‘Hating won’t help’: French woman urges Indians to stop spreading negativity about their own country
Chaigneau said that she was surprised to see that much of the negativity directed at India came from Indians themselves.
A French woman who has been living in India for nearly two years has sparked a discussion online after urging Indians to stop spreading negativity about their own country and instead focus on constructive change.
Taking to X, Julia Chaigneau shared a detailed post explaining why she consciously highlights positive experiences of India on her social media. “Since posting on this channel, I’ve been focusing on the positive things I experience in India. Not because there are no negative things, I’m not oblivious, but because there is already so much hate about the country online and in general,” she wrote.
Chaigneau said that while each of her posts received a lot of love, she also saw a lot of insults towards India. She said that she was surprised to see that much of the negativity directed at India came from Indians themselves. “The surprising part is that most of this hate came from some Indians themselves, with a strong ‘nothing will change’ attitude behind it. And I get where that could come from,” she continued.
“I understand a lot of the infrastructure, civic sense, and education need actual work, especially considering the 30% taxes, but hating the country won’t help,” she added.
Chaigneau further shared her own experiences growing up in France. She compared how people there protest and demand accountability when things go wrong, yet defend their country and culture abroad. “There are always things to complain about for French people, but when they leave the country, they have this sense of pride to defend the flag, the culture, the life, everything,” she said.
Explaining why she chose to make India her home, she added that the country has much to be proud of. “For me there are so many incredible things in India that need to be acknowledged and cherished; that’s why I made my home here. The parts that don’t work need people to come together and work on them instead of spreading negativity,” she said.
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Social media reactions
Chaigneau’s post resonated with several social media users, many of whom agreed with her perspective. One user commented, “I love India. but each time I travel abroad, I am in awe of the cleanliness, infrastructure, civic sense of locals, etc. So much to learn from and implement here. Criticise what’s wrong with India? Certainly; but Hating is a big NO. We need to learn and improve. That’s it.”
Another wrote, “Julia, your positive thought process is indeed welcome. Whether or not, one is capable to bring about a change in ‘real’ life, the least one should do is be positive in ‘reel’ life.”
A third user said, “I totally agree! It needs the people themselves to come together. Without being negative, Indian seem to think that everything should be done by the government when they need to look within themselves and look in the mirror every time they drop rubbish on the floor or honk their car horn. it all starts with the self.”
“It drains me but I keep trying to articulate same thing repeatedly….. you brought it out so clearly. Hope atleast some will listen and improve. Thanks,” commented another.
