‘Infrastructure does not equal inclusion’: The Oswal sisters on Swiss systemic bias and the ‘fly on the curry’ derision | Today’s news

For India’s global elite, a ten-acre farm in one of the world’s richest countries is often seen as the ultimate symbol of having “arrived”. But for the Oswal sisters, Ridi and Vasundhara, their family is vast ₹Villa Vari’s 1,649 million Swiss assets have not bought them immunity from what they say is deep-rooted, systemic xenophobia.

After a viral video of a local man hurling racist abuse outside their gates, the sisters shared with LiveMint the reality of being a successful Indian expat in Switzerland.

According to the Oswal sisters, the harassment caught on camera was not an isolated incident by a rogue neighbor. Instead, it was the culmination of a culture of offensive stereotyping against Indians that begins in classrooms where teachers ignore slurs like “curry fly”.

They also questioned the very definition of a “developed” nation, arguing that pristine infrastructure means little if the mindset of society remains aggressively underdeveloped.

Read also | Vasundhara Oswal calls out racism and xenophobia in Switzerland in viral post

“If a country is so prejudiced against nationality, it should put it on its website. Stop taking our education fees, our jobs and our investments.” — Ridi Oswal

“Indians told to become more Swiss”

For many, Switzerland represents the pinnacle of the European dream, a safe haven of neutrality and luxury. However, the lived experience of Ridi and Vasundhara paints a very different picture of assimilation and exclusion.

Since the Oswal family has had a permanent home in Switzerland for nearly a decade, the recent harassment was not just a misunderstanding aimed at a tourist, but a permanent reality for residents of color.

“I started studying in Switzerland when I was eight years old. I never felt like I belonged there, which is very important to emphasize,” Ridi told LiveMint. “Growing up in a country where the culture is mostly unaccepting towards Indians is hard. While trying to accommodate other cultures, Indians are almost told to stay back, change and become more Swiss.”

This push for assimilation often targeted core Indian cultures, according to the sisters.

Ridi recalled how she was forced to abandon a vegetarian diet just to fit into the local norm, a subtle but pervasive demand to erase her heritage in exchange for acceptance.

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‘Curry munchers’: The silent complicity of the system

The Oswal sisters emphasized that the foundation of adult prejudice is laid in Swiss classrooms, where institutional silence breeds complicity. Ridi pointed to the specific, targeted nature of the xenophobia she faced as a young student and the alarming failure of authorities to intervene.

“Quite often I got comments like ‘India is rubbish’. The most important thing to emphasize is that the teachers never said anything,” she said. The occasional use of racial slurs went unchecked.

Vasundhara explicitly linked the adults shouting outside their gate in the viral video to this environment, noting that it was simply a by-product of a school system that allows swear words like “curry fly” to be normalized.

“Prejudice starts where adults tacitly accept this behavior from a young age,” she explained.

Selective indignation

Speaking about the video on Instagram, the Oswal sisters shared that the viral confrontation was widely misinterpreted by some viewers as a standard neighborhood noise dispute. However, they emphasized that the outrage was highly selective.

“He started shouting outside our gate. I spoke to him in polite French and explained that it was Thursday at 3pm and there was no law against using a leaf blower,” Ridi said. “Tellingly, our neighbor, who is much closer to this man, was also using a leaf blower at the same time but was not targeted.”

When the man demanded his name, he fled shouting racist remarks, Vasundhara said. She believes her family’s visible wealth made her a direct target rather than acting as a shield. “For some locals, accepting India’s economic dominance remains a bitter pill to swallow.”

The sisters expressed little faith in local law enforcement, saying, “Truthfully, even if we filed a complaint against him, the Swiss police wouldn’t take it seriously because prejudice exists in their system as well.”

Read also | ‘Systemic racism’: Asian man starts using American name, gets job interviews

“The underdeveloped thinking of a developed nation”

Vasundhara noted that Switzerland’s luxury designer shops and immaculate streets often mask a legal and cultural framework that is inherently suspicious of minorities.

“We believe they are developed because they have incredible infrastructure and function as a center of wealth,” the sisters argued. “But a country can have all these things and still have a completely undeveloped mindset when it comes to accepting other cultures.”

She suggested that cultural inclusivity and robust, unbiased legal protections are equally critical indicators of a nation’s progress.

“These days, most Fortune 500 companies are led by Indian CEOs. We are an incredibly competitive and smart population and we should own it,” Ridi said. “If a country is so prejudiced against nationality, it should say so on its website. Stop taking our education fees, our jobs and our investments. You have 7 million people telling 1.4 billion how to live.”