At the expense of being labeled a self righteous intellectual, let me make it clear at the outset that I'm an Indian too and hence have earned my right on writing a treatise on Indian attitudes in foreign lands. However, I will address "Indians" as "we" rather than "they" and be as objective as possible. This article is partly inspired by my brush with some inane individuals of Indian origin who said some uncalled for gibberish while I was passing by them completing my usual ritual of jogging on the boardwalk. Although their words cannot be termed as "offensive" partly due to my threshold in bearing insults, it just reaffirmed some of the chatter that had been running between my ears for the past few months.
We Indians in general are a race always in fear of other races. I blame this partly on being ruled by the British and the Mughals before them. This also has something to do with the obsession of the white man's appreciation and approval of things pertaining to us. The twinkle in the eye of Indian when praised by the white man is comparable to that of a baby's when smiled at by its affectionate mother. I am as much victim to this as any other Indian around me. While people might argue that this theory can't be generalized, I think the sooner we accept the truth the better. The truth indeed sets you free but only if people see the truth.
Now, on the other hand we Indians pretend to be the "big Daddy" when dealing with other Indians. I would like to cite a funny incident that occurred on a train ride a few months back. The train was packed to the brim and had a lot of fellow Indian passengers. One of them got agitated at me and asked me to make some space for him to stand. What amazes me is not the fact that he was being unreasonable asking me to make space for his samosa filled belly in the packed train but that he would dare not do that to a non-Indian. He would rather vent his frustration at a fellow Indian than to take the chance of irking a non-Indian. Funnily, the only time I've been mugged in this country has been by an Indian. In fact, most cases of Indians being duped in this country have been by other Indians.
What's more appalling is that Indians seem to have left their sense of decency back home. Being noisy in public places such as speaking on cell phones in movie theaters or jumping over turnstiles are just some of the many examples of inappropriate behavior. While we tend to see the funny side of these things back home, such things are not welcome in other countries and being alien citizens, we must respect and abide by their rules.
These kind of Indians could be excused as being from low-income and uneducated backgrounds but they are not even remotely as bad as the ones coming from high income families. These so called "Gen X" Indians living in fancy condos and dressed in the latest designer clothes drinking StarBucks coffee are the most selfish form of the human race. Their sole reason for coming to other rich western nations is to make loads of money while doing nothing in return for the betterment of the community. These "Facebook Check-In Photo Uploading" fuckers will point out things that are bad in western countries but will not do anything to improve it. Instead, they will try mastering fake accents and try to be more "western" than their colleagues.
A number of issues were instigated in this discourse and hence it may sound a bit incoherent but I'd like to end by saying that I feel more and more ashamed to be identified as an Indian due to the actions of other Indians. However, I will never put up with nonsense even if it were to come from an other Indian and will readily show them the finger (like I did to those assholes who made fun of me a few hours back).
P.S. A bit of inspiration for those who want to change (including me).
We Indians in general are a race always in fear of other races. I blame this partly on being ruled by the British and the Mughals before them. This also has something to do with the obsession of the white man's appreciation and approval of things pertaining to us. The twinkle in the eye of Indian when praised by the white man is comparable to that of a baby's when smiled at by its affectionate mother. I am as much victim to this as any other Indian around me. While people might argue that this theory can't be generalized, I think the sooner we accept the truth the better. The truth indeed sets you free but only if people see the truth.
Now, on the other hand we Indians pretend to be the "big Daddy" when dealing with other Indians. I would like to cite a funny incident that occurred on a train ride a few months back. The train was packed to the brim and had a lot of fellow Indian passengers. One of them got agitated at me and asked me to make some space for him to stand. What amazes me is not the fact that he was being unreasonable asking me to make space for his samosa filled belly in the packed train but that he would dare not do that to a non-Indian. He would rather vent his frustration at a fellow Indian than to take the chance of irking a non-Indian. Funnily, the only time I've been mugged in this country has been by an Indian. In fact, most cases of Indians being duped in this country have been by other Indians.
What's more appalling is that Indians seem to have left their sense of decency back home. Being noisy in public places such as speaking on cell phones in movie theaters or jumping over turnstiles are just some of the many examples of inappropriate behavior. While we tend to see the funny side of these things back home, such things are not welcome in other countries and being alien citizens, we must respect and abide by their rules.
These kind of Indians could be excused as being from low-income and uneducated backgrounds but they are not even remotely as bad as the ones coming from high income families. These so called "Gen X" Indians living in fancy condos and dressed in the latest designer clothes drinking StarBucks coffee are the most selfish form of the human race. Their sole reason for coming to other rich western nations is to make loads of money while doing nothing in return for the betterment of the community. These "Facebook Check-In Photo Uploading" fuckers will point out things that are bad in western countries but will not do anything to improve it. Instead, they will try mastering fake accents and try to be more "western" than their colleagues.
A number of issues were instigated in this discourse and hence it may sound a bit incoherent but I'd like to end by saying that I feel more and more ashamed to be identified as an Indian due to the actions of other Indians. However, I will never put up with nonsense even if it were to come from an other Indian and will readily show them the finger (like I did to those assholes who made fun of me a few hours back).
P.S. A bit of inspiration for those who want to change (including me).
