RTI QUERY REPLY

K’taka govt says no bar on people sitting cross-legged in its offices

Kiran.Parashar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:30.08.2019

Is sitting cross legged in government offices banned? No, says the Karnataka chief secretary’s office in reply to an RTI query.

After a police constable asked his advocate-friend not to sit cross-legged in front of a police officer’s chamber at a police station, activist T Narasimha Murthy sought from the state’s top bureaucrat “any order, guideline, notification, directive or announcement” that restricts citizens from sitting cross legged in government offices, including police stations.

The chief secretary’s office has replied in the negative and instead attached an answer available online to a similar question raised on Quora.com, a citizen-centric platform.

According to the online information shared by the chief secretary’s office, a boss, who is unmindful of a junior sitting before him or her cross-legged, is high on self-esteem. If a superior officer takes exception to a junior sitting cross-legged, then it exposes his insecurities. Murthy and his advocate-friend Sudha had recently visited Hennur police station in Bengaluru.

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What crossing one’s legs means

While there is something about raised blood pressure and poor posture in crossing your legs while sitting, across cultures, it is seen as disrespectful and rude or casual at the very least. Body language wise, crossing the legs in front of someone is seen as establishing dominance and displaying confidence. Coupled with crossed arms, though, it projects being closed to the conversation or interaction at hand.