Essay On Stereotypes Of India

As Albert Einstein once said, “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made" (Das, 2012, paragraph 3, lines 11-16).

When the world glances towards India, it always perceives India as a land of snake charmers and elephants. It is always perceived as an underdeveloped country that is trying to make its presence known on the global scenario. A stereotype created in the early twentieth century by the colonialist who eventually transformed into the identity of a nation over a period of time. A stereotype at that time emerged mostly because of foreign tourists being enticed by the charm of the snake charmers, whenever they came to India. This goes hand in hand with the ancient images of the Maharajas and the elephants. This act of snake charming became so engrossed in the minds of the people from west, that they started visualizing India as a land consisting of snake charmers and nothing else. According to Tribune Publishing Company LLC, snakes are losing their charm. (2005). The future generations of India might not even know that something like this existed, but still the western people keep visualizing India is this way.

This stereotype is not a single misconception about India; it has paved the way and sparked many more stereotypes that identify India as an underdeveloped country, a country full of dirt and chaos, a country full of poverty where most of the people are illiterate. Most of the people that come to India are students or middle-aged people, who want to se the ‘real world’. Travelling to the rural and other backward areas, somehow the images of snake charmers and elephant are that they take back to their respective countries, forgetting abou...

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... and politicians to make it the culmination of development.

A country referred to as ‘ land of snake charmers’, excoriated every stereotype, every misconception, and has become one of the most important countries in the present context. India is an integral member of the BRICS, a country on its way to become the largest economy of the world by 2027. ‘India is no longer a land of snake charmers and elephants.’

As Sylvia Levi said:

“She (India) has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim ... her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. From Persia to the Chinese sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to Islands of Java and Borneo, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization”. (Das, 2012, para 3, lines 33-37).