When in India, I have always wondered about the huge hue and cry in Australia, about the racist attacks happening to Indians. When some of my friends in Australia told me that, all these are mere personal attacks, I more than believed them. I wondered if something like that could happen in a “foreign” nation, and that too a first world country.
Now, I am in another first world country or a developed nation as more people tend to call it, and have a little more insight on the so called “racism” or “regionalism”. And now, if someone comes and tells me that no “such thing” exists, the maximum courtesy he can expect from me is a tinge of sarcasm.
When I go shopping, more often than not, I never get replies; I get this “Go back to your India” kind of looks from them, and “What the hell does an Indian want from my shop” attitude. I even observe small kids imbibing this anti-Indian culture in them. Even in malls, the sales representatives who distribute the pamphlets, have this in mind, where I see them not distributing their pamphlets or smiling to Indians. And if you think that this is practiced by only “not-so educated” people, read on.
A brief incident that happened at my office here made me think of this issue. We received an e-mail from “one-of the big shot” informing ladies to be careful when they go to washroom during late hours. The mail stated that a lady, on the previous day spotted an Indian guy in their washroom. My initial reaction was of shock, and anger, after which I was ashamed. Then when I read the mail again, I was like “Why was it so necessary to mention that the guy was an Indian, in the mail?” I do not know what he gained by writing and informing all in the office that the guy in the bathroom was an Indian. I am in no support of that particular guy, and I completely understand that it might be those guys who make others think of Indians as people with no sense and culture, but was that “Indian” word in the e-mail necessary? Also mentioning here that, the washroom is outside the office premises, anyone can use it, and there are a number of laborers here, including Indians.
This incident led me to read about the cultural etiquette presentation given here to officials travelling to India. The slide starts with India being a diversified country, with many religions, languages, and concepts of unity in diversity. However, later on, the slides which I saw were deeply insulting and would hurt the sentiment of any Indian for that matter. There was a picture of the infamous Shilpa shetty- Richard Gere kiss, and the slide mentioned “Indians cant get enough drama in their life”, followed by slides which sarcastically depicted the harmony between men and animals in India. This was followed by slides in which Indians were depicted as people with no punctuality, people who don’t give commitment at the first meeting, people who are overly expensive for fear of creating embarrassment when they are handed over gifts, so that they wont open it in the presence of giver, as polychronics, and the list goes on. I still don’t understand why an official travelling to India needs to know all this. And the irony lies in the fact that, this presentation was created by an Indian, after all!!
It is this particular point that I would like to emphasize more than racism. We, Indians believe that other Indians are the most dangerous “species” when we are abroad. And if he/she, is from your own state or place, that’s it! I have more often than not, met people “recommending” me to beware of other Keralites, as they will never want you to progress. There are Indians who go on and say that, “Hey, this place is beautiful. In spite of the beaches and all, the most impressive fact is there are no Indians in the surrounding area”. There might be some bad experiences, which people have had, but to generalize this and mention it in a bigger sphere, with the entire nation involved, is more of stupidity than ignorance. These are some things which I can never understand, may be, because I have got more help from Indians than not. Whenever I have any queries while traveling, or in office, I tend to get help from Indians and I have always been guided properly by them. And, I do believe, even for these people who say illogical things, they would also have had a number of positive experiences, but they just do not want to accept it for whatever reason! I can do nothing else but to pity them.
Now, I am in another first world country or a developed nation as more people tend to call it, and have a little more insight on the so called “racism” or “regionalism”. And now, if someone comes and tells me that no “such thing” exists, the maximum courtesy he can expect from me is a tinge of sarcasm.
When I go shopping, more often than not, I never get replies; I get this “Go back to your India” kind of looks from them, and “What the hell does an Indian want from my shop” attitude. I even observe small kids imbibing this anti-Indian culture in them. Even in malls, the sales representatives who distribute the pamphlets, have this in mind, where I see them not distributing their pamphlets or smiling to Indians. And if you think that this is practiced by only “not-so educated” people, read on.
A brief incident that happened at my office here made me think of this issue. We received an e-mail from “one-of the big shot” informing ladies to be careful when they go to washroom during late hours. The mail stated that a lady, on the previous day spotted an Indian guy in their washroom. My initial reaction was of shock, and anger, after which I was ashamed. Then when I read the mail again, I was like “Why was it so necessary to mention that the guy was an Indian, in the mail?” I do not know what he gained by writing and informing all in the office that the guy in the bathroom was an Indian. I am in no support of that particular guy, and I completely understand that it might be those guys who make others think of Indians as people with no sense and culture, but was that “Indian” word in the e-mail necessary? Also mentioning here that, the washroom is outside the office premises, anyone can use it, and there are a number of laborers here, including Indians.
This incident led me to read about the cultural etiquette presentation given here to officials travelling to India. The slide starts with India being a diversified country, with many religions, languages, and concepts of unity in diversity. However, later on, the slides which I saw were deeply insulting and would hurt the sentiment of any Indian for that matter. There was a picture of the infamous Shilpa shetty- Richard Gere kiss, and the slide mentioned “Indians cant get enough drama in their life”, followed by slides which sarcastically depicted the harmony between men and animals in India. This was followed by slides in which Indians were depicted as people with no punctuality, people who don’t give commitment at the first meeting, people who are overly expensive for fear of creating embarrassment when they are handed over gifts, so that they wont open it in the presence of giver, as polychronics, and the list goes on. I still don’t understand why an official travelling to India needs to know all this. And the irony lies in the fact that, this presentation was created by an Indian, after all!!
It is this particular point that I would like to emphasize more than racism. We, Indians believe that other Indians are the most dangerous “species” when we are abroad. And if he/she, is from your own state or place, that’s it! I have more often than not, met people “recommending” me to beware of other Keralites, as they will never want you to progress. There are Indians who go on and say that, “Hey, this place is beautiful. In spite of the beaches and all, the most impressive fact is there are no Indians in the surrounding area”. There might be some bad experiences, which people have had, but to generalize this and mention it in a bigger sphere, with the entire nation involved, is more of stupidity than ignorance. These are some things which I can never understand, may be, because I have got more help from Indians than not. Whenever I have any queries while traveling, or in office, I tend to get help from Indians and I have always been guided properly by them. And, I do believe, even for these people who say illogical things, they would also have had a number of positive experiences, but they just do not want to accept it for whatever reason! I can do nothing else but to pity them.
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