Understanding power, vulnerability, and why some people cross boundaries others never would

Writing The Bombay Business Club (available at thebbc.shop) has pushed me to explore transgression—not just as plot device, but as a fundamental psychological phenomenon. The more I’ve studied it, the more I’ve realized that transgression isn’t simply about breaking rules. It’s about who has the power to break them, who they choose as their targets, and what drives them to cross boundaries.

Transgression as Power Display

At its core, transgression is often an expression of rage against the naive and powerless. The transgressor isn’t just taking what they want—they’re demonstrating their might, asserting dominance over those they perceive as weaker.

In the infamous Nirbhaya case, the rapist’s mindset revealed this disturbing psychology. When questioned by a jailer at Tihar jail, he chillingly explained that seeing the couple together aroused him, and in his mind, he thought: “How dare this young guy neck in front of me when I can just take what I want?”

That’s what transgressors do. They feel overpowered by their own capacity for violence and want to demonstrate it. The act becomes proof of power—“I can do this, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Everyday Transgression: The Scammer’s Prey

Consider a simple example of how transgressors identify and exploit the vulnerable: an uneducated man receives a call from a financial scammer who asks for the OTP he has just received. The man I know gave his OTP six times, and the scammer removed money from his bank six consecutive times. That’s transgression—the scammer recognized vulnerability and exploited it repeatedly, each time reinforcing his power over his victim.

The Naivety That Invites Transgression

To avoid being transgressed upon, you must calibrate your presentation carefully. Don’t appear too naive—it marks you as an easy target. Don’t appear too cocky—it triggers the transgressor’s need to humble you. And don’t be reckless about understanding who might be capable of transgression. Try not to show off. Try to be conservative in your self-presentation.

When Transgressors Misjudge Context: The Ranveer Allahbadia Case

Another revealing incident of verbal transgression involved podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia on the YouTube show India’s Got Latent. During his appearance as a guest judge, he asked a young contestant a disturbing question: “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop forever?”

The remark sparked massive public outrage, leading to FIRs against Allahbadia and the show’s producers. But what’s fascinating from a transgression psychology standpoint is why Ranveer thought he could get away with it.

I believe Ranveer thought he could transgress because those jokes had been accepted in Western society. The original joke likely came from a standup comedian in Australia, probably in a dark comedy club setting—venues that exist specifically for transgressive humor, not regular comedy. Though India has its own vast latent tradition of dark comedy, the context was too messy, too public, too uncontrolled for such a transgressive joke.

What I find most revealing is that some young people defended Ranveer’s comment as “freedom of speech.” They have no clue what freedom of speech actually is and what transgression is. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from social, professional, or legal consequences. Transgression always carries risk—that’s what makes it transgression.

Transgression Gives a Feeling of Power

One fascinating aspect I’ve noticed: transgression gives people a feeling of power. When you cross a boundary and face no consequences, it confirms your status. You’re above the rules. This is addictive—the transgression must escalate to provide the same rush.

This explains why wealthy and powerful individuals often engage in progressively more extreme transgressions. They’re not just indulging desires; they’re proving to themselves that they remain untouchable. Each successful transgression reinforces their sense of immunity from normal constraints.

The Freudian Cover-Up: Elite Transgression in 1890s Vienna

Perhaps the most disturbing historical example involves elite transgression and its institutional cover-up in 1890s Vienna. Sigmund Freud discovered that his female patients suffering from hysteria had consistently been sexually abused as children, often by their fathers. He initially published these findings in 1896, declaring that “at the root of every case of hysteria, there is one or more occurrences of premature sexual experiences.”

But then Freud became troubled by what his findings implied. His letters reveal his growing horror: if hysteria was caused by childhood sexual abuse, and hysteria was so common among women, then such abuse had to be endemic “not only among the proletariat of Paris, where he had first studied hysteria, but also among the respectable bourgeois families of Vienna, where he had established his practice.”

This was the transgression—Vienna’s elite fathers were systematically abusing their daughters. It was widespread, systematic, and protected by social status.

Freud knew that challenging powerful institutions could be deadly. He had witnessed how Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, who discovered that doctors’ unwashed hands were killing mothers in childbirth, was persecuted and destroyed for revealing an inconvenient medical truth. Semmelweis died in an asylum, beaten by guards.

Rather than confront the reality of widespread elite child abuse and risk similar persecution, Freud chose to protect the transgressors. He abandoned his “seduction theory” and began claiming his patients had “deceived” him—that their memories of abuse were fantasies rather than facts. He launched what became his “fantasy theory,” suggesting these traumatized women were merely experiencing sexual fantasies about their fathers.

Social worker Florence Rush later termed this “The Freudian Coverup”—Freud’s intentional suppression of evidence about widespread elite child abuse to protect the very class whose secrets could destroy him professionally. Freud gaslighted traumatized women to avoid running afoul of Vienna’s powerful families.

The elite fathers transgressed. Freud covered it up. And the victims were blamed for their own abuse.

Secret Societies and Mutual Complicity

This brings us to a crucial insight about how elite transgression operates: through mutual complicity. Secret societies function precisely because shared transgression creates unbreakable bonds. If I know your darkest secret and you know mine, we become allies by necessity. The most obscene transgressions become the strongest glue binding the powerful together.

In The Bombay Business Club, I explore this dynamic through a billionaire character whose transgressions escalate until he commits what might be considered the ultimate sin—making his daughter his lover. This isn’t just about individual pathology; it’s about how extreme power creates its own moral universe where normal boundaries dissolve, and where shared knowledge of transgression binds the elite into protective circles.

Cultural Transgression

Transgression takes many forms beyond the sexual or violent. In India, a Hindu woman marrying a Muslim man—or a Muslim man marrying a Hindu woman—is considered transgression by many. It’s called “Love Jihad” by those who view interfaith relationships as boundary violations that threaten communal identity. The transgression here isn’t against individuals but against group boundaries, against the social order as some conceive it.

The Parallel Fears

The extremely wealthy live in constant paranoia about their secrets, their wealth making them targets for poisoning, murder, or betrayal. Meanwhile, those in extreme poverty face the same daily risks—violence, the constant threat of death. Both groups exist outside conventional morality, but for opposite reasons.

We fear both extremes—the politician or billionaire whose demeanor suggests they can “manage anything,” and the desperately poor person who might harm us. This fear is rational: both groups operate differently than those bound by middle-class constraints.

Conclusion: Understanding the Transgressor’s Mind

As I work on The Bombay Business Club, I’m grappling with how to portray transgression honestly. The transgressor feels powerful. The naive become targets. Each successful transgression reinforces the sense of being above consequences.

The 1890s Vienna case shows us how elite transgression operates—fathers abusing daughters, institutions protecting abusers, and truth-tellers like Freud choosing self-preservation over justice. The Nirbhaya rapist shows us transgression as rage against perceived social order. The OTP scammer shows us everyday exploitation of vulnerability. Ranveer Allahbadia shows us transgression through cultural context confusion.

Understanding transgression isn’t about excusing it—it’s about recognizing the psychology that enables it. Until we acknowledge how transgressors think and operate, we’ll continue to be puzzled by behaviors that make perfect sense to those who commit them.

The Bombay Business Club, my novel exploring these themes of power, transgression, and moral boundaries, is available at thebbc.shop. Because sometimes fiction reveals truths that journalism cannot.