Hypothetically if I’m born in India would I be Indian

[eRobin]

I’m a bit nervous asking about this subject incase it’s taken the wrong way. I was speaking with a not-quite friend (an acquaintance as I don’t know them very well but we’re friendly) from Bangladesh. I am Celtic. I asked him hypothetically if I was born in Bangladesh, India, or Africa, would be considered Indian or British or both because of my ethnicity/skin colour. He said I wouldn’t be considered Bengali because I wouldn’t be part of their culture/religion, and other places like India or Africa would feel the same. But when I asked him why he considers himself to be British despite being born here if I couldn’t be classed as Bengali if I was born over there, a woman from Dubai who was also present said that my comment was racist - but I felt that what the person from Bengali had said was racist. Do celtic people not have a culture?

I agree on the colonialism.

I think a lot of it boils down to - white people tend to think their culture is superior and do not seek to integrate themselves into other countries' cultures even when they live elsewhere.

Hence why white people living in other countries regard themselves as "expats", send their kids to international schools, often don't try to get citizenship etc

They are not especially criticised for this. Whereas brown/black people in majority white countries are held in poor esteem if they don't integrate and are assumed to be "immigrants" not "expats".

Or in short the balance of power is different

And of course there are exceptions to any generalisations - there are white people living in Asia/Africa fully integrated with the locals but let's not pretend that's the norm

Issues usually happen when people conflate race, ethnicity and nationality.
It's quite important to distinguish but also it means that someone saying they are x and x can be combination of any of the 3. Dependa on person and what is normal in their circles

It's really easy OP. Our country and culture is now multicultural. If you are born and raised here of course you could consider yourself British, most people would consider it as part of their identity alongside other places / cultures. ( British - bengali etc).

Some places are not multicultural yet so you would still be Considered outside of that culture.

I did read your title and assume you were asking as an example of how someone couldn't possibly be considered British if they are brown. Would you consider a child born to Australians here British by toddler hood? I'm assuming yes....

I was born in England (the North, specifically) of Irish and Scottish ancestry (hold an Irish passport, a British passport and another one for different reasons). I consider myself Irish, but if pushed I wouldn't describe myself as English because I think there's a huge difference between the North and the South) and between the South East and the South West).... in other words, these things are all determined by lines on a map that 99.9% of us had absolutely no say in, and will never have a say in. While the .1% do very well indeed out of us focussing on what the lines say about us and not what the .1% are up to....

I don't remember the last time I talked about or gave a shit about the label of my nationality. So flattered you do though! xx

That’s assuming that someone who is born and raised in a country that is different from their parents, they are simply outside of the culture they were raised in - the country culture.

Are they?
Because when I look at my two dcs, one sees themselves as British and no one would ever question that. The other sees themselves as my home country and frequently gets comments around that p.
Its not about race either because we all white too.

Those are religions, not 'culture'.

Edit: sorry I posted too soon - but I would say the same as others - you can be Indian but not ethnically Bangladeshi.

I don't think it's inherently racist to ask a question like this, but I can see how if you've had a lifetime of microaggressions you might be super sensitive to it and interpret it as such.

But that in itself is a position of privilege. You don't need to give a shit about your nationality if the country you are entitled to live in is safe. If, however, you need to leave your country due to war, famine, persecution or whatever other reason, then nationality and rights to nationality become extremely important......

I fled a warzone to live in England. My nationality is English/British because I couldn't live in my home country. I didn't want to have to change my nationality because I couldn't live at home.

It also depends on where your parents are from..

Sorry to hear that
Mind if i ask where you came from?

How do you think people assimilate in a culture if their culture is only based on where their parents are from?
If that was the case the children of people from India or Pakistan would still not be British. Aka second generation of immigrants would still not be British.

Does it sound right to you?

Lots of non white culture also consider themselves superior 🤷‍♀️

Japan is massively xenophobic. Lots of Asian families dissaprove of marriages with white spouses. Just two of a million examples.

i don’t agree that is a unique feature of white cultures at all.

its just that for recent historical periods white cultures have often had greater power to enforce and create societies reflecting that

Interesting question. Just looked it up and I think I could apply for Indian nationality, based on my grandfather having been born there.

Well it does matter where your parents are from if we are talking about nationality. Your nationality status depends on your parents nationality status, not where you are born.
Presumably most second generation people of immigrant parents had parents who had gained citizenship or indefinite leave to remain of the country they live in. The second generation relies on this for their nationality.

If you were born in country A, to parents born in country C and country D, spent your childhood in country E, what is your ethnicity? This person now lives in country C. I’m not naming the countries as it would be too outing!

Your place of birth doesn’t change your ethnicity.

@Simonjt so- by your account ethnicity would be country C and D?

It is what the law says that matters, not what a particular person says. As to Bangladesh blood line seems to be important.

"According to the Citizenship Act 1951, one method of acquiring Bangladeshi nationality is via jus sanguinis (Citizenship by right of blood). This means one may acquire citizenship regardless of whether they were born on Bangladeshi sovereign territory or not. Bangladeshi citizenship is provided primarily jus sanguinis, or through bloodline, irrespective of the place or the legitimacy of the birth.[2] Therefore, any child born to a Bangladeshi woman illegitimately outside Bangladeshi soil would still be eligible to be a Bangladeshi citizen, whereas a child born to two non-nationals in Bangladesh would not. This method is restricted if the child's parents also acquired their nationality through naturalisation or by descent.
Note, however that the Act states that for this to be the case, if the parent from whom the citizenship is to be inherited obtained their Bangladeshi citizenship by descent (rather than birth, for example) then the birth must be registered at the nearest Bangladeshi Embassy or Mission."

It is one reason the UK has been able to get rid of Ms Begum forever - thank God for Bangladeshi law on citizenship.

No, not my account, ethnicity is genetics, it depends entirely on the ethnicity of the birth parents, place of birth does not change your genetic make up.

Theoretically they could also claim E IF they identify with it.
Ethnicity is not just DNA, it's also shared values, language, culture etc. So growing up somewhere fully assimilating may mean that people would identify with that ethnicity too.

I think that comes down to which definition of ethnicity people use. Some go more race, some go more the way of shared culture, language, customs.

Bengali is an ethnicity, so no you can’t become Bengali. You can become Bangladeshi though. The same way your acquaintance can’t become Celtic, but he can become British.

By experience, the answer would be ‘All of it’.

When you have such ‘complex’ arrangement, you simply can’t put people into ONE box. Often people feel they belong culturally everywhere and nowhere.
And if there is one culture that has a stronger position for the person, it wouldn’t be surprising that each child will have a different take.
What you really can’t do is decide for them or assume that they must feel <insert whatever culture or country>

Obviously ethnicity mean something. You cannot become a different ethnicity just by being born in another country.

I know several white people that have taken Japanese passports (lol) nobody considers them Japanese, it’s just a piece of paper that allows them to stay until they die.

As my father 'just because you're born in a stable doesn't make you a horse'. My ethnically Scottish children still think they are English though because they were born and raised here.

Race and culture and ethnicity are all social constructs. You can be whatever you think you are, other people may disagree.