India still Asia's reluctant tiger

BBC ^ | February 28, 2008. | Zareer Masani

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

"'It suddenly in an exaggerated manner, if you ask [Mahindra], made the world think that every Indian was smart and could fix their computers.

"But that helped entrepreneurs in India from all industry segments, because it gave them a more receptive environment in which to do business.'"

Mr. Mahindra sooooo gets it.

It's surprising what a little pr can help build--and what a little 'nr' can help destroy. A self-feeding loop, both ways.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

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[109ACS]

I know there is a lot of resentment about jobs getting outsourced to India. I have a little secret about getting excellent service from technical support in India, be nice to the person on the other end of the phone. I guess these guys and gals are so used to getting harassed by us impatient Americans, when someone is nice to them, they bend over backwards to help you.

Here's another reason to like the Indians....

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Actually of the opinion that it's a great thing that so much of India's development is coming out of Bangalore and southern India. And that many of the engineers and IT workers are Dravidian.

On the reconnoiter of Stormfront which was made a while ago, one of them commented something about a link between light skin and intelligence (linking Europeans and northeast Asians).

Almost undoubtedly, Dravidian tech workers would rather be lumped with light[er]-skinned northern Indians--just look at Indian celebrities: they don't look all that similar to the 'average' Indian--but the fact is that they are a huge beacon of hope for people such as Australian aborigines and Africans. They are extremely intelligent and extremely brown. They prove that a large group of non-Caucasoid, non-Mongoloid people can be intellectually successful.

[slapping forehead] Arghhhh, trying to not delve too much into 'race' things as have been recently.

[CarrotAndStick]

Dravidian origin, and genetic difference from the majority Indo-Aryans, is disputed.

For example, the actress whose photograph is pasted above, is from south India, and specifically, Dravidian.

[tbw2]

What is “nr”?

[libh8er]

She, or her family may have emigrated to the south, but I doubt she is of Dravidian stock.

[libh8er]

She, or her family may have emigrated to the south but I doubt she is of Dravidian stock. Dravidians of southern India are closely related to the aborigines of Australia being part of the same landmass at one time.

[109ACS]

I am woefully ignorant about the different ethnic groups that make up India. All I know is, they’ve made miraculous progress in the past couple of decades. They are and will continue to be an important counterbalance against Pakistan and China. I really admire them. The fact that India can produce the likes of Aishwarya Rai doesn’t hurt, sort of like Canada and Shania Twain. :-)

[CarrotAndStick]

She's from the Bunt community, speaks Tulu, a Dravidian tongue.

I'd like to say that genetics is complex in southern India, and the whole of India, generally. You can even find blue eyes in people in places historically cut off from foreigners, and other people.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Appreciated (for the information). Still, there does seem to be a strong probability that the generally* lighter skinned, prominent nosed, long-faced Indians are genetically tied more closely with other 'Aryans' (pre-Nazi usage) than the darker skinned, less prominent nosed, rounder-faced Indians. As in every nationality, there is a gradient--just in India's case, the gradient is more noticeable than, type, German's gradients between Celtic, Slavic (west and east) and Nordic, Alpine (north and south).

And it is the case in India, as in many countries in Latin America--and in the United States, that socially the less Caucasoid-appearing get the short end of the stick.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Opposite of pr. (Both not written out because of quirk (first bullet Miscellaneous section). As you might have noticed, there are some words which don't personally use, even when they'd make comments much clearer.

Yes, sort of a freak with eccentricities--but with decent arguments and opinions now and then.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Agree with your statement of India serving as a counterbalance to China. If had to choose between China and India for an ally, as of today would hands down choose India.

However, disapprove of the United States depending on alliances, especially when the ally has the potential to crush the United States (as India does).

And their economic progress is admirable. They still have some work to go socially, though that is hardly confined to their country.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

From the macroevolutionary* viewpoint, India and Australia broke up long before humans existed, much less migrated out of Africa.

*From the Creationist viewpoint, continents moving into their current positions primarily happened during the Flood (with tectonic shift today moving the continents a little) and humanity (all 8 of them) were in a ship bound for a mountain probably in southwestern Asia. --and all humans are of not only one species, but one race; there hasn't been enough time for humanity to split into full-fledged races, and that is something that is good for all humans.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

You’re free to ping your list, if you want. Up to you. Just letting you know.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I could always counter with बिपाशा बासु

[CarrotAndStick]

You will also find dark-skinned, long-faced, sharp-nosed Dravidians. Genetics is weird, really!

The structures below are mostly monolithic- carved out of single hills and boulders.

Ruins at Hampi, southern India.

As for the Dravidians, they have been a major culture throughout India's history. Some of the world's most spectacular architectural features such as the ruins at Hampi, and the Vijeyanagar kingdoms, were all Dravidian.

Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, southern India.

It is also said that the Dravidians are the descendents of the people who built the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The Great Bath, Indus Valley, present-day Pakistan.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Appreciated.

Aware that you don't espouse the Aryan invasion theory, but according to that viewpoint, the ancestors of the Dravidians were people of the Indus Valley Civilization. Agree that they have an impressive culture.

[MimirsWell]

She, or her family may have emigrated to the south but I doubt she is of Dravidian stock. Dravidians of southern India are closely related to the aborigines of Australia being part of the same landmass at one time.

What you say would lead to a different theory on human evolution...because Humans and life itself seems to have appeared way after India and Australia separated from what was then Gondwana land and now Africa. I am not saying that it is far fetched...but then the seeds of life would have had to have been sown way before evidence supports it to have happened.

I am from Bangalore specifically and my ancestors have originated from this region for as far back as I can trace. I am not quite as dark. I am not saying “that I am Dravidian” or “Aryan”. I was reading here on FR of India being the origin point of all non-black people and how the genetically Indians are more diverse than any other country. Might be something in that....

[Cronos]

They prove that a large group of non-Caucasoid, non-Mongoloid people can be intellectually successful

Actually, Dravidians are a branch of the Caucasian race. Nearly all of India is Caucasian except for the North-East which is partially caucasian and partially Mongoloid (to varying degrees) and there are some tribe and group (like the Somali-Indians) who are Afroid or Australoid.

Aishwarya is mostly Indo-Aryan as she is a Konkani -- these are the Indo-Aryans who went down south to Karnataka. There would have been a mixture of the Indo-Europeans and the Dravidians (btw, Dravidians may be related to the Sumerians, just a hypothesis) naturally, however, Mangaloreans are mostly Aryanic and speak an Indo-European language (Konkani).