Because of a few unpleasant experiences with Indians that some non-Indians have had, the rumors or myth that Indians smell bad have circulated, and unfortunately, what goes in the mind often controls the smell that goes into the nose as well.
Indians Do Not Smell Any Worse than Anyone Else
The truth is that Indians do not smell any worse than anyone else in any other culture. We’ve all come across people who smell bad, but it has nothing to do with their culture. Instead, it has to do with their hygiene habits, their living conditions, the foods that they eat, or the chemistry makeup in their body. It may also have to do with an addiction.
To say that all Indians smell bad is much the same as saying that all Muslims must be terrorists. If you were to believe that, then you must also be forced to believe that if you come across a white person who doesn’t pay their bills, then all white people do not pay their bills. To think that all Indians smell bad is prejudicial thought, at best.
Why Some People Think Indians Smell Bad
Some Indians smell bad – just as people from other cultures smell different – due to their diets. Indian food contains a great deal of curry, and this causes a distinct odor that some people do not care for. The same could be said of cultures that eat a lot of garlic, such as Italians. Foods such as this can cause the skin to have the smell of the food that is consumed.
Indians also have different sweat glands than people whose ancestors do not come from desert country. Just as Alaskan Indians sweat less, because of their cold heritage, Indians that originate from desert areas sweat more. Also, in terms of Indians who are still in their originating countries, it is important to note that many areas of those countries are not fully developed to provide for adequate hygiene. This is also true for parts of Alaska.
What Indians Can Do To Quell This Myth
Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words in our world, but only in some cases. For example, if you have a closed mind, you might think that all Indians smell bad without having ever experienced a smelly Indian yourself. In this case, the words are louder than the action. You need to reverse this train of thought if you are an Indian, but in the long run, you really can’t do much about what prejudiced people are going to think or say.
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November 12th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Fat people eat a lot, fat people dont excercise, fat people sweat a lot. America has the most fat people in the world, ergo Americans are fat and they stink. No amount of Old Spice will cure that. Applying the basic logic in this blog, all Americans are fat and stinky. We, in the rest of the world, who are slimmer than the Americans, don’t smell so much. We don’t publicise American smells because we are generally tolerant. We, in the rest of the world, learn to live with it. I would NEVER, EVER would have said this but feel this blog need input like this just to highlight whilst we are silent, tolerant, we do have an opinion, often kept within ourselves, and sometimes, albeit reluctantly, have to share it.
November 11th, 2010 at 9:27 am
hey guyzz that’s not true……… actually all indians do not smell bad. only the poor ones do. as there is a lot of corruption in the country, and that most of the low people have a very less salary,about $60-$200 a month. they are also busy in their work and as most the people are illiterate, they dont even know what the persume is used for.
And dear peolpe, mind your language towards the indians, as if the indian government gets to know this they’ll get furious and can put you in jail for an year with a fine of $4000.I’M NOT JOKING.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:21 am
@NP
“And it is absolutely stupid to think that the Christian Indians are any superior than the Hindu Indians, and that Hindu Indians smell compared to Christian Indians. They all eat the same foods. And the Christians are lower class Indians. They are the poor people who were converted by missionaries”
And you’re comment above is also equally stupid. They are talking about a race and you’re bringing it down to “castes” and “classes”. You’re partially correct; some/many of MODERN conversions may be of lower castes (as much as I hate to use the word, I must to explain it to you).
Sorry to deviate from the main topic but we don’t need another stereotype. Even amongst ourselves.
There are many dark-skinned indians who are brahmins, right ? And you brahmins associate lower castes with darker skinned people as a generalization. Now there are many very fair skinned christians too. Who could not have been from these castes you speak of. And if you go into explaining that it was because of an outside race intermixing, then use the same argument for fair-skinned hindus as well.
I agree with your other point. Both Hindus and Christians or any other indian community exhibit no differences with regard to the main topic at hand.
–
Hope this does not repost. It was not showing up possibly because of special chrs.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:19 am
#Quote=”np”#
And it is absolutely stupid to think that the Christian Indians are any superior than the Hindu Indians, and that Hindu Indians smell compared to Christian Indians. They all eat the same foods. And the Christians are lower class Indians. They are the poor people who were converted by missionaries
#/Quote#
And you’re comment above is also equally stupid. They are talking about a race and you’re bringing it down to “castes” and “classes”. You’re partially correct; some/many of MODERN conversions may be of lower castes (as much as I hate to use the word, I must to explain it to you).
Sorry to deviate from the main topic but we don’t need another stereotype. Even amongst ourselves.
There are many dark-skinned indians who are brahmins, right ? And you brahmins associate lower castes with darker skinned people as a generalization. Now there are many very fair skinned christians too. Who could not have been from these castes you speak of. And if you go into explaining that it was because of an outside race intermixing, then use the same argument for fair-skinned hindus as well.
I agree with your other point. Both Hindus and Christians or any other indian community exhibit no differences with regard to the main topic at hand.
November 7th, 2010 at 9:18 am
[Quote="np"]
And it is absolutely stupid to think that the Christian Indians are any superior than the Hindu Indians, and that Hindu Indians smell compared to Christian Indians. They all eat the same foods. And the Christians are lower class Indians. They are the poor people who were converted by missionaries
[/Quote]
And you’re comment above is also equally stupid. They are talking about a race and you’re bringing it down to “castes” and “classes”. You’re partially correct; some/many of MODERN conversions may be of lower castes (as much as I hate to use the word, I must to explain it to you).
Sorry to deviate from the main topic but we don’t need another stereotype. Even amongst ourselves.
There are many dark-skinned indians who are brahmins, right ? And you brahmins associate lower castes with darker skinned people as a generalization. Now there are many very fair skinned christians too. Who could not have been from these castes you speak of. And if you go into explaining that it was because of an outside race intermixing, then use the same argument for fair-skinned hindus as well.
