Pakistanis seem so embarrassed of their country that they often claim themselves to be Indians and ..., says investment banker in viral LinkedIn post

Indian investment banker Sarthak Ahuja recently shared a post on LinkedIn where he shared stories that he claimed show that Pakistanis feel embarrassed about their own nationality. He went on to add that they in fact often present themselves as Indians when travelling or working abroad. Ahuja also shared a recent incident when he checked into a New York hotel, where a staff member, seemingly of South Asian descent, claimed to be from "Gujarat." Ahuja suspected the person might have been referring to the city of Gujarat in Pakistan.

Ahuja stated that, during his travels, he has often observed a recurring pattern: Many Pakistanis settled abroad hesitate to disclose their nationality, sometimes passing themselves off as Indian to avoid negative perception. He attributes this reluctance not to hostility, but to embarrassment about how Pakistan is perceived globally, especially compared to India's growing international stature. He also said that many restaurants abroad, particularly in the UK, labeled as 'Indian' are actually run by Pakistani immigrants.


Read Sarthak Ahuja’s complete post here

I want to tell you something that happened with me yesterday…


I was checking into a hotel in New York… and saw that the person checking us in at the property was of brown descent…


Generally, over a chat I appreciated his swift assistance with the process, and over the conversation asked him where he was from…


He stopped for a few seconds and said Gujarat…

I could tell from the way he spoke that he was from across the border in Pakistan… and chose to say Gujarat because its a safe word that gives the impression that one is from India while few people know that there is a city called Gujarat in Pakistan.


And I’ve seen this time and again not just in the US, but in Canada, UK, Europe… no matter where you go…


People from Pakistan seem so embarrassed of their country often times that they present themselves as Indians…

You’ll see this also in the fact that most of the Indian restaurants being run in the UK are being run by Pakistanis but they will call it an Indian Restaurant and not Pakistani.

So it’s not something they’ll say to people who are Indian…

It’s often clear that a lot of Pakistanis abroad in Western economies are embarrassed of not just how their government behaves but also how it is perceived globally.

I have absolutely no hate for civilians and wish the well to all, but I also want to take this as an opportunity to say that the Indian brand has helped a lot of people across the border actually find a livelihood in other countries, and they should be mindful of how they behave with our country.

My condolences to everyone from India who lost their lives in the war, and a reminder to the world…

That its always Jai Hind before anything else.