Indian author Nivedita Shukla’s recent social media post began as a reflection on the discrimination Indians face overseas, but took an unexpected turn when she shared her own experience of judging a fellow traveller based on his country of origin.
In her X post shared yesterday, Shukla revealed that she considered sharing her food with a man at Frankfurt airport during a layover, but decided not to do so upon realising that he is from Pakistan.
‘Hate for India at peak’
Nivedita Shukla, Dublin-based author of The Momentos of Runjh, said that she recently had a 10-hour layover at Frankfurt, Germany. She said that of late, she had noticed more hate directed towards Indians.
“I have been traveling around for years but now it feels different. The hate for India and Indians is at peak and we subconsciously feel every one is hating on us,” she said.
She then went on to talk about a man she noticed at the airport, who had an unkempt air about him. She described the man as “a fellow brown colored human” who was looking at different restaurants, possibly trying to find the cheapest one.
“It's been 3 hrs now, I noticed a fellow brown colored human being who took a flight with me from Dublin. Humble clothing, unkempt face, a ragged backpack and a faded jacket. Something told me this man was poor,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“It's been 3 hrs now, I noticed a fellow brown colored human being who took a flight with me from Dublin. Humble clothing, unkempt face, a ragged backpack and a faded jacket. Something told me this man was poor,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“Most people were either looking at him with a judgmental look that I hate or avoiding him completely, added Shukla.
Indian author’s refusal to share food
Shukla said that she saw the man “looking at the food menu at different outlets, the cheapest I guess.”
“My heart ached for him, he could be a hard working brother who hasn't come to terms with spending Euros yet,” she added.
The Indian-origin author then said that she had extra food with her, which she planned to offer to the man. At this point, what was turning out to be a heartwarming story took an unexpected turn.
According to Shukla, she walked up to the man with her parcel of food and asked him in Hindi, “Aap Dublin se aaye hain?”
The man smiled warmly and answered “Ji” or yes.
However, when the Indian woman asked him where he was travelling to, the man beamed and answered “Karachi, Pakistan.”
“I turned around and walked back to my chair,” said Shukla, adding “Jaa m** (go die),” for the Pakistani man.
Post sparks backlash
The post has gone viral with 1.8 million views and sparked backlash on social media as many called out Shukla for what they saw as distasteful prejudice.
“My bigotry is good and justified. Your bigotry is unjustified and racist,” commented one person.
“If Indians behave this despicably and post about it on social media like some sort of an achievement then they shouldn’t wonder why we are hated so much now!” said Rohini Singh.
“I thought this was gonna be a wholesome story instead you just demonstrated why everyone hates Indians,” a user added.
“She asked why Indians are hated. She answered it with her own behaviour,” X user Irena Akbar said.
(Also read: Pakistani man travels to India on IndiGo flight, surprises Mumbai airport officials)