I have had it with Indian businesses. Sure, half of them are my cousins and all that, but even shared bloodlines and Sunday Akhni doesn’t make shitty service and bigoted operations okay. We all talk about how big ol’ Telkom, SABC, Eskom and SAA rip us off, but no one writes about “the Indian business” and their built-in penchant to make you chew your lip, grind your teeth and wish you had bought that Kalashnikov.
You would think that after a century of profiteering, conning and banging the domestic, South African Indians would’ve stopped acting like malnourished cane workers and learned to be professional business people.
But they simply won’t.
Indian businesses succeed through a bunch of underpaid zombies working like hackneyed machines under managers who are usually a bunch of muppets, hired to just follow orders and ensure that their lowly workers don’t walk off with pizza crusts in their underpants.
In fact, owners specifically hire spectacular sub-humans as part of a grand conspiracy to institutionalise customer apathy.
Rumour has it that Shoprite has a similar policy.
And as hard as you may try, it really is difficult to debunk all those stereotypes about Indian businesses, and their inglorious methods of treating their employees.
If it is not the ill-timed payment of paltry salaries to staff, it’s the lunch-time, over-time and any-other-time without extra pay that holds true.
If its not poorly trained employees, it is the verbal abuse those poorly trained employees suffer, in conditions that often do not live up to health and safety standards, which come to the fore.
Of course, if feeling sorry for blue-collar workers is really not your thing, even highly skilled professionals are treated with a disdain not seen since the time Stalin met the Gypsies.
Accountants would rather join the circus, optometrists would rather become sailors and administrators would rather milk their mother-in-law’s pet monkey than work for a fellow Indian.
True story that last bit. Saw it in The Post.
Likewise, quality service is often a non-treatment altogether.
It’s common talk in the circles of the general brown populace, that when Indians run a place, skimping becomes part of standard business practice, regardless even of possible franchise requirements.
And in the event of their deviating from an agreed upon deal or an advertised visual, muppet managers will be “unauthorised” to deal with your subsequent complaint.
My experience says this is more that just an urban myth.
Not surprisingly though, being Indian, there is always a spice that can vindicate the queasy-food-poisoning-inducing-pizza.
“It was just the new lemon tikka flavouring, sir”
“What? Jou ma se–”
And all of a sudden Indians become really good at Afrikaans.
On the other hand, I’ve heard people say, that if you play dead when you receive poor service from an Indian business you might just score a longer, more rewarding life. Apparently, your willingness to be rolled over and have your pubic hairs stretched until your balls turn a royal monkey blue, will bring you virgins, wine and the good life in the hereafter.
But not everyone buys the virgins in heaven story; not even the Muslims.
Besides, who wants a virgin anyway?
South African Indian businesses continue to provide pathetic services because they are all too aware that their mass Indian clientele are unlikely to stand up to anything, save for perhaps a fleeting moment in the bedroom.
Sure, some of my older cousins might have stood up to apartheid and risked being sent on a long vacation some travel agents called “in exile”, but today, even Indian community newspapers are too terrified to expose Indian businesses for poor service or pathetic work conditions, ie what they really are.
Anyway, Indian community papers are also Indian businesses; it is incumbent on them to become bastards themselves.
But this is why it is particularly amusing to hear South African Indians complain about being the soya in the grand South African club sandwich.
“We were second-class citizens under apartheid, and now with this fucking affirmative action, we are still second-class citizens”
But I really wonder what they were told when they left India.
“By order of her Majesty the Queen, you may play Maharajah with the natives.”
Affirmative action might be flawed, then again so is powdered milk; Indians might have good reason to feel bummed from both ends, but too little is made of their role in the unhappy orgy.
It is often the case that Muslims and Hindus will complain about a lack of cultural sensitivity in their majority black-white workplaces, with regards to cultural festivals, religious gang-bangs and other minority shenanigans. Yet quite frequently, it is the unregulated, non-unionised Muslim or Hindu workplaces that are even more unholy and uncompromising than the multicultural settings.
It is a strange cacophony; business acumen might run through their genetic makeup, but Indians are hardly conned by the idea that business is anything more than an act of making the most money as possible.
Keeping your employees smiling with a decent pay cheque, a lunch break and a clean toilet is really not on the memo.
“If you want work satisfaction, upward mobility and a decent salary, go work in a white company.”
But of course, it is not all bad.
Some percentage of their income will almost always end up sourcing a blanket for the homeless, a brick for an orphanage, mosque, temple or discothèque; like that, Indians can be very generous.
Indians are emotional sods and they’re always willing to make a plan, bend the rules or burn you that DVD.
Also, if you know someone who has a cousin who once worked with his brother’s mother’s neighbour’s step-daughter, you might even score a discount on that unmarked item.
