Stereotype # 9 – Oh, so you’re from India? Right?

Wrong. I am from Pakistan. Indian and Pakistan are two different countries located however, on the same continent. We may all be Asians, yes. But calling Pakistanis, Indians is geographically incorrect! People from both sides of the border look alike in some ways. Most would mistake one from another. However, like India and Pakistan are alike in many ways, they are very different in a lot of other ways too.

Pakistanis would take offense to being called an Indian. The two countries may have been one at one point, but ever since 1947, they have both gone their separate ways. They have separate agendas, contrasting mindsets and completely different residents. The biggest distinguishing factor that may be very confusing for the non-Pakistanis is the language of the natives of both the countries. While both Pakistanis and Indians can tell in a second if it’s Hindi or Urdu that is being spoken, for the non-Pakistanis, both the languages sound exactly the same.

Here a Step-by-Step guide on how foreigners can save themselves from the embarrassment of calling an Indian, a Pakistani and a Pakistani, an Indian:

Step 1: Ask them where they are from instead of guessing.

Step 2: Ask them their favourite food. If you are lucky, a Pakistani would name a meat dish and an Indian, a veg-dish. IF YOU ARE LUCKY, that is. (This step may have a 10 % error ratio)

Step 3: Do not ask them about their state/province/city before you have guessed their nationality. This might confuse you since some places in Indian and Pakistan have the same names. For example: Punjab, Hyderabad.

Step 4: Do not stat a discussion with them on their historical background as a way to cleverly guess their nationality. Both the countries share the same history.

Step 5: Start the conversation by asking them a quick question. Gandhi or Jinnah? Both the natives are very sentimental about their national heroes. An Indian would most certainly say Gandhi, while a Pakistani would say Jinnah. (This step has a 100 % success rate)

Step 6: Do not start a discussion with them on movies. I repeat, do not. Indians would talk about Bollywood. And Pakistanis? Also Bollywood.

Good luck guessing one from the other.

Stereotype – Pakistanis and Indians, one and the same? Status = BUSTED!