History Main / MysticalIndia

** {{Kim}} can't be left out; it may be the best example of this being a cross section of India during UsefulNotes/TheRaj.

* ''TheFarPavilions'' - the 1984 TV series and the 1978 novel on which it had been based - has them all: snakes as murder weapons, cruel and superstitious natives, sati, characters RaisedByNatives, the might of UsefulNotes/TheRaj putting things back in order and so on.

* ''StreetFighter'' has Dhalsim, who wears a skull necklace (probably [[GeniusBonus a reference to Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction]]) and uses attacks with names like "[[KillItWithFire Yoga Fire]]". Later story developments give a more down-to-earth story to Dhalsim's skulls: they are the skulls of little children who died of a disease in his home village, thus they're {{Tragic Keepsake}}s.

* In ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' the World Cup arc has this in, of course, Team India. They all wear turbans, one of the players is a snake charmer, and their coach has a very thick beard.

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality, as India, for some reason, suddenly takes on [[ArabianNightsDays Arab and Persian characteristics]] in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]Silly, of course, since everyone knows that Aladdin was actually set in ''China''.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to TheOtherWiki) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history,[[note]]And parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations[[/note]] so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian.

** But India DID have these thing in that era - even books/history as documented by Indians will claim that. And the book ''makes sure'' to point out the stereotypes of India as well as deconstructing the fairytale-like aspect of India. The author also calls out the BritishEmpire on their stereotypes and their MightyWhitey way of thinking time and time again. The beauty about the book is that it is honest in showing ''all sides'' of India - the mythical, the political and everything else. That's exactly what makes it a complex picture of race, social customs and identity.

** [[TropeNamer Named for]] the magic words used by Hadji in TOS (1964-1965) who grew up in a version of this India (though the phrase is a old stock one, like ''abracadabra'', ''hocus pocus'' or ''alakazam''). He could control snakes by playing his flute, had fakir style powers such as levitation, and incredible skill at hypnotizing others.

** [[TropeNamer Named for]] the magic words used by Hadji in TOS (1964-1965) who grew up in a version of this India. He could control snakes by playing his flute, had fakir style powers such as levitation, and incredible skill at hypnotizing others.

* [[TropeNamer Named for]] the magic words used by Hadji of ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest,'' who grew up in a version of this India. ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' also gave Hadji some quite sleazy hacker skills; though this was meant to subvert this stereotype, [[ReverseFunnyAneurysm little did they know]] that hacker skills would make him ''[[BollywoodNerd even more of a stereotypical Indian]]'', now that India is a big software development superpower!

* Ricky Gervais's character in ''Film/GhostTown'' seems to follow this mentality when asking fellow dentist Dr. Prashar, for advice:

* Ricky Gervais's character in ''Film/GhostTown'' seems to follow this mentality when asking fellow dentist, Dr. Prashar, for advice -

** {{Kim}} can't be left out; it may be the best example of this being a cross section of India during TheRaj.
* [[IncrediblyLamePun Cleverly subverted]] by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Cleverly Barbara Cleverly]] in ''TheLastKashmiriRose'' (2001) - as there is no modern interest to display [[TheRaj Colonial India]] as a [[YeGoodeOldeDays Disneyfied]] place of superstitious natives ruled by brave colonial administrators and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy turbaned rifle-armed Martial Race troopers]], she could freely display the vices of the system: idleness, drunkenness, exploitation of cheap labor (even poor Brits could afford Indian servants), incompetence...

* ''TheFarPavilions'' - the 1984 TV series and the 1978 novel on which it had been based - has them all: snakes as murder weapons, cruel and superstitious natives, sati, characters RaisedByNatives, the might of TheRaj putting things back in order and so on.

* Kushan in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}''.
** With some ArabianNightsDays and TheEmpire thrown in.

** Kaolla Su and her family in ''LoveHina'' also feature some Indian stereotypes, although the manga establishes their homeland as being in the South Pacific.
* As it does with every other racial stereotype in the book, ''GGundam'' plays this to maximum effect with Neo India's Cobra Gundam, piloted by a hypnotist/snake-charmer.

* Actually averted in TenkuuSenkiShurato. While the Tenkuukai is modelled after the Hindu beliefs and myths, the series avoids using stereotypes linked to Indian people.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

* {{Asterix}} visits this version of India in ''Asterix and the Flying Carpet''.

* Kushan in ''{{Berserk}}''.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} has fakirs, rajahs, turbans, snake charmers (and other slightly demented [[StreetPerformer Street Performers]]), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples overgrown with humid jungle and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on.

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality, as India, for some reason, suddenly takes on Arab and Persian characteristics in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]Silly, of course, since everyone knows that Aladdin was actually set in ''China''.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to TheOtherWiki) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history,[[note]]And parts of what used to be considered part of India went on to form the nations of UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}}, which both have majority Muslim populations[[/note]] so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian.

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality, as India, for some reason, suddenly takes on Arab and Persian characteristics in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]Silly, of course, since everyone knows that Aladdin was actually set in ''China''.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to TheOtherWiki) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} has fakirs, turbans, snake charmers (and other slightly demented [[StreetPerformer Street Performers]]), the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples overgrown with humid jungle and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on.

* In Literature/BelisariusSeries India is at roughly the same TechnologyLevel as other civilizations(when you discount([[GivingRadioToTheRomans interventions from the future]]). Much of it fits the trope pretty straight.

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality, as India, for some reason, suddenly takes on Arab and Persian characteristics in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]Silly, of course, since everyone knows that Aladdin was actually set in ''China''.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to TheOtherWiki) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been. Also, the languages of northern India are mostly Indo-Aryan, making them distantly related to Persian.

* Subverted in a comic strip story drawn by SergioAragones about his trip to India. He took a flight and found that a large group of Hare Krishnas, an ostensibly Indian religion, were on the same trip, thankfully in a different section of the plane. As he saw the group disembark and chanting noisily as they marched, Sergio noticed that the native Indians were gawking and laughing their heads off at this ridiculous bunch of Westerners that had arrived.

* In BelisariusSeries India is at roughly the same TechnologyLevel as other civilizations(when you discount([[GivingRadioToTheRomans interventions from the future]]). Much of it fits the trope pretty straight.

UsefulNotes/{{India}} has fakirs, turbans, snake charmers, the Ganges and [[BadassPacifist Gandhi]]. It's also full of temples overgrown with humid jungle and occasionally home to an evil cult, elephants and tigers. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snakes]] are ''everywhere'', so it's a good idea to have a cute and heroic mongoose with you to take them on.

Often, this trope goes hand-in-hand with a case of MistakenNationality, as India, for some reason, suddenly takes on Arab and Persian characteristics in some American films. In some older Hollywood movies, it's not uncommon to see Aladdin and Genies[[note]]Silly, of course, since everyone knows that Aladdin was actually set in ''China''.[[/note]] tossed together with Hindu deities. To be fair, this is TruthInTelevision to an extent as India has a large Muslim population (13.4%, according to TheOtherWiki) and was ruled by Islamic kingdoms for century-spanning portions of its history, so it's certainly been more influenced by the Middle East than most Western countries have been.