But unfortunately, this still just doesn’t cut it; perhaps guilt for being imperious dickwarts at work is the reason they donate so majestically.
Then again, Indians are strange.
While most white kids dream of becoming the next AB de Villiers or Bryan Habana, Indian kids look up from their PSP and talk about opening a supermarket, just like the ballie.
That is fine; I can totally understand why opening a supermarket would be so attractive for a nine-year-old.
The problem is that they really go on to open it (or audit it) without ever learning how to piss straight.
I have worked in the aisles of an Indian wholesale; you don’t want to go there.
Fact is, it doesn’t matter how incredibly big, respectable and important some Indian businesses have become, their indentured past is really just a curry stain away.
Again, it doesn’t matter if the owners are wealthy enough to be sitting on the Isle of Capri drinking tea in a sari, or important enough to be playing golf with Robert Mugabe or suave enough to be enjoying high tea with Peggy Khumalo, all Indian businesses think customers get a big, respectable hard-on when they drive all the way back to return faulty products; returns are as welcome as a black daughter-in-law.
But it wasn’t always like this; this is what the older folk say, at least.
The Indians who had graduated from cane cutters to farmers, and the traders and their assistants, who arrived here later as businesspeople, were said to have operated in a more dignified manner.
And some Indians made it really big by being honest businesspeople as they chipped away at the sensible and not so sensible needs of rural and urban consumers.
Business was said to have been about craftsmen selling a trade, an art or an expertise in a soft, cordial dialogue that paved the way to the strong foundation the community now proudly sits on. Moreover, the strong religious and work ethic rooted in family values, entrepreneurship and determination managed to prioritise education, cement community values and secure 17-inch rims in severely hostile terrain.
This, they say, is the house that Jack (Devnarain) built.
Touching story that.
But you would think there would at least be clean toilets by now.
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61 Responses to “Extra, extra! Screwing Indians wholesale”
[…] Thought Leader » Azad Essa » Extra, extra! Screwing Indians wholesale www.thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa/2009/12/ – view page – cached I have had it with Indian businesses. Sure, half of them are my cousins and all that, but even shared bloodlines and Sunday Akhni doesn’t make shitty service and bigoted operations okay. We all… Read moreI have had it with Indian businesses. Sure, half of them are my cousins and all that, but even shared bloodlines and Sunday Akhni doesn’t make shitty service and bigoted operations okay. We all talk about how big ol’ Telkom, SABC, Eskom and SAA rip us off, but no one writes about “the Indian business” and their built-in penchant to make you chew your lip, grind your teeth and wish you had bought that Kalashnikov. View page […]
why pick on south african indians? south africans, in general, are kak businessmen. full stop.
EVERY SINGLE decent business experience i have had in five years in this country has come from the hands from another foreigner — most of whom, at some point, apologised for not giving me the customer service i deserve because they are so busy.
customer service in this place is pants. actually pants doesn’t begin to describe it.
Azad ; 0/10. To catagorise the negative traits of individuals as the negative traits of their race is an extreme form of racism. This type of commentary is not worthy of anyone who claims to be educated. It belongs to some of the rabble rousers in the ANYLC.
@Mundundu fair enough but South African Indian businesses take far too much for granted; and no one is willing to address their business ethics/methods…
@NazJam I’m obviousy smoking the good stuff, it helps me lift the smoke screen on jerk-offs…
This is rather amusing, if very non PC. But I think you are a little harsh on the service ethos of Indian businesses. I have just had the best Vindaloo ever in an Indian restaurant in SA, with excellent, very service oriented, polite, friendly, quick and charming Indian and black waiters, at a very reasonable price. No bargaining. No haggling. A generous well-deserved tip. Is it so surprising that so many Indian businesses are so successful?
Your perceptions of Indian business is pretty myopic and biased.
Comparing Indian businesses to white businesses shows your utter ignorance of how and why white business got to where they are today. In the past, Indians have been largely constrained into operating as small businesses restricted to certain types of business in certain localities. Any capitalist will tell you that the the failure rate of small businesses is much higher, so skimping and running an efficient operation is essential to their survival. Unlike white businesses, lines of credit were largely unavailable to Indians so risking their own personal wealth was the only way to bootstrap their business. The exception to this are Muslim banks, typically financed by Middle East investors that lend only to other Muslims.
Your stereotyping of Indians abusing their staff is underhanded and untrue. Like they way you smeared Americans and Turks as racists in your previous blog. Sure there are abusive practices, but abuse crosses all cultures. Why single out Indians? Indians have been vital to the struggle for our liberation and their business bankrolled many aspects of the organizations that battled the apartheid regime on many fronts. Remember that India was one of the most vocal opponents of the apartheid regime unlike some fair weather friends that we see today. Of course there are also socially irresponsible Indian businesses for which it is always business as usual, regardless of which regime they operate under, but this is true across cultures everywhere in the world!
