I have been hanging out with some foreigners who have been in India for a while. I definitely like their company but I have been terribly put off by their nasty comments on India. I know that India can be an annoying country especially some of the men (I remember I was standing to cross the street with a foreigner friend and a man on a bike made a rude remark when he saw an attractive white woman and I said in my mind, India- I hate you sometimes) but I have been exasperated by these generalised statements that they have been making. I sometimes think they are racist, derogatory and I am very often tempted to tell them to go back.
I think I am turning into a xenophobe.
When I was in Gurgaon for work, a lot of my colleagues were terrified of venturing out in the night, told the guards with complete paranoia not to open the gates for anyone, and conjured up possibilities of danger that I never even thought were possible. I asked my friend who is a resident of Delhi (and works in Gurgaon) if she was offended by the heightened sense of alarm. She said yes. It hurt her that someone thought that about the place she grew up in.
I feel the same. I am in Varanasi at the moment which is full of foreigners. I walked into the dining area today and was part of a conversation they were having. They spoke of how the Hindu saadhus stared unlike the Buddhist monks, and how once this girl chanced on Buddhist monks in a
compromising position (implying that they are not such great people either). I wanted to share with them that these conversations are actually quite hurtful. I don’t remember making comments about the French, British, Malaysian, Americans or Pakistanis when I have visited. I never even complain about how dirty Mumbai is as compared to Delhi! Maybe they are just sharing. Maybe they are traumatised and need to vent out. I just think its plain decency, if not anything else, to not complain in front of locals.
Maybe I am too blind and unwelcoming. Or maybe, I am just hurt.
I think I am turning into a xenophobe.
When I was in Gurgaon for work, a lot of my colleagues were terrified of venturing out in the night, told the guards with complete paranoia not to open the gates for anyone, and conjured up possibilities of danger that I never even thought were possible. I asked my friend who is a resident of Delhi (and works in Gurgaon) if she was offended by the heightened sense of alarm. She said yes. It hurt her that someone thought that about the place she grew up in.
I feel the same. I am in Varanasi at the moment which is full of foreigners. I walked into the dining area today and was part of a conversation they were having. They spoke of how the Hindu saadhus stared unlike the Buddhist monks, and how once this girl chanced on Buddhist monks in a
compromising position (implying that they are not such great people either). I wanted to share with them that these conversations are actually quite hurtful. I don’t remember making comments about the French, British, Malaysian, Americans or Pakistanis when I have visited. I never even complain about how dirty Mumbai is as compared to Delhi! Maybe they are just sharing. Maybe they are traumatised and need to vent out. I just think its plain decency, if not anything else, to not complain in front of locals.
Maybe I am too blind and unwelcoming. Or maybe, I am just hurt.
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