India: crazy for world records.

• Position: THE BIG PICTURE - Brief article

No, it's not a Halloween party. All these students recently gathered in Tiruchirappalli, in southern India, to break a Guinness world record: the largest gathering of people (2,955) dressed as Mohandas Gandhi (right), the nonviolent leader who helped India gain independence from Great Britain in 1947. India, it turns out, is obsessed with setting weird world records. They include: fastest time to type a 103-character sentence with a nose (47.44 seconds): most flags tattooed on a body (366); and farthest lightbulb throw (109.94 feet). In the past five years, the number of Indian record-holders has grown 250 percent. Experts say the record obsession may be about gaining status or a way for poor people to stand out. But for some, it's gone too far. Says 47-time Guinness record-setter Dinesh...