Peter, I disagree with you. It is important to get our own ‘house’ in order first. And I commend Azad on this piece.
Given, the authors racial profiling (A contested demographical necessity we have to fill) He is in a position to articulate this issue as he writing within the discourse (observation as well as participation - hopefully not with exploitation azad
Its the product of apartheid that we have this.
The oppressor is the same-stereotyping other races as inferior via an individual experience or from
their peers/media.As a south african
chinese person educated in Pretoria I have come
across educated profesionals such as professors,lawyers,advocates,dentists,doctors,clergy dishing out the same bigotry by demonizing who you are.Still today in 2009 their children have
inherited their bigotry towards people of colour
or even language.
The day we stop this bigotry from whites and blacks
is the day we change ourselves for the better
By the way ever since i have visited Natal/KzN
in 1970s as a child and recently 2008 with my children whilst walking in the mall we frequently
encounter indian men,usually hindu/christian that
have the “loving desire and motivation” even in
the presence of their wives/girlfriend/friends and
children to insult and rant chinese people quite viciously.Would you be able to explain this phenomena?????????????????
Article targets speaks about small business labor practice and service delivery., which I don’t believe is specific to Indians.
Article targets 3rd , 4th generation business owners, affected by 3 of 4 generations of a very unique business framework, that within the space of 15 years is NOT a long time to change.he more I learn, the less confident I become about what I say, so I just googled some articles that may be of relevance(for some whisper of credibility to my own opinons), citing poor practices of other ethnic groups, not exonerating poor practice, but in the hope of deracialising the phenomenon a little, to the extent that its not UNIQUELY indian.
“Black people own worst enemies” http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-25_2410886
“Black Madams” http://africasacountry.com/2009/11/09/black-madams/
“Chinese worst Employers” http://aleksandragadzala.blogspot.com/2009/07/among-worst-employers-everywhere.html
Further, lets look at big (non indian)business. Sweatshops? Shifting production across borders to capitalize on “business friendly, people screwing” political/econonmic frameworks?Thereby influencing government policies.
Atrocious treatment just masked because the atrocity is higher above the ground.
Arab monarchy oil expolitation?
EUROPEAN *gasp*, and N AMERICAN *:O* mining companies, pillaging resources from Africa, but ok, they have safety policies, and cleaner toilets.
Lol! I can totally relate to bad business practice or a poor working environment when things are meant to be holier that thou. And I have had my fair share of begging Indian community newspapers tp pay me money for work done! Nice work!:)
You have truely lost the plot. Indian businessmen in this country are no different to others. The fact that you so fervently believe otherwise borders on racism to be honest.
PS: Being Indian does not mean that you can get away with this patronising critique.
I have that aversion to working for Indians. Which is racist I admit but I have been screwed over before. But then again, its the South African way. I worked for a white gay man who exploited desperate workers and underpaid them. Point is that if you go into business pay people what you would pay yourself for doing that job. Some of us still have that cap in hand, one foot in the canefield approach.
And if one more person talks about the ‘48 Zulu riots I will choke them out with their discounted tube socks.
Azad, I usually enjoy your columns but I am totally put-off your writing after reading this column. It is crass, stereotyped, insulting and really serves no greater purpose than insulting an entire race. If you had a specific point to make about certain Indian businesses your could be specific, but this gross over-generalisation is very apartheid-era.
Your humour in your last column (where you talk about Arabs looking like camels) and this column is RACIST and bigoted, NOT intellectual.
For the record, I know of numerous small Indian businesses (without massive profits) that paid for employees and their children to study further, put their staff on ARVs at a time when the government would not do so and are overall fantastic employers. In addition, you seem to forget how many Indian businesses pumped funds into the ANC when it was banned. Your column is really an insult to these people.
LOL!…
I found the article very entertaining. I dont think the commenters here realised that this was a tongue in cheek look at your own community, with a few truths and myths thrown in…so why racism? I dont know. Probably a kneejerk reaction.
In any event, a society that cannot laugh at itself is a sick society
Azad, I had to chuckle when I read this - only an Indian could get away with writing this about fellow Indians (I am going to send this to all my Indian friends to see what they think).
My impression growing up was that Indian businesses were great places for good deals on curtaining fabric (Fiona’s near the Sanlam Centre in Randburg) and that they all employ various relatives in their shops. Also that because these were cash businesses, they didn’t pay tax.
See, I think it’s terrible to have had it with Indians when everyone is the same.
On your Shoprite theory, a pointless anecdote. Once waited 45 minutes at the checkout and the checkout staff were unbelievably rude, slow and careless - the reason for waiting was that every cashier seemed to be overringing three or four items per customer with commensurate waiting for corrections.
