A software engineer’s viral social media post criticizing life in large gated communities has triggered a widespread online debate on resident welfare associations (RWAs), housing society rules and generational differences in urban living.Shravan Venkataraman, in a thread posted on“At the slightest discomfort in their worldview caused by any person or any family in the society, they start imposing their views on how one should live in the house they are renting/in that society – who can come to visit, who can’t, who can complain, who can’t, etc. And these old people who are also in charge of power – in RWAs or society unions, whenever anyone challenges them on any real issue they go on a power trip,” he wrote.According to Venkataraman, young residents are often better off living in smaller G+3 or G+4 buildings with fewer than 25 apartments, where rules are less intrusive and community interaction is more relaxed.Sharing a personal experience from his housing society in Hyderabad, Venkataraman said there was a theft at his house and when he requested CCTV footage through a residents’ WhatsApp group, he was informed that the cameras were not working. Concerned about security, he advised residents to install personal security cameras.According to him, instead of addressing the security lapse, senior RWA members called him to the club house and reprimanded him for raising the issue publicly.“The next day the RWA president and vice-president called me to the club house. I went there thinking they would solve my problem and they found who had stolen the stuff. Instead they call me and start yelling at me how can I post such complaints on a group of residents and how can I post that there is no safety here and one should take care of oneself – that I am ruining the morale in the society,” he wrote.He further alleged that a committee member sarcastically dismissed the complaint, following which he left the residents’ WhatsApp group.“I mean what do these old people think in their minds? That they can order everyone around with arbitrary rules as per their convenience and everyone must follow it, and especially the tenants?” He added.His post resonated with many netizens, who shared similar experiences of excessive surveillance and micromanagement in the gated society. Many users complained about restrictions on visitors, screening of bachelors, moral policing, and profiling of guests by security guards. One user said that elderly residents of his society also objected to children playing outside, while some others dismissed Venkatraman’s post as merely a complaint against the apartment rules.One user wrote, “Exactly. It’s not just about rules or old ones, high rise clusters have high monthly maintenance, leading to severe water scarcity and severe traffic congestion and pollution. Why does the government encourage high rise clusters when we can develop horizontally.”