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Letter: Caste system and Indian expatriates
I used to work as a human-resources (HR) director in a company in Dubai
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I
used to work as a human-resources (HR) director in a company inDubai. Almost every time we assigned an Indian to be a supervisor,problems arose. At first, I was puzzled. However, my frequent visits toIndia have enlightened me.
The caste system in India is very real. Somehow, it affects the mentality of many Indians (mostly Indians who are originally from India). I notice that there is a significant difference between Indians who have been living in the West for generations, versus Indians from India, who work in foreign countries.
Indians from India somehow have a difficulty to see others as “equal”. What Indians do not realize is, in a country like Indonesia, when an Indian insults locals, the Indonesians will fight back.
Many said to me personally that they did not mind if foreign workers in
Indonesia are qualified people who can share knowledge and expertise.
Jana Andersen
Basel, Switzerland