So I thought, well I’ve been here all afternoon, I might as well spend five minutes bitching to the manager. So I went to his office. It took five minutes for one of the loitering staff members to call him. When I was admitted to his office, he was on the phone to his wife chatting about mundane household stuff. He made me wait another five minutes for this conversation to end and then his only answer was rude and argumentative: they’re contractors’ staff, we don’t train them but tell me which person and I’ll have him terminated. His very words: I’ll have him terminated. Suffice it to say, I told him in loud tones that I wouldn’t tell him and the person that needed to be terminated was him because he was clearly completely unable to perform managerial duties competently. Definitely not Indian; one of the witmense.
I went back recently after a long time and they now have a new manager. I assume from the name she’s coloured/Indian woman. Cashiers were polite, relatively efficient…
Azzad; i think you missed an opportunity to really criticise the pathetic nature of businessmen, especially in most central parts of,for instance, Durban. You remind me of Mbongeni Ngema who resorted to insulting Indians instead of using his platform to highlight and expose some of the problems experienced by employees in Indian shops and the like. If I remember correctly, Ngema went so far as to claim that : “Whites [during Apartheid] were better than Indians [during and after the Aparheid era). This does not only degrade blacks (on Ngema’s part) by implying that their being exposed to one form of exploitation is more acceptable than another but it poisons the discourse on race.
I must say, however, that you make some valid points about how Indians are sometimes reported to exploit their workers and at times even go as far as sexually exploiting their domestic servants. But rememeber this; some people would say that the same is true or, say, Afrikaners-esp after the scandalous Excelsior incident.
It seems that you are always willing to have a go at non-white peoples (on your previous article you concoted a fictional story about a racist ‘Turkish man’ simply because you wanted an indirect way to insult African people). I am sure you will never say anything nearly that critical of white South Africans. Colonialism is deeply entrenched in your pysche and informs the way you view the world.
Sha: Amazing how you think Azzad is offensive only when he insults Indians and takes a swipe at Muslims but not so when he insults Africans. Serves YOU RIGHT!
Another thing I forgot to mention. Azzad is incorrect in saying that Indians don’t benefit from AA. They actually benefit MORE than Africans. Check your facts Mr lecturer!
The educated amongst us cannot tell the difference
between a myth or a truth because the colour of a persons skin still dominates the majority of south africans.
Perhaps the author should indicate which is myth and which is truth so that change can begin.
Pumping millions into the ANC or any religious
group (eg christian) does not absolve us from not been a racist.
Its becoming so common in South Africa that
exclusive cults are forming that exclude others
BELIEVING their group has a superior integrity
over other they stereotype.
South Africans still believe that an individuals actions defines your group……….more than ever
@MJ Khan and the Praetor:
What is objected to is that Azad did not write “SOME Indian businesses” or “A FEW Indian businesses” or “Indian businesses owned by my cousins” he wrote “Indian business” as if it is some homogenous group.
Racism is “a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.” Hence the stereotyping of Indian businesses and overt accusations of exploitation and poor service, particularly in comparison to white businesses is racist. The description in the last article of all arabs looking like camels (implicitly in comparison to other races that do not look like camels) is racist.
I don’t object to him characterising people he knows but I certainly can object to him tarring the entire Indian business community with one stereotyped brush.
I don’t recognize the heterogenous, evolving Indian society in South Africa in this crude caricature.
I also sometimes enjoy your columns, but this goes far beyond tongue-in-cheek all the way to non-sensical.
No successful businessman is clean and the fact that you can perpetuate these Indian stereotypes just because you’re Indian is nonsense.
I’ve often come across white business owners (particularly in Durban) who treat their black staff atrociously and who have a policy of treating white customers better than black customers. Should I offer a small-minded column to the M&G about this (calling all white businessman racist?) or should I realise that all business owners are there to make a quick buck and don’t really care about customers or their perceptions?
If anything you should lay off the Durban Poison and investigate any of the hundreds of CEOs in the country (like Discovery CEO Adrian Gore), who purport to be decent businessmen but who are milking their customers every step of the way. Is Gore an Indian surname? Maybe he’s part Indian and that can be your angle on your next column to be titled: “Indian businessmen suck — here’s proof”, as opposed to your pointless rambling above.
How did you research this article? Think the sample could be skewed because most people that respond to a question about ‘experiences with indian businesses’ will be the ones with the negative experiences. “And as hard as you may try, it really is difficult to debunk all those stereotypes about Indian businesses, and their inglorious methods of treating their employees.” Lol…don’t try too hard
Azad,excellent article and very true. It’s refreshing to note that you highlight the ” facts” as they exist. Many charoues will defend themselves vehemently - defensiveness is a way of absolving themselves of responsibility and the truth. Unfortunately, Indians elect not to challenge the status-quo or the rights of the minority. It is a fact that they are too immersed in their own needs; hence sidelined in the political and economic mainstream of the new rainbow nation.
