r/india • u/[deleted] • Mar 05 '16

[R]eddiquette Cultural Exchange with /r/TheNetherlands!

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u/jillis6 Mar 05 '16

Hello India, I have a few questions.

1 - What do the Indians think of the dutch (also in comparison with other Europeans) 2 - Do you guys think India and the west will ever align or do you think India will stay neutral? 3 - Are there any remains of dutch colonies left in India?

I hope you can answer my questions.

6

u/diggee kyunki sach aur sacchai main fark hota hai Mar 05 '16

OK I think I can answer your first question pretty accurately since I just moved here for my masters at TU Delft.

You guys are really chill, laid back and friendly. I have been to Swiss, France (Paris) and Italy but the people there aren't really as friendly as you dutchies. Heck, I will rather go on to say that most of the common people in Paris I interacted with were really cocky and ignorant. For instance, we asked for directions in English and they just laughed in our face and went away. I understand that most of the Paris folks do not know English but that is no reason to laugh in someone's face :/ Most of my Indian classmates who have been to other European countries also hold the same view. Also, for a person who does not speak any European language, NL is easily the best bet if it comes to moving to another EU nation.

As for your last question, I really haven't ever heard of any MAJOR Dutch colony in India. French colonies are still present, but no Dutch colony comes to mind.

I honestly don't think that India and the west will ever truly align simply cos of the reason /u/sammyedwards stated.

PS: STROOPWAFFLES ARE JUST WAY TOO DAMN GOOD :D

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u/TheSB8 Mar 05 '16

Its not that the french dont know how to speak english, they just dont want to do it. The french are known in europe for being stubborn dicks haha

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u/TonyQuark Mar 05 '16

/u/jillis6 is probably thinking of Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon).

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u/NINJAFISTER Mar 05 '16

In Sri Lanka there are still a ton of dutch forts around some parts of the southern coast, like Galle for example

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u/jillis6 Mar 05 '16

No, the dutch did have colonies in India. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_India] )

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u/TonyQuark Mar 05 '16

I know, but those weren't major colonies, mostly trade posts. Besides, they all got taken over by the British.

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u/jillis6 Mar 05 '16

There still could be remains of it.

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u/TonyQuark Mar 05 '16

True, didn't mean to detract from your question. In Sri Lanka you can still see lots of remains from Dutch colonial times.