"Taj Mahal, famine, hunger, population, poverty,

Hare Krishna, and Gandhi"

Stereotypes about Indians

“A Passage to India”, E.M. FORSTER

by Rijalda Dizdarević

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of  history.

India invented the Number System. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700BC, built in the 4th century BC, was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.  

Sanskrit is the mother of all the European langsIndia was the richest country on earth until the

time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India.

Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization )

The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept - the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.

the question of whether it is possible for an Englishman and an Indian to ever be friends, at least within the context of British colonialism

A Passage To India - a classic example of how different cultures, when forced to intermix, misunderstand each other, and what consequences stem from those misunderstandings

Terms

The Orient signifies a system of representations framed by political forces that brought the Orient into Western learning, Western consciousness, and Western empire. The Orient exists for the West, and is constructed by and in relation to the West. It is a mirror image of what is inferior and alien (‘Other‘) to the West.

Orientalism is ‘a manner of regularized (or Orientalized) writing, vision, and study, dominated by imperatives, perspectives, and ideology suited to the Orient (an entire system of thought and scholarship).

The Oriental is the person represented by such thinking

Homo Dravida - a separate race indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.

The notion of Martial Races- an ideology fostered by Army officials in British India, supposing that certain peoples of India were innately more warlike.

After World War II and the Partition of India, large-scale immigration of South Asians to the western world, especially to the UK and the USA, has given rise to a different kind of ethnic stereotyping of South Asians as ethnic minorities within western society.

In Britain, Indians = corner shop owners, livery-cab drivers or doctors

the rise of Islamic homegrown terrorism in the 2000s, British Pakistanis stereotyped in connection with Islam in Britain and Islamic fundamentalism.

In the USA, Sikhs stereotyped as "Muslim" because they wear turbans.

Indophilia

- Indomania and Indophilia - a special interest India has generated in the Western world, and more specifically, the culture and civilisation of the Indian subcontinent.

-During the initial period of colonialism (during the conquest of Bengal) everything about India had an aspect of novelty, especially in Britain. This enthusiasm created a brand of people who started studying everything possible about India, especially its culture and ancient history.

-Indologists -Indology -Indophobia

Indophobia

Indophobia - hostility towards Indians and Indian culture

Indophobia is formally defined in the context of anti-Indian prejudice.

- a tendency to react negatively towards people of India, aspects of Indian culture and normative habits.

Indian male

While incidents of rape committed by Indian rebels against English women and girls were generally uncommon during the rebellion, this was exaggerated to great effect by the British media to justify British colonialism in the Indian subcontinent and to violently suppress opposition

Bengali female

During the Ilbert Bill controversy in 1883, English women who opposed the bill argued that Bengali women, whom they stereotyped as "ignorant", are neglected by their men and that Bengali babu should therefore not be given the right to judge cases involving English women.

1. 1. India is a Land of snakecharmers.

2. The reality is that snake charming is illegal in India and has been for a number of years, although snake charmers do still exist.

2. Indians are Poor but Happy

3. The "Real India" is Dirt and Chaos

5. Indians Speak Hindu -- oh, um, Hindi!

6. Indians are Uneducated

Of course, they are- EDUCATED

7.Cows Roam the Roads

8. Indian Cuisine is all Butter Chicken

Certainly NOT!

8. Indians Worship Millions of Gods

9. If Your Name is Mehtar You Must be a Sweeper

10. Indians are Corrupt

THANK YOU!