Keep up your excellent articles. I write for the POST, and try desperately to challenge restrictive mental paradigms, but to little avail.
Ashwin.K. Singh.
@Sha would you like me to say some, when this is not the truth? would that make you happier?
racism as you say –> “a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups”
so what is racist about this article? Please explain what makes you uncomfortable, ie the elements that make it racist?
the article doesn’t talk about indians as a “race” group; where do I slander Indian teachers, doctors, street sweepers, call centre consultants, all who work very hard (like other people)??
the article speaks about Indian businesses in South Africa as a collective practise and a construct…an unfortunate stereotype that really is too close to home…
of course other “groups” are naughty, but this is not about them. this is about a group that just gets away with minimal scrutiny…
the question you should ask yourself - what I describe in the article - is it the exception or the rule?
so what if some are decent employers, have clean toilets, pay well? so what?
who else can raise this issue about Indians and their exploitation race/racism nation of ours - but an Indian himself/herself?
@Azad Dude good article, I think you’re right in the main, And yes many of the same statements could be made about all businessman/women in SA but it does appear to be very prevalent in the Indian community
@Sha it’s called a generalisation for a reason, because you see something happening a number of times and then generalise that to an entire community .. also used extensively in statistics and any other field you care to think of
Always looking in the mirror is bad for you. You start to dislike yourself -not good. Crude at times whats the need for this? World is dynamic who are these Indian businesses how long will they last demographically drowning in new incomers and changing cities.The Bunny Chow cornershop is on the skids and the Warwick triangle is no more some have got the sharp side of changing markets some prosper many fail.The other is not only discovered by self rejection it should just be part of it.This is too much fuss about too little. An ehtnographic expression of angst ina world of economic instability and anxiety –not good to add on to ethnic discourse.Take it slow get too much anxiety ethnic diatribes easy to do under the skies that gather. David
How does a stereotype actually arise? If you have the same experience with the same type of people repeatedly. This thought process is deeply ingrained in our psyche and had originated a long time ago when it was a necessary component of survival. I am not justifying or defending it, just reminding the contributors to this blog.
Hi every1. The site is called ‘thoughtleader.’ It’s not your dose of daily-fact-based-news-where-you’re-supposed-to-record-everything-in-a-notebook-lest-a-case-of-libel-arises, i.e. it’s not meant to be an outlet for objective, factual news articles, carrying the findings of interviews or feature pieces carrying the findings of focus groups. It’s just an opinion Think Ashwin Desai in Agent Provacateur. Take it or leave it. If the cap fits, lose it, if it doesn’t, cool.
In my case: I’ve worked for a couple of Indian-run NGOs, and a R1500 salary for someone who has to work 8 to 5, all week, and half-day on Saturdays, is pretty much a common trait (and yes, these NGOS do have healthy bank balances by the looks of it). Add to that the fact that many Indian NGOS DONT work on a contract system, and you have a recipe for disaster; no protection of rights, etc. & I know ppl from various race groups, but I have to say, when it comes to the treatment of domestic workers IN MY OPINION (OPINION, GUYS, KEY WORD), Indians, and particularly Indian Muslim employers are the worst in their conduct. And yeah, I’m a Muslim, and a journo, and I run an NGO too So I think I’m qualified to voice an opinion on all 3 counts. And even if I wasn’t, IT’S JUST MY OPINION.
MArk, are u of European descent by any chance? are u white? try being black and go into an Indian restaurant - with a group of black friends and service becomes literally fokol; yet when you go with your white boss, somehow the Indian restaurant owners remember that the blood that flows thru your veins is as red as theirs.I just had an incident a few hours ago with 1 of them DBN Indians doing the whole funagalore shit…im so pissed …its condescending,unprofessional and disrespectful - and the irony is that they were working at MY home . Thank you so much Azad for writing this piece … here’s hoping that you also won’t be accused of racism… it’s quite unfortunate that when we point out the negative stuff, then we’re accused of being racist
Good Grief! We all take ourselves so seriously! I thought the blog very funny, but my immediate reaction was that it describes the majority of SA businesses, some less a few curry stains. If you honestly believe that this was researched, documentary proof, you’ve a lot to learn about life. This blog was stand-up comedy from a seated man with a keyboard instead of a microphone. You were the audience that didn’t have to pay an entry fee(or buy a drink) to have the laugh.
Enjoy! Relax! That way, we might all get to heaven!
Man, look around you. Are you blind to the fact that Indian businesses are successful. And I am not talking about the tailor shops in Grey street….rather, the major accounting firms, hospital groups and clothing chains (that grace Sandton City and Melrose Arch), the major motor vehicle showrooms etc etc. Poor business practices and good ethical values hold NO racial preference…please understand that. Its such a kopout to write pieces that are offensive only to the racial group you belong to….as if though your bigotry and self- hating will be ignored.
