SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

INDIANS IN SWEDEN

Indians in Sweden: Indian foreign minister’s speech and culture shocks

What did India's minister of external affairs tell his compatriots on a recent visit to Sweden, what are our readers' biggest culture shocks, and the latest work permit news explained. Here's The Local's monthly newsletter for Indians in Sweden.

Indians in Sweden: Indian foreign minister's speech and culture shocks
India's Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar pictured in Brussels on a separate occasion. Photo: AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

India’s minister of external affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was in Sweden in mid-May for the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum – hosted by Sweden as the current president of the EU.

He met Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, among others, and spoke to a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Stockholm.

The Sweden-India relations go back a long way (over a thousand years, as we talked about last month) but they’ve intensified in the last few years, and Jaishankar said he had high hopes of strengthening the ties further.

“I heard and felt great enthusiasm in Sweden about working more closely, looking at new opportunities that are arising out of India’s growth and development,” he said in remarks tweeted after the visit.

Speaking at the event for the Indian community in Sweden, he expressed hope that the country’s strong reputation in green technology would help India grow sustainably. 

He thanked the tens of thousands of Indians living and working in Sweden for their contribution to shaping the image of India abroad and for being “a bridge” between Sweden and India.

“As Indians who live here, whether you still have Indian nationality or are settled in Sweden, you are all stakeholders of this relationship,” he said of the diplomatic ties between the countries.

You can listen to Jaishankar’s address at the event for the Indian diaspora here.

Indian culture shocks in Sweden – and vice versa

It’s almost impossible to, however open-minded and well-prepared, move to a new country and not experience at least one culture shock, isn’t it? Things that come naturally to those who have lived there for years are a pain to navigate, incomprehensible, scary or just amusing. 

Last month we asked readers to share the biggest culture shocks they had faced since moving to Sweden. Among Indians, the responses ranged from Swedes’ liberal attitude to nakedness in the sauna or a public changing room to the (lack of) a tipping culture.

Tipping does exist in Sweden, but it is relatively unusual and it’s unlikely anyone will be offended if you don’t tip. Several unions are also against tips – they argue that tips erode their bargaining power when fighting for higher wages.

If you do tip, 5-10 percent is usually considered lagom, or rounding up to an even sum.

In the survey, silence also came up several times, from the peaceful kind of silence compared to the busy cities of India to how strangers’ reservedness can make Sweden feel cold, at times.

The funny thing about culture shocks is how they sometimes become the new normal without you even realising, and you even find yourself experiencing “reverse culture shocks” when you go back home.

Malin Mendel, Swedish public broadcaster SVT’s correspondent in India, told The Local she is often struck by the difference between the two countries when she’s in the taxi from Arlanda Airport. But having lived in India for two decades, she also says it’s a luxury to have one foot in each world. “I learned so much from India, and I think many people in Sweden can learn a lot from India,” she said.

Mendel is also known for her TV programme with Indian-Swedish comedian David Batra, Världens sämsta indier (which literally translates to “The World’s Worst Indian”, although the English title is Homecoming), which sees Batra trying to learn about his Indian heritage.

Have you watched the show and what did you think? It’s available in Swedish on SVT Play. And do you experience “reverse culture shocks”?

Sweden’s plans for a new work permit system for high-skilled labour

Sweden’s Migration Agency will at the end of this year launch a new international recruitment organisation, with separate units devoted to highly qualified work permit applicants. This will replace the current scheme of a fast track for certified employers, which the outgoing director-general recently argued in an interview with The Local has become inefficient.

Instead the idea behind the new scheme is that it will help Sweden attract more high-skilled workers and make work permit processing times faster for everyone. You can read about it here, but if you prefer to listen, we also explain it on the latest episode of The Local’s Sweden in Focus podcast.

This newsletter for Indians in Sweden is available to paying members of The Local. To receive it in your inbox every month, update your newsletter settings here.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

INDIANS IN SWEDEN

My Swedish Career: ‘People in Sweden are warm and welcoming’

IT consultant Debjyoti Paul tells The Local of the Indian society he co-founded in Helsingborg, and why local Swedes' reputation as closed off and reserved may not be true.

My Swedish Career: 'People in Sweden are warm and welcoming'

Working as an IT consultant for Sogeti, Debjyoti was moved around to various countries as part of different projects throughout his career. In 2014, he finished a job in England, after which he was sent to Sweden to work with companies such as Ikea in designing new systems and upgrading their old systems.

