comp - to date 4 people have done what I described in the original post, and all 4 sounded Indian to me (though it's possible some were from elsewhere on the sub-continent, as I alluded to in my original post).

At no point have I 'pounded' on a certain nationality or made a generalisation about a certain nationality. I merely stated the facts and asked if this was a cultural thing.

If you find this racist then I think that's more of a reflection on yourself than on me.