Remember that you are well within your rights to take your business elsewhere. It also looks like you need to start writing for the far right…..
Great, man. And hey, even the grand Concerningness has stained your comments page with his rubbish, attempting to look cool…as always.
So you worked for an Indian wholesaler…I really think you should have delved more into that incredible moment in history, just for the sake of reliving some ’spaz’. Ah, good times.
Nice one…although you should have said “most/some/whatever” indian businesses, to satisfy the technicals.
Ofcourse what you describe in the article is the exception….get your head out of your “you know what” and look deeper…the very businesses you so admire are in all probability owned by Indians. Your opinion is too Grey street and oriental plaza-ish……those businesses are owned by 3rd and 4th generation families whose practices neither you or Gandhijee himself could change. The younger businessmen are leaders in their fields…..take a good look around.
You have chosen to make this a racial issue…black, coloured, white authors have not embarked on any expose on the business practices of their race. Is this because they are different to Indians, or is it because they recognise that in and amongst every group there are rotten apples.
@Fatima: Your opinion is your right. I am sure you are aware of the Islamic principles regarding the treatment of employees…no labour law in the world could possibly be fairer. So saying that Muslims treat their employees poorly is extremely inflammatory…being a Muslim and practising Islamic principles are very seldom in harmony nowadays.
@uzayrsa: Generalisation is extremely dangerous: The majority of crime is SA is committed by black people, therefore all blacks have criminal tendencies. Is that fair or utterly ridiculous?
I don’t usually respond this many times to an article, but here goes:
1. You ask what I like about your articles. I like that they are fresh, funny, subversive and often make a great point that you weren’t ever expecting. I think you are a really talented writer with a sense of humour and a social consciousness. What I don’t like is when you let your good writing get derailed by being overtly insulting and using crude generalisations. In your last column you talk about arabs (arabs, not the specific arab man you were talking to) not knowing their arse from their face because it looks the same, and looking like camels. Here you say South African Indians (implying ALL South African Indians) spent the last 150 years profiteering, conning and banging the domestic (ie.exploiting). Maybe I’m just a lily-livered liberal but this riles me up as much as Eugene Terreblanch on his horse.
Was it necessary to slur arabs in the last column? Was it necessary to use the phrase SA Indians in the sentence I mention? Could you not refine your language enough to not read like a right wing American website. As I said before…I enjoy your writing, so get more annoyed than I would have otherwise.
2. I agree that these are issues that need to be brought up. But the way to do it is not to insult ALL Indian businesses. I mean the days of the stereotypical greedy indian shopkeeper have passed and indian business in South Africa has a range of shades and hues. I don’t want you to use the word “a few” if thats not the case in your opinion- use “many” but differentiate it from all. Otherwise all you serve to do is upset those good souls that you are unfairly stereotyping and letting those that are exploitative off the hook by letting them think their behaviour is the norm in the community- hence absolving them from individual guilt or censure.
3. I disagree that you only insulted Indian businessmen. You insulted ALL indians in the sentence I quoted above about spending 150 years profiteering, conning and banging the domestic. Worse still, in that line you conflated all Indians with your caricature Indian businessman.
I don’t by any means think you shouldn’t have broached the topic, just think that an intelligent approach is to bring out the nuances and not to be overtly crude in your stereotypes. If not, don’t complain when you are stereotyped as a terrorist.
Anyway, just my opinion, take it or leave it.
By the way, I have no link whatsoever with any South African Indian business so my rage is considered, not personal.
Ah and here again that instinctive break-neck reaction to scream racism.
I think South Africans are still so politically-insecure that we cannot see beyond our sensitivities; something that cripples dialogue and growth.
“South African Indian business” is a construct, a conceptual dynamic; so why shouldn’t it be extrapolated as such?
It needs not be said that due to our fractured past, an ‘Indian business’ would have evolved very differently from a ‘white’ or ‘black’ owned business.
This is not discrimination, it’s simply purposeful isolation, and thus valid, regardless of what opinions are expressed on it thereafter.
The real plot is lost while we’re all so busy trying to be superbly politically correct. Even anal, I might add.
That said - people, pointed satire, is still satire!
And with so many comments that agree and add to it’s notion, I say this article is more than vindicated.
And Mittalbhai - Bhai, why aren’t you talking about the tailor shops in Grey street? I’m.just.asking.
@Uzayrsa prevalent - that is the key point. why are we running away from it..
@Fatima lol thanks for that. though I must tell you I have 17000 signed affidavits on bad workplace conditions in Durban. just kidding.
@David My blood pressure is under control mate
@mittalbhai big Indian business? no, sorry, can’t get hard on for that.