However, once he arrived in Helsingborg he missed the Indian culture.

“Once you are away from home, you want your culture, your tradition, you want to remain in touch with your roots and you want your family, especially the younger generations, to also have some kind of attachment with the traditional stuff,” he tells The Local.

As a result, Debjyoti helped set up Sambandh, a society to connect the more than 2,000 Indians based in Helsingborg, many drawn there, as Debjyoti, by Ikea’s IT development hub in the city.

The society aims to help Indian newcomers have a smooth integration process in Sweden, by providing information and translation assistance.

“We also focus on helping them with basic stuff like how to open an account in the bank, guidance on getting a driving licence in Sweden, so that it is easier for them to seamlessly integrate locally. We also help with information about the school system and the healthcare system,” says Debjyoti.

“It is not easy for a new person coming in here and knowing all this, especially as most of the things are written in Swedish.”

More than 2,000 Indians live in Helsingborg. Photo: Sambandh

The society also regularly collaborates with the Indian embassy to organise an “Indian Embassy Consular Camp” which allows Indians in Helsingborg to use the embassy’s services without having to travel for five to six hours to Stockholm.

The name of the community comes from the Hindi word sambandh, meaning relationship, which is similar to samband, the Swedish word for connection. Sambandh has grown to over 400 members, welcoming everyone no matter their background.

“We only have one event which is specific to our members, that is our members’ picnic, which happens every summer. Other than that, all our events are open to all and we invite all other communities. We advertise locally and try to get people from different backgrounds into our events,” says Debjyoti.

“We even have certain religious events, but even those events are open to all, open to people from all religions. We love the attention that we get from different communities, from people from different backgrounds, different countries, different religions, speaking different languages,” he says. “So if you are at any of our events, you will see so many different kinds of people.”

Holi or Indisk Fiesta is another event that is celebrated by the society with the aim of welcoming springtime. Along with that they celebrate World Environment Day to inspire their younger members to care for their surroundings.

“We encourage our kids to participate in World Environment Day. They make small projects, they plant trees, they talk about and learn about recycling stuff. We make them aware of the environment and everything that day,” he says.

Sambandh organises, among other things, an event called Indisk Fiesta. Photo: Sambandh

Sambandh’s sports club also plays an important role, keeping the society’s members fit and healthy.

“There is a typical habit within the Indians. Once we have families, we get more focused on our kids and we spend all our energy on our kids’ education, kids’ sports activities, kids’ cultural activities. We forget about ourselves. So, we encourage our members to participate in sports. In India, sports like cricket and badminton are very popular, but with the help of local sports bodies, we encourage our members to participate in sports like padel, which is more popular in Sweden.”

When Debjyoti and his family moved to Sweden in 2014, their son was just one year old, and he got a place in a local preschool. Both Debjyoti and his wife thought it would be best to settle down since it would be difficult for their son to be moved around from country to country due to their work. He also says that Sweden is a great country to raise a child in.

“Gradually we liked Sweden because of the work-life balance, the equality, and several other good stuff. Especially when you are a family with a kid, Sweden is like a paradise. So then gradually we made Sweden our home and we continued staying here.”

When they bought their home in Helsingborg, they received a warm welcome from their neighbours, and he said that they continue to do so.

“I bought a house outside Helsingborg in a village, and a lot of people advised me not to, because they felt local Swedish people are not very open. They don’t become friends very easily. But I had a completely different experience and I was so well supported by my neighbours,” says Debjyoti.

“They even mowed my garden when I was away for a month to India. And I returned the favour. When they were on their way to the recycling centre, they used to knock on my door: ‘Do you have anything to throw away? Then I can help you,’ and I was like, OK, what I heard is probably not true. People are warm, they are welcoming. So I actually have a very, very positive view of Swedes.”

As president of Sambandh, Debjyoti is tasked with keeping the society’s aim in the forefront.

“My main objective is to keep our objective in mind and make sure the organisation is driven in a way so that we become a melting pot for all the different communities, the local Swedish community, the other immigrant communities. And of course, so that our kids, our future generations, remain rooted to their traditions,” he says.

He hopes to see the younger generations take over Sambandh so that it keeps going and growing.

“We would love to have our younger generation to manage and drive these events because they are more exposed to the local culture because they are in the local schools and all, which is of course good. It is easier for them to integrate completely.”

SHOW COMMENTS