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HelpRe: We Need to Talk About India.
in reply to a message by erb816
I'm white, living in a former British colony with quite a large Indian population.
If I recall, the last Viceroy of India (Lord Mountbatten, a rather shady character on the whole) had two daughters, one of whom named her own daughter India. This would have put the name in the public eye, especially in the UK. Granted, he did hand India the country over to its own people (not to mention facilitating the existence of Pakistan, an example of separateness rather than tolerance). But I find it uncomfortable as a human name, and I wouldn't expect to find a person of India descent using it for a child. A person of non-Indian descent, so much the worse.
ETA if India is used as a given name in the USA, could this be a reference to the term formerly used for Native Americans? That would be unfortunate.
If I recall, the last Viceroy of India (Lord Mountbatten, a rather shady character on the whole) had two daughters, one of whom named her own daughter India. This would have put the name in the public eye, especially in the UK. Granted, he did hand India the country over to its own people (not to mention facilitating the existence of Pakistan, an example of separateness rather than tolerance). But I find it uncomfortable as a human name, and I wouldn't expect to find a person of India descent using it for a child. A person of non-Indian descent, so much the worse.
ETA if India is used as a given name in the USA, could this be a reference to the term formerly used for Native Americans? That would be unfortunate.
This message was edited 8/19/2022, 8:28 AM
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Replies
This post made me laugh... I'm a citizen of a former British colony, and what we learned about Lord Mountbatten was that he basically left India & Pakistan a bloody mess before hightailing it back to his English mansion. Zero transition plans, stoking the fires of ethnic division and then poof'ed.
To the original topic, with what we know today about sensitivity and cultural appropriation, I don't think people should naming their children after entire regions they have zero ethnic or social ties to. That goes for names like China, Asia, Syria etc. And Dakota.
To the original topic, with what we know today about sensitivity and cultural appropriation, I don't think people should naming their children after entire regions they have zero ethnic or social ties to. That goes for names like China, Asia, Syria etc. And Dakota.
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