Union minister of road Transport and highways Nitin Gadkari announced he is considering a law that would require vehicle horns to produce sounds based solely on Indian musical instruments such as the dholak, tabla, and flute.
This comes as India celebrates its status as the third-largest automobile market in the world, having overtaken Japan.
While addressing the foundation day celebration of a newspaper in Delhi, Gadkari said, "I am planning to introduce a law requiring that all vehicle horns be based on Indian musical instruments, so that they sound pleasant – instruments like the flute, tabla, violin, and harmonium."
It was an instant cue for Internet meme fest.
One user suggested:“Traffic jams will soon become music jams and people will honk in rhythm and have jugalbandis on roads.”
“Imagine someone honking on the highway in a tabla rhythm, and instead of giving way, you find yourself enjoying the beat!”,another wrote.
Meanwhile, some netizens were more grounded in reality:
“Car horn to be an Indian musical instrument – priorities of a poor nation.”
Others offered practical advice: “How about a law where random honking becomes a punishable offence?”
It’s also worth noting: honking is actually meant to alert and warn, not entertain.
According to the Indian Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, horns should only be used to avoid danger or accidents.
And if you thought this was satire, remember the time an auto-rickshaw in Delhi ran a KBC-style quiz on its back in 2022:
“Traffic mein horn bajane se kya hota hai?” (What happens when you honk in traffic?”)
Options included:
A: Light turns green
B: Road widens
C: Vehicle flies
D: Nothing