26 Apr Why Indian Stare at Foreigners? A Question that I am Frequently Asked
“Often we mistake stability, in terms of security and economic activity, and assume that a country is doing well. We forget the third and a very important pillar: rule of law and respect for human rights.” – Kofi Annan.
It’s human nature to pay special attention to anything that is NEW and Different. When it comes to experiencing a new culture, a different lifestyle, an alien language, appearance or even the skin colour, people do tend to behave unnaturally and may stare longer and harder than normal at people or also things.
India, in recent times, has gained a negative perception globally for being an unsafe nation for women. So, any discomfort that may arise due to staring does get magnified for women travelling to India.
When a tourist or an Expatriate, male or female, from another country travels or relocates to India, the Indian eyes staring at them don’t just include those of only adult males but even those of females as well. Children too tend to stare because of their ‘Different’ appearance and style. Hence, by this point, we can conclude that staring is usually a result of curiosity and not of bad intent.
An Issue with Diversified Perceptions by Foreigners Visiting India
Staring at Foreigners in India is considered a problem and has been a topic of many blogs; especially tourism blogs and forums. This phenomenon is more common in small towns and villages in comparison to larger Indian metropolitan cities or even towns and cities that attract foreign tourists. Staring at people who don’t belong to a country is common in many other nations as well. Imagine an Indian tourist in Siberia or an Indian woman wearing a traditional saree while visiting Tokyo or an Indian family in the interiors of China, struggling with the food and the language. Unfortunately, India has been labeled as a country where the practice of staring abounds and in a negative manner, especially towards foreign women.
India is one of the largest tourist destinations in the world. Thousands of people from various nations visit India to explore and experience its opulent culture, glorious traditions, impressive art and music, delectable food and many picturesque sights. Visiting India is like the political opinions for foreigners. They either like it or hate hit. Or, it can be described as a wonderful recipe until one chews the wrong ingredient. The experience of every foreigner visiting India may differ either positively or negatively and hence their individual opinion about India could also vary.
Some of the foreigners visiting India may carry a fixed negative mindset about this country while many others who actually get to explore India and take a dive into its vast culture, traditions, beauty, and diversity, find it exceeding their wildest expectations. So, what exactly is the perception of the foreigners about India can’t be summed up in a single sentence or notion.
Many foreigners have shared their experience with me of the practice of staring at foreigners in India and have many a times raised this question with me – Why?
I have always tried explaining that all of the staring is not negative and it may not be limited only to foreigners. Even when Indian people from urban areas with extravagant clothing and ultramodern lifestyle, accent and style visit rural regions or semi-urban areas, they also get stared at by the natives. Also, being a multicultural and multilingual nation, different states in India has a unique culture, tradition, and lifestyle. Some states in India have strong religious or cultural sentiments of which most of the foreign tourists are unaware. There are certain places where one can’t go with their footwear on or women without covering their head. Even taking pictures at some places can be found offensive to rituals, caste or religion. It’s not necessary that if people in one state haven’t found anything alien or fascinating about you, the same experience will be there in another state. With cultural and linguistic diversity, experiences also differ and a foreign tourist must be geared up for such situations.
Is staring harmful?
Most Indians find ‘White’ skin, extra short or revealing clothes, a new accent or a friendly approach by a foreign woman “different” and intriguing. When foreigners visit India, they bring all of these essences with them and the aftermath is quite organic. Staring at foreigners is not necessarily harmful but can make a foreigner tourist in India conscious and naturally uncomfortable, until such time that gains comfort over time.
Indians are friendly and chatty and hence informal. Foreigners would experience strangers coming up to them for photos or even asking questions of very personal nature. But then foreign tourists are often spotted taking photos of Indian people and also include these in their blogs and social media posts.
In a country with over 1.37 billion population, and with the existence of caste and class-based differences the social fabric has many complexities as is true for any multicultural and multi-ethnic society. This issue of staring in India has not popped up all of a sudden but has pre-existed since the time of the British rule. India was always a cultural superpower and is now considered an economic power. With its growth, the cultural boundaries are diminishing and as the world grows flatter, acceptance of something unique – e.g. different skin colour, would become more and more matter of fact.
We now experience many more expatriates Relocating to India to work here. Business travel has increased greatly and so has tourism. More Indians are now communicating with foreigners and are getting more familiar with western cultures, traditions, style, values, and appearances, Television, and the internet are bringing images and news from the world over into the homes of the rural people of India creating familiarity with and a fair idea about the looks, culture, art, music, appearance and other aspects of the people from the West.
As I tell many of my expatriate friends when questioned about this topic and how to handle the people staring…”You are different, beautiful and unique. You are being admired. Smile to yourself and look away. Do not respond, engage or stare back.
