Content Creator Asks Indians To Avoid Foreign Universities with High Indian Presence, Stirs Online Debate

A social media user sparked a fresh debate online after she said that Indian students wishing to study abroad should look forward to moving to universities that do not have a higher number of Indian students.

“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 wrote on her X account.

Shreya Pattar, who describes herself as a writer and a creator and founded Shreya Pattar Ventures said that Indian community has “toxic Indian patterns” and exhibits traits like “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,” she further added.

The post has been met with mixed response after being shared on social media. It has amassed over eight lakh views and while some appeared to agree, some also disagreed with her point of view.

“8 years in the USA, and have 8 Indian friends here. 2 in the same city I live in. Rest are everywhere else. And just to add Indian Americans who are born and raised here are also equally toxic,” Jena, a traveller said.

“1000% true. I got to study abroad for highschool and bachelor’s and it was in quite unconventional places. There were very few Indians and at first it was difficult but so worth it now. It makes the biggest difference in learning,” X user A said in response.

“One aspect that is latent here. Earlier, most Indian students who went abroad were meritorious students on scholarship or such. Now, the majority of Indian students who go abroad are a different kind – children of newly rich people, children who failed to get admission into top notch Indian universities. I leave it to you to extrapolate the social environment this group of students could create! Many of them are good, but we don’t need a lot of toxic elements to poison the pond. Do we?” educator Mohammed Zawid Naseem said.

However, some users also disagreed and questioned the creator the real reason behind the post.

“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,” a chartered accountant, who goes by the username I Know Nothing, said.

Another user asked the Patter to change her first name, accusing her of being a ‘self-hating’ Indian.