And I can’t write for the far-right because I spent half of 2009 writing about xenophobia/Islamophobia in Europe; thanks for reading though.
@Saberah Are you also followed like a thieving leper in Indian stores? we all know this happens and who this happens to…wonder if anyone has ever taken this sort of thing to court…
I think you have to be Indian to truly appreciate what this article is saying. I mean its the Indian mans best kept secret so far (most whites dont know because they give big tips so they get excellent service) and the black people who do receive bad service (usually from Indian wholesalers in poor areas) are not in the position to complain.
I find it quite funny that there are more non Indians here calling this article racist whereas there are more Indians agreeing with this article.
Frankly, as an Indian, I am ashamed of (many)of my fellow peoples business ethics.
Azad, you seem to have been scarred by the period you spent working in wholesale-condolences.
Yes there are a few indian businesses with poor ethics but in my experience - definately not the majority. Bad experiences tend to leave a more lasting impression than neutral ones.
I have extremely low tolerance for poor service in general, but have had excellent service at almost every indian run business I’ve been to recently. Perhaps you’re just unlucky:P
Saberah, poor treatment depending on who you’re with is not racially exclusive, I’ve experienced a complete turnaround with regards to service at a place I frequent based on a friend wearing a tie, seriously.
Uzayrsa, we all understand what a generalization is, but in this case it’s comparable to using the laudium sun as the standard for all journalists of indian descent.
Lipinski, when Azad mentioned Indians feeling side-lines by AA, he need not have been reporting the facts of the matter, but rather the perception that Indians have of being screwed over, first by one government and then another.
Sha, while it may be true that there may well be well behaved Indian businessmen out there, I think it is important that we as Indians hold the mirror to our collective faces and introspect on our relationships to those on whose backs we earn our fat bank balances. While you may not have recognized the ‘heterogenous, evolving Indian community’ in Azad’s piece, I was taken front and center into the home and workspaces of many of my own near and dear ones.. Let me take you to tea, and then on a brief tour of some homes and businesses of people I know, and we may alight on the fact that we in fact inhabit the same country. Also, it is not clear to me why Azad is any more ‘offensive’ than he usually is. Methinks that the closer to home he gets with his style, the more uncomfortable we get. I think that the issues he discusses need precisely that kind of hard hitting (gang banging?) to get the message home. I too have no interest in any Indian business in SA, but few of us can say with a clear conscience that we have not benefitted even indirectly from the unethical businesses practices of some/many of these
I appreciate satire but one has to be a little careful. I have been known to accuse Indian businessmen (muslims particularly) of sharp practice (eg. pay cash, no invoice, no VAT). But the majority of the individuals I do business with and have befriended and first class people - my betters if you like. Sure, some are close to crooks (or are crooks) but it is not restricted to “Indians”. You just have to look at Billy Rautenbach, Tony Yengeni, Tannenbaum or Mzi Kumalo.
Interesting read Azad. Definitely based largely on generalizations, but those arise for a reason. Having grown up in Durban, I know instinctively what sort of treatment I can always expect in an Indian shop on Grey street and its never the best, but I still go there for cheap textiles. I put up with being followed around the shop pointlessly because the boss expects me to swipe something I know to check the good carefully for faults before I buy them because the exchange process is long and intricate.
These are not stereotypes I have about Indian people in general but there is a category of Indian businesses that are guilty of the sins Azad mentions and pussyfooting about it because of fear of being labeled racist (perhaps critical?) is what keeps us from confronting this and other issues buried deep in the fault-lines of our racial heritage.
@Sha Thank you for taking the time to write such a long, thoughtful reply….
1. I admit taking the piss out of Arabs in that last piece - it was not malicious - so I can forgive myself for it (”they dont know their arse from their face” referred to them covering their entire body, so you wouldn’t know the difference in body parts cos it all covered..)….
2.refine the language? why should that be done…articles aren’t written one morning over a coffee (and scorn) My grammar is dodge, but the style is not the result of a stray fart. I know why I wrote it like this. I admit that this article might have been more violent than usual, but it follows the trajectory of this blog. So why are people surprised?
I KNOW this issue/the dynamics from the inside…more than I could possibly understand what is going on inside the ANC (for example), and therefore the brutality is on all cylinders…
The satire is over the top, but the message is honest, and we both know that this is the character of the blog…(no matter what the big Lobowski/Lipinsky tells you)….
and if we can accept that this is satire, then anyone who understands satire…should be able to understand that I cannot possibly mean All Indian Businesses operate like this…also, we can get get stuck on “few” “many” “most” - we all know the truth AND we all know what is the OVER-ARCHING theme.
