- Sunday, February 23, 2025
A big Indian community of students doesn’t come with a ‘homely’ feeling but with toxic Indian patterns, Shreya Pattar said on X.
By: Shubham Ghosh
SHREYA PATTAR, an Indian social media influencer who is also a writer and business owner, recently triggered a storm on social media platform X by advising Indian students who are planning to pursue higher education abroad against zeroing on universities that have a high number of students from India.
According to her, the community from the South Asian nation “comes with toxic Indian patterns” that include “too much drama, lack of professionalism, no good role models, no leadership or responsibility towards juniors, self-centred behaviour, “group-ism”, back bitching, no seriousness towards the future”.
“Any Indian student planning to move abroad for higher education should check how many Indian students that university has. The more the number of Indian students, the lower that university should be on your list of places to join,” Pattar, who herself has studied at Trinity College Dublin and is the CEO and founder of Shreya Pattar Ventures, wrote on her X account.
“A big Indian community of students doesn’t come with a “homely” feeling. It comes with toxic Indian patterns: Too much drama, lack of professionalism, no good role models, no leadership or responsibility towards juniors, self-centred behaviour, “group-ism”, back bitching, no seriousness towards the future.
“If you plan to move out of the country, make sure you are also staying away from that mindset, attitude, and nature of people. You shouldn’t need such people around you to “feel at home”. And if you DO, then might as well just not move abroad.”
Posted on Sunday (12), the post was viewed 850,000 times, liked 7,400 times and retweeted more than a thousand times at the time of writing this report.
The social media platform was divided over Pattar’s take with some seconding her thoughts while many disagreeing.
Among those who agreed, one user wrote, “Totally with you on this. The goal of studying abroad is to widen your horizons by interacting with diverse cultures and mindsets. Sticking to your comfort zone within a familiar community is counterproductive to that goal. It’s about growing both personally and professionally.”
“I can not agree more with you. In 2011 I went to Australia to work in a hospital and there the most toxic people and most envious towards Indians were Indians only. It was a shock for me once I reach there and till the time I left Australia I could not come to terms with it,” wrote another.
Many begged to differ with Pattar, whose LinkedIn account describes her as ‘The LinkedIn Girl’, one said, “I respectfully disagree. Having a community of Indian students can provide a sense of familiarity and support, especially in a new country. It’s about finding the right balance between comfort and exposure to diverse perspectives.”
“toxic Indian patterns” ? Nothing like a self hating, self loathing Indian. Shreya, I think it’s time to change your name,” said another who refused to conform.
