

So maligned is the vehicle’s image that the timeless and eponymous Thar desert would sue the maker for defamation if it could.

Before I proceed further, I must state that I have nothing against drivers who use their Thar responsibly – they perhaps even comprise the majority of Thar owners – or, for that matter, the vehicle’s genuine repute as a capable off-roader.