10 Things Foreigners Don’t Believe Till They Come To India

India is a country that is known worldwide for its diverse culture and natural beauty. There are however a huge number of people that have never visited our country and have some huge misconceptions about it. These are the strangest things foreigners have said out loud that really make no sense, things that can only be cleared if they were to visit our beautiful country. Question is, will you let them enter after this bullshit?

1. India is NOT described by Slumdog Millionaire.

Slumdog Millionaire, the Oscar nominee, showed a part of India that needed serious attention and aid. Although the movie was beautiful, it however also brought about a huge misconception around the world regarding the way of life in India. Most foreigners believe India is completely filled with the filth that was portrayed in the movie, which however, is not the case.

Although there is truth to the story, there is however another side to this. We fight against it, and we have succeeded to quite an extent.

2. "India is NOT a land of Snake Charmers."

Is you okay, is you?

Long gone are the days when India was considered a land filled with black magic and snake charmers, but this thinking is hard to shake off of people who have never been to our land. IT is leading the world, and India hasn't left any stone unturned either.

"No Snake Charmers Or Black Magic, We are Digital India" - Narendra Modi

3. Most arranged marriages in India are NOT forced.

It's hard for most foreigners to accept the idea of not "dating" the person before getting married, and most feel people are forced into it. Although we don't deny there are such cases, but most arranged marriages in India proceed only once both the bride and groom agree to it. With the changing times love marriage isn't that big of an issue either. Small steps.

4. All Indian food is NOT curry based.

TIKKAS!?

If this is what they have been thinking, then they are missing out on the most amazing food India has to offer (apart from the curries, obviously. We love our curries.) The northern and southern foods are different, the food in the east and west is different. Dosas, Appam, Jhaal Muri, Theplas, Tikkas, ah, the list is endless.

5. Do you speak Indian?

Bhai, kehna kya chahte ho?

This is like the most foolish thing we have ever heard. What the absolute fuck does that even mean.

6. Everyone does NOT wobble their heads.

Everyone that believes this deserves a punch in the face.

Again, Russell Peters is to be thanked for this. It's a joke, why can't they understand that? No, we don't wobble our heads, and yes you need to come here to see that and maybe punch yourself in the face later.

7. Hindi is NOT the national language of India.

23 national languages. Common sense, what?

Even though a whole lot of us converse in Hindi, there is no one national language of our Country. With 29 states, and 7 union territories the languages go over 700 in number, but there are 122 that are mostly used and 23 out of those are the national languages of our country. There are parts of this country that do not understand a single word of Hindi. At least get your facts right, kids.

8. Most Indians are NOT illiterate.

Hello, 70.04% literacy rate?!

15 years ago if someone had said this, there would've been a slight chance we would've let them go. But this deserves a statistical slap- The literacy rate of India stands at 74.04% in 2011 from 12% after the end of british rule in 1947. The male literacy rate is at 82.14% and female literacy rate is at 65.46%. Kerala itself stands at 93.39% literacy rate. We still have quite a few mountains to climb, but India really is not a country of illiterates.

9. India is NOT terribly hot.

There are places in India that are very hot, no arguments there, but to generalize it over the whole country again is just stupid. India, because of it's size, lies in different temperature zones and the climate therefore varies from place to place. There are places in India that are always covered in snow, like Sikkim, while there are places that are always hot/humid, like Chennai.

10. Indians Are NOT Poor.

How many times do we need to put our best examples out there to conquer the world until they understand we CAN beat their asses? We don't deny, poverty is a very real issue in our country and needs to be dealt with, but to generalize poverty on the whole country is just plain stupid. Tatas, Birlas, and Ambanis are the living examples of that.