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Chandigarh: Few Indian motor vehicles have acquired quite the awesome baggage of the four-wheel-drive Mahindra Thar jeep.

Once celebrated as a rugged go-anywhere workhorse, its persona on Indian roads in recent years has morphed into eight parts macho status symbol and two parts vehicle. According to senior officials in the Union Territory of Daman, the Thar has emerged as a machine to shamelessly flaunt ‘ruffiangiri (ruffian-like behaviour)’ or ‘mafiagiri (mafia-like behaviour)’ – essentially, road bullying and aggressive misbehaviour behind the wheel.

Consequently, these enduring misdemeanours recently led Daman’s Collector Saurabh Mishra to line up hundreds of Thar and Toyota Fortuner sports utility vehicle (SUV) owners, along with their vehicles, and make them to take a public safety pledge to drive safely, not perform road stunts, fit unauthorised silencers or lights to their jeeps, or darken their windows.

Or, in short, not transform their vehicles into four-wheel assertions of their individual testosterone.

Under official instruction, each Thar owner was also asked to pledge to avoid unnecessary honking and follow traffic rules and regulations. They were also encouraged to post their pledge on social media platforms, tagging Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, to persuade him to launch a nationwide campaign to restore the Thar’s good name as a respectable, law-abiding vehicle.

Thar and Fortuner owners participating in the ‘Thar-Fortuner Sankalp Yatra’ and taking the Road Safety Pledge administered by District Collector. @anandmahindra #daman #damanpublicity #thar #fortuner #TharKaMatlabZimmedari #awareness pic.twitter.com/K62cTnQDDm — Department of Information & Publicity (@DamanPublicity) September 9, 2026

Thar and Fortuner owners participating in the ‘Thar-Fortuner Sankalp Yatra’ and taking the Road Safety Pledge administered by District Collector. @anandmahindra #daman........

© The Wire