From: vishram@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Vishram P.Dalvi)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: Oriental bias against Indians !! How true ??
Date: 13 Apr 92 22:26:14 GMT
Reply-To: vishram@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Vishram P.Dalvi)
Distribution: usa
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX
Originator: vishram@happy.cc.utexas.edu

Terry Cheung writes to me :-

>Now.  I think Chinese parents portray Indians to their children in
>a certain way based on what they know about Indians.  In places
>like mainland China and Hong Kong Indians are seen as lazy and
>uneducated because they mostly work as watchmans, guards, and
>servants.
>
I cannot quote on this from the Indian point of view because we
do not see a lot of Chinese in India (atleast not in Bombay, which
is where I am from) and so my parents never gave me an OPINION of
the Chinese. But then every one knows about the Indo-China war and
how the Chinese government went back on their word and attacked
India when our Prime Minister Mr. Nehru was advocating Sino-Indian 
brotherhood. This has definitelleft a bad taste in peoples mouths
about the Chinese. But then the common man is more worried about
earning his daily bread rather than opine on the Chinese. 
	I personally always thought that the Chinese eat all kinds
of insects (esp. roaches - ugh !), which is probably true
atleast as far grass hoppers are concerned but that apart, I had no
bias AGAINST the Chinese people. Infact I read about the Chinese
Civilization and the scores of discoveries made in China (I liked
history a lot and read about all civilizations including our own)
and had a lot of respect for your country !

>In America, however, Indians are probably much more successful
>than most other races.  The Indians I've seen are mostly college
>professors and professional managers.  My parents at first
>were quite surprised to find that Indians are so successful
>in America.
>
Aren't most Asians !!

>This Chinese lady I know married an Indian who is a manager.
>She told me that all her husband's Indian friends are also
>managers.  However, she still think that Indians are lazy
>because her husband refuses to do any work at home and end
>up that she has to do all the housework.  Of course that's
>only one woman's experience...

	You say that she still thinks that Indians are lazy as
he doesn't do any work at home. This is pretty much true with
most Indian males, as back in India, most of the chores are taken
care of by women. Men do all the work OUTSIDE the home such as
getting groceries, escorting their children to/from school, doing
all kinds of shopping and also work at a job. Women do not normally
work outside the home (like a professional) and it makes sense for
them to work at home instead. But a lot of times, men who have been
raised in such an atmosphere go to live in cities where their wives
have a job just like they do, but yet do not contribute in any work
at home. It's mainly due to this conditioning.
        Also in India, the society is male dominated and a lot of
families find it derogatory to make a male child work at home. That
kind of work is supposed to be done by female siblings. As long as
men handle the work outside the home though, this should not be a big
problem. Then again, there are some men who DO SHARE A LOT OF WORK
with their wives (like my father) and looking at him as I grew up
makes me feel very comfortable with the idea of working in the kitchen
with my wife (I have always helped my mother and sister in cooking
and cleaning and stuff like that !) rather than feel offended because
I am a male. But you won't find a lot of males like me in India.
        From what I have heard, this kind of an attitude is also
very prevalent in Korea. My Korean collegues claimed something like
men are equivalent to gods and a woman should consider it fortunate
to be able to be of service to them. This is an extreme condition
and won't be found even in India ! How about China ? Do men help their
wives in everything at home ? Do the wives work outside the house too ?
That would make the situation different you see ! Am curious to know
more about your culture directly from you guys.

Sincerely,

vishram