3. I dare say - those Indian businesses or people who are not what I describe in this article have no reason to be upset - and they won’t be upset if they had to read it! This article serves their purpose, their beliefs - they have broken status quo already; they are activists already…they are reading this and nodding their heads, unperturbed, saying to themselves “this is what I have been saying for twenty five years”…
4. (And) therefore, your naughty “terrorist” comparison does not work. As you know, very very few Muslims are suicide bombers (even fewer survive the act); It is also different because calling some one a terrorist has: 1) normally a political motivation behind it and I have no agenda in going after Indian business and 2) being branded a terrorist results in differential treatment and I am not treating or suggesting Indians should be shipped back (did I just say that?).
5. About the the sentence about banging the domestic. Yes, I insulted ‘all’ Indians who have; I certainly haven’t banged any domestic worker…and so I am not offended….again, we all know the standard treatment of domestics, so ‘many’, ‘most’, ‘all’, ’some’. ‘twenty-one percent’ is not important.’
6. A more intelligent approach? Noted
7. I do hope you shall continue reading, commenting and blasting me when you think I deserve it…
Such a brilliant article, I find it very amusing and very true. Well firstly you do generalise a lot. I won’t say all businesses but about 90% of them. I am an auditor/accountant who has spent most of his time in Dbn working for a small accounting firm and a large accounting firm in Dbn. I would like to add that it is the INDIAN businessmen who come up to you and ask you to “crook their books” so they don’t have to pay much tax. It is the INDIAN businesses that heavily under-pay their workers and over-work them. They are always looking to cut corners with their businesses.
With regards to the treatment of workers; I have seen this on many occasions within the same business, an Indian manager will call his staff into his office and SCREAM at the employee so that the entire floor can hear this. Then the white manager, on the same floor in the same business, will call an employee in, have the door closed and explain what is wrong and how this needs to be fixed in a constructive manner without embarrassing the employee in front of all the other employees. Don’t get me wrong, if the employee did something that was extremely bad, the white guy would scream at him, but on extreme cases only and not ALL the time. Btw, I am Indian as well, so people keep your harsh comments to yourselves. Enjoy
Oh shacks! This is hilarious beyond words! ANd I have to say that my wife is Indian. I just want to foward this to her and watch her get pissed off. Azzad, you are the MAN!
I am glad someone is finally begining to speak about the racism and exploitations of the South African Indian community and that too in a very entertaining manner. I think South African Indians need to face up to the many unsavoury aspects of many South African Indians!
Well Done Azad!
Good Article Azad.
Although we cannot generalise I agree totally with you that there are a good number of Indian businessmen who exploit employees giving the rest a bad name.
I have however seen a turn slowly but surely over the last few years. This is either due to employers realising there exploitive ways and wanting to voluntarily improve it or due to the aggressive implementation of labour laws and more importantly the education of employees with regards to their rights.
The latest weapon in the arsenal of employees, the threat of “I’ll take you to the CCMA” has seen many a businessmen quake in his boots, and to avoid the lengthy and quite costly procedures of the judicial system, employers realise they might as well give in to their employees basic rights.
I amazes me that 15 years after the end of apartheid we are still rehashing it and it’s effects.
It’s like the entire nation is looking in the rear view mirror instead of forwards out the windscreen. If I didn’t know better, I might think that we feel more comfortable with schoolboy-like arguments about who was the more disadvantaged.
For goodness sake, it’s over, it’s gone and it ain’t coming back. Get over it. Move on.
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Azad Essa is a freelance journalist, lecturer and an aspiring filmmaker. He completed an MA with the Global Studies Program in 2005, spending semesters in Germany and India, during which he encountered a number of head-banging social theories explaining why the world was, is and always will be unfair. Of course, he knew them already, but the travelling really rocked.
By day, he butters his bread at IOLS at UKZN, the Workers College and whoever else willing to give him work. But by night, he swiftly sheds his mask, dons a cape and sets out to flay flag bearers of social inequality, political injustice and dim-wittedness. Azad is some sort of accidental academic, forced into intellectual slavery after making a poor case on the sports field. All he really wants is to be free.
Accidental Academic won best political blog at the South African Blog awards 2009
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[…] Thought Leader » Azad Essa » Extra, extra! Screwing Indians wholesale www.thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa/2009/12/ – view page – cached I have had it with Indian businesses. Sure, half of them are my cousins and all that, but even shared bloodlines and Sunday Akhni doesn’t make shitty service and bigoted operations okay. We all… Read moreI have had it with Indian businesses. Sure, half of them are my cousins and all that, but even shared bloodlines and Sunday Akhni doesn’t make shitty service and bigoted operations okay. We all talk about how big ol’ Telkom, SABC, Eskom and SAA rip us off, but no one writes about “the Indian business” and their built-in penchant to make you chew your lip, grind your teeth and wish you had bought that Kalashnikov. View page […]
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