Nikhil Sakpal
Posted at 13:18h, 26 AprilVery informative article for expats. Kudos !!!
Eugenie
Posted at 13:18h, 26 AprilInteresting topic, and well written :)…
Harveer Singh Chadha
Posted at 16:10h, 26 AprilI would like to reiterate to Expats in India and say that the stares do not mean anything harmful to you ….. they simply are admiring you 🙂 On some occasions with Expats in shopping areas/ malls we have been stopped by people requesting for pictures (eventually found out that I was not in the frame when they clicked) as they do not see Foreigners frequently
ROHAN
Posted at 12:58h, 06 MayAn article well written. Very informative.. !!
ninjaninji18
Posted at 12:53h, 13 MayThanks for the nice post and it is very interesting to read. For searching people about some information and it will be very useful.
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Margarita
Posted at 14:17h, 13 SeptemberI am Russian married to Indian. While I was travelling here, I could feel not so bothered about the staring but after I have moved here, I feel extremely irritated about it, because it also prevents adaptation to the country, except of making you feel unsafe as well. You simply can never feel like JUST human anymore, you can never be considered a part of society, people will always let you know you are “different”. And I can say that clothes don’t even matter in this much, people will still stare at you, no matter what you wear. And I am someone who has dark hair, so not looking that much different even, just a white skin. I can’t imagine how bling people feel. I know that the thing is not only in curiosity but in that many Indian people don’t find it impolite and don’t think that they are making another person uncomfortable. When me and my husband are traveling to Russia, he is not being stared at almost (and we have been even in villages), not because people aren’t curios (I know they are), but in Russia if you stare for long – you are considered extremely rude and people teach it to their kids as well – not to stare or point out at differently looking people. I have been in different countries, but in India, in my experience, people stare the most. And it’s mostly men. In China people do stare, but way less, and more childish way, and mostly girls. And, as well, in the cities, that receive tourists for long, people stop staring because they used to it already, while Delhi is so famous for tourism, people don’t seem to get used. Even when a foreigner lives on the same street for very long, people will still stare….But I can say, that if to get tan, people will stare a lot less – checked on myself.
Jay
Posted at 11:09h, 07 OctoberI come from South Korea and am currently studying in Singapore. I used to live in Little India (an Indian Town as you can infer), and hated so much that Indians there stared at me as if I were a monkey in a cage or something. It’s far beyond an excuse like “staring at people who don’t belong to a country is common in many other nations as well” nor can it be justified that “staring is usually a result of curiosity and not of bad intent.” As pointed out in the post, Indians are notorious for their no-good-reason staring and no one would have felt so annoyed if the way they state at people was usual. I live in Singapore, not India. They are foreigners here too, and whenever I try to take a rest in my own quiet time sitting on a bench, these people stare at me all the way thru they walk pass me by, and they won’t stop even after they pass me -and I feel lucky when an Indian passes me by only with a glimpse. Almost. Every. Indian. It’s not that India is unlucky for being misunderstood; there is a good reason. They should teach that curiosity cannot be a good excuse for making people feel irritated and in my case, realize that they themselves are the foreigners so there’s nothing special with me.
Diepiriye S Kuku-Siemons
Posted at 12:44h, 14 JulyI believe that it would be hard to acknowledge that there is anything sinister behind the stares, though many claim that it’s just innocent curiosity. I wish that were true, but we see so many overt expressions of aggression- towards women, towards Black people…or the opposite, the total fandom white men seem to enjoy in India and many parts of the post-colonial world. What I find most fascinating is that even people who grow up in India don’t enjoy being stared at. But this is the only place where people don’t seem so bothered if you stare back. In fact, many have told me the best thing to do is stare back and get into some power play. yes, though it may or may not be considered rude locally, it’s not comfortable.
Sam
Posted at 16:51h, 21 OctoberIt’s more wired that Indian stearing at people not in their country but in a forgin country like Australia? Why is that? Don’t they know it’s kinda wired and uncomfortable to other people?
Maria
Posted at 14:38h, 05 MarchI live in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and indian men living here also stare at women. There are a lot of different ethnicities (Chinese, Malaiy, Europeans, Africans, Indian, etc) living in Kuala Lumpur. I am a white women, but it is pretty common to see white people here. However, these men still give me that filthy look and they stare at me from bottom till top, even when I’m fully covered (which shouldn’t matter anyway). That makes me feels discussed and very uncomfortable. Woman are not a sexual objects and women do not have to put up with this kind of behaviour. I don’t care what excuse they use to stare at me, their behaviour is completely inappropriate and rude.
PS: they only stare at woman, and not men, even if they are white.