Re: Anti-Pakistanism in India
That’s pretty sad. I’ve noticed that** some** Indian Americans and Pakistani Americans try to be more hyper-national/patriotic than those living in India or Pakistan. This is more so in established communities in diaspora which become insular and less in Scandinavian, European countries and Oceanic countries like Aus/NZ. I was quite surprised to read that people have found Indian Muslims in their area to be critical of Pakistanis when i havent come across that in my daily life.
Maybe they were Gujuratis? On GS I came across an Indian non muslim gujurati living in India who was anti-Modi but he is in minority. He posted about wanting to make friends on GS and getting to know Pakistanis. http://www.paklinks.com/gs/gupshup-cafe/618694-not-sure-if-i-fit-here.html Even within India there are many ethnic groups and some are insular and less open to other ethnic groups. Abroad we only get to interact with a select group of indians or pakistanis. Like in the US or UK you may be more likely to interact with Gujurati Indians.
or if in UK more likely to interact with Mirpuris etc Sometimes people, whether Pakistanis or Indians, abroad look at the treatment of minorities in the country , as reported in the media, believing that everyone there agrees with the government or approves of it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those Indians actually watch Humtv but don’t admit it. I know quite a few conservative Indians who watch and enjoy Pakistani dramas which come as part of their cable package. Even decades ago classic serials like dhoop kinare were enjoyed but its only now there will be an official channel for dramas. This will hopefully give Indians insight into the lives of Pakistanis rather than just believe what they see on the news. If someone were to just know Pakistan from news, whether indian/western/arabic, they would think it’s dangerous, all minorities have it hard, people don’t like/protest against indian/western products trying to distance themselves from it and everyone dresses/behaves conservatively. When actually there are people with different views and lot of open minded people who don’t mind being associated with other south asians.
Just my 2 cents.
I would introduce your Indian colleagues to some good dramas like Zindagi Gulzar hai or Humsafar to give them insight. Already i’ve got a few Indians addicted to it. People were really surprised to see bollywood songs or mention of bollywood actors/actresses or common clothes/food etc on humtv. They have no idea about life in Pakistan.