FuzzyBoba
FuzzyBoba

Feels Illegal...

I stumbled onto how other countries talk about India online—and it’s eye-opening

Recently, I discovered a kind of “technique” to see what people in other countries really think about India. It started when I came across some slang Chinese netizens use to refer to us. Words like “阿三” (Ah San) or “三哥” (San Ge) kept popping up—and a little digging revealed they're actually pretty derogatory.

  • “Ah San” originally came from colonial times—it was a way British officers addressed Indian soldiers (especially Sikhs) in China, meaning “Yes Sir.”
  • “San Ge” literally means “Third Brother,” implying a weaker, third-world status.
  • And they call India “Yindu” (印度)—just the standard name, but the context around it online is... less than respectful.

Out of curiosity, I started Googling and searching YouTube using these terms, and honestly, what I found was a mix of mocking content, racist stereotypes, and even some videos attacking India’s sovereignty. It was pretty jarring.

Then I tried it with Индия (India in Russian) and 인도 (Korean for India). The pattern continued—some admiration, sure, but also a fair amount of misunderstanding and negativity.

It made me wonder: how much of what we believe about our global image is based on reality?

Would love to hear from others who’ve tried something similar—what did you find out.

19d ago
Talking product sense with Ridhi
9 min AI interview5 questions
Round 1 by Grapevine
JazzyMuffin
JazzyMuffin

Similarly I watched Scammer payback videos, every scammer is from India.

FluffyRaccoon
FluffyRaccoon

This seems like a largely Delhi and Kolkata problem. At least from what I've seen. Any specific reason why it is rampant in these cities? Why don't locals take action against these operations?

GoofySushi
GoofySushi

I am from Kolkata I know about these scam centers they usually are rampant here because simply govt/police/people don't seem to care much about it. They are living in their own blissful world of eating sleeping and earning whatever they can and however they can. If there were more professional/corporate kind of jobs these scam centers would be less. These kinds of jobs make us more PC and kind of disciplined in terms of being aware of the impact caused to others. There are other viewpoints as well like high corruption and stuff but that would be an entire essay on this topic 😂

FluffyKoala
FluffyKoala

The thing to realize is, that similarly, the views that you hold of other countries, religions, and cultures, are also half-informed and stereotyped.

It's a global problem with humanity everywhere, partly due to ignorance, and partly due to chauvinistic feelings like nationalism 😄

SquishyWaffle
SquishyWaffle

No, India is pretty high on the "Why are this country's people alive?" List.

WigglyMochi
WigglyMochi

Dude just found internet. I'll show you a million reels roasting Americans. Yes, India doesn't have much respect but neither does any other country.

ZestyWaffle
ZestyWaffle
SAP17d

It's definitely worse for Indians and deservedly so

SquishyWaffle
SquishyWaffle

Nope. Simple counter is then how many non-white people want to flock to the US and how many whites want to flock to the subcontinent?

DizzyBoba
DizzyBoba

What is the argument? people on the internet hate everyone equally I think. We are a big country so we get more eyes on us.
Top 2 racist stereotypes I have come across online are:

  1. Scammers / tech support
  2. Unhygienic
    That's it, but every country gets trolled on like that
FuzzyBoba
FuzzyBoba

It's that general perception with millions of views that shows up on top. When you simply search India and Bharat, you will see a very curtailed view. Also I feel these guys deliberately visit slums and deepest darkest corners to gain views.

PeppyBagel
PeppyBagel

poooppoo

WigglyRaccoon
WigglyRaccoon

More than 65% trollers are from Pakistan & remaining from China! Whenever you see somewhere just type ATTA milla? & move on!

ZestyNugget
ZestyNugget

What’s the population of India and pakistan? How can pakistan have such a big impact on our image? The ruling party has hoards of internet trolls that they use to bully and silence any criticism or opposition. But these trolls are awfully quiet when it comes to countering pakistan’s or china’s narrative on the global stage.

SquishyWaffle
SquishyWaffle

Nah! You're just delusional.
The west hates us vehemently as cretins of the world.

SwirlyMuffin
SwirlyMuffin

I'm not really surprised to be honest. Just look at some of the Indians who go to foreign lands and harass women, start dressing up on the streets 🤦🏻‍♀️ and what not! It's quite shameful. Same is the case with a lot of our neighbouring countries as well.

There's racism as well, can't deny that. But people should understand and follow the law of the land!

SnoozyCupcake
SnoozyCupcake

🍇 , scam , women feel unsafe , for thousands of years we were treated as animals and now u guys are worried about how the world feels about us ? Ask how ur own colleagues n family feel safe around you . Then think of the world .

image
WigglyPenguin
WigglyPenguin

You guys don’t understand how much the trashyness and filth of Indian cities shocks foreigners. Their conclusion is that only those less than human would create and tolerate such conditions. Hence they view Indians as less than human

I also can’t understand how we can create and tolerate such filth

QuirkyQuokka
QuirkyQuokka

Filth everywhere. You will not fine 100sqm open area which is not littered. You can easily spot vehicle passengers throwing garbage out of window. It's not limited to small towns but in big cities also.

GroovyMochi
GroovyMochi
Student19d

Look at bollywood, and their stereotypes for Chinese and Africans. Even today, some people somehow find it funny to objectify Russian women as whores. Stereotypes on India, no doubt bad, come from genuine shortcomings like the lack of hygiene, civic sense and sexually repressed-like behaviour.

ZoomyWalrus
ZoomyWalrus

Check out rednote. Your scales for racism will get recalibrated. Some notes:

  • Negativity spreads more easily than positivity. Hygienic cooking videos spread far less than unhygienic cooking.
  • We are all victims of local propaganda, across countries. Most people don't question things they were taught while growing up.
  • There are plenty of things wrong in India, that we are so accustomed to seeing, that we don't even think about.
  • We urban people are not a representative sample of India. Our GDP per capita is about the same as Africa.
Discover more
Curated from across