I agree with your other point. Both Hindus and Christians or any other indian community exhibit no differences with regard to the main topic at hand.
November 7th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Italians use garlic. Sauteing garlic actually has a very enticing aroma. Only raw garlic is offensive. Many indians are vegetarians. Garlic is used a lot in indian recipes too; the non-veg kind. Even the indians who are non-veg; 95% of the time; they will prepare veg food AT HOME. Without garlic as it is not used in veg preparation. Whoever tried to draw a parallel there had a baseless point.
I forgot to add to my above post; I also have seen many many times that people will spit when you happen to make eye contact; from even 40 feet away. Or when they pass by you outdoors. This has nothing to do with BO and has more to do with racism. Again, I don’t believe I’ve seen this outside of WV, USA. And never in a few countries in Europe that I worked/stayed in. And I’m a westernized well groomed good looking, well spoken, well-respected among peers Indian guy. And yet I see this BS with presciption-like regularity in WV. And this is not even in the remote areas, mind you. In the most progressive part of the state.
I think the smell is being associated with the smell that comes from HOMES of indians. And some of the dishes do have a strong curry odour. A few days ago, we were passing by and could get the curry smell of an indian lunch box from about 15-25 feet away. To me, it was not unpleasant. To a foreigner, it’s an unknown, therefore unpleasant. Smell and taste are connected. Taste that dish; if you do not like it, you wont like the smell/aroma either.
The answer to other fellow indians :
- Wash your damn hair if you put coconut oil
- Air out your homes so the smell does not linger on clothes
- Ignore the idiots who pre-judge. Listen to the genuine ones/cases and take steps to address them, if valid.
I’ve yet to meet an Indian in the US who smelt of (armpit/sweat) BO. And I find it ridiculous that curry smell emanates from the pores unless you guys are putting a shitload of spices in your food. Even so, garlic & onions are known for doing this. But I have yet to encounter this from the pores of people. Most of it is pyschological. People will look at you, then fit you into a stereotype and imagine a smell. A PLACEBO effect or the effect of self-suggestion.
If you blindfolded these people and had people of different races walk by them, I guarantee they would not be able to tell them apart (assuming their clothes did not smell).
There is one thing I will concede to. I’ve noticed indians have a breath odor more than people of some races. That most likely is poor oral hygiene. If you’ve consumed certain foods and do not brush/wash it down with adequate water, you’re asking for it.
November 6th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
I’m an Indian living in the US. I stumbled on this site because I googled “Indians smell”. And do you know why I decided to do that. I’ve often found white people rubbing their noses from like 20 feet away and always when you just happen to make eye contact with them. I do not have any body odour issues. It was very obvious that these people are DELIBERATELY trying to send a msg “You stink”. This means you’re being pre-judged, regardless of whether you smell or not. I’ve seen this happen countless times. But I live in WV. So it’s probable that racism is playing its part.
Now let me get to the “CURRY” nonsense. Firstly, a curry is the equivalent of what a western stew or gravy is. One’s mans food is another man’s poison. Some curries have a distinct odor. Others, not, or differently. Some are universally pleasant, some not. Many people look down on “curry”. Likewise, many indians look down on what you consider food. They consider it bland, tasteless and having no aroma or flavor whatsoever. As you can see, this is also a stereotype and it’s not entirely true. But it is the truth to many. They could say 80% of western food is tasteless. How’d you like that ? Saying you don’t care is like saying we don’t care either.
Dave – I liked what you wrote. It seemed very balanced. I had a south indian room mate who would bathe regularly. Being a brahmin (priestly upper caste), they HAD to bath before they prayed. EVERY morning. But, he would REFUSE to use a deo/anti-persp. And, he would put coconut oil on his head. He would wash his hair every WEEK. He did not have a body odour. But his head used to stink. We had some indians come over from India for 3 months on a project. They ALL used deo sprays (some contain anti-persp ingredients) in front of him. I was thrilled hoping he would notice and follow suit. But he refused to, saying he did not like tampering with nature. He was an extreme.
Bathing – This is just total BS. Indian People do not bathe regularly ? Are you shitting me ? I don’t know about Singapore and the indians there. There are 2 types of indians regardless of where they are – those who will dress with the same (sometimes worn-out) clothes they purchased from india, prob not use deos and can be spotted out from their appearance. They are likely the smelly ones as far as BO goes. Most Indians eat curried foods. Their houses will smell of the odor; this is 100% true. While the food is being prepared, the smell is actually tantalizing and very aromatic. The aroma turns smelly after a few hrs. If you’re smelling curry, it is from their clothes. I had an indian co-worker lend me his Dish TV-remote. I’m an Indian, remember. His remote was literally stinking of the after-curry smell. The unpleasant smell. Not the pleasant one when its prepared. Even something else that he gave me had the same strong smell. He does not smell of that odor and neither do his clothes.
What you Americans, Canadians and other whites should be doing is to stop propagating this. Learn to differentiate between situations and stop reacting to people without just cause. Just because they are Indians. Most white people in WV have not reacted like I described above. But MANY MANY people have done this. And made it very obvious that it was racist. It may even be a sub-conscious reaction to seeing an Indian without smelling him. But they reacted nevertheless.
So who should be more ashamed ?
The few racist white people
The few smell indian people
November 6th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Why do they have such bad breath?!?!
November 5th, 2010 at 7:07 am
What indians can do to quell the myth?
SHOWER
October 31st, 2010 at 10:22 am
Then how come i never see any smelly Italians and the majority of Indians i am unfortunate enough to come into contact do stink. The 1′s i have found that don’t stick are generally born outside of India such as in the country i live in Australia.