While it’s difficult to rule out racism on the part of a specific individual or group, one has to remember that they are mostly just doing their job.
Remember that, at this time, entering a foreign country is not a right. Each country gets to choose who they want to let in. They mostly want tourists who are going to spend money, people travelling on legitimate business, and people coming to work in specific categories of jobs where local workforce is insufficient, with conditions.
They don’t want people who come under some pretence and end up flying under the radar, overstaying, taking up jobs without authorisation, etc. And of course not criminals, smugglers, etc.
Now, even if your intentions are good, it’s the job of the border officer to try to ascertain it. Lots of people with bad intentions have nice cover stories, so they can’t just take your declarations at face value. They have to check. That’s just their job. Some checks were made before you got your visa, but nothing beats a real interview right at the border.
Who they check more thoroughly and to what extent is based a lot on experience, either personal, or collective (statistics). They are indeed quite likely to have more questions for people coming from certain countries rather than others, because statistically, and because of the relative economic situation in those countries, people from those countries are more likely to try to enter under false pretences. And I’m afraid that India is not quite in the best category, as can be judged by the fact that even for transit and ATV may be required.
As, for quite a number of countries, people from one country have similar skin colour, you could think that’s racism, but it’s a lot more likely to be based on the country rather than the skin colour.
Beyond the country, there are other factors which may make them suspect a passenger more or less than others. A passenger who flew in first class, with high quality/brand name/expensive clothes, is definitely less likely to incur advanced questioning than someone who looks like they are a rough sleeper (and that’s valid for any country of origin and skin colour), with of course of lot of variations in between.
It is part of their job to evaluate whether you are a bona fide tourist. Asking questions about where you come from, where you are going, what your plans are, when you are leaving again, are completely legitimate. Even asking your name or date or place of birth (even though they have the information right in front of them in the passport) is legitimate, that may help detecting people with bogus ID. Asking the same questions multiple times is a classic tactic to detect inconsistencies.
When entering the Schengen Area (and that’s valid in many other countries as well), it is also perfectly legitimate for them to ask for a return/onward ticket, and proof of funds. You may not have noticed it, but the very last paragraph of the Schengen visa application form, just above your signature, says you acknowledge that the prerequisites for entry will be checked again on entry into the Schengen Area. Those prerequisites are listed in Article 5(1) of the Schengen Borders Code, and includes:
c) they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;
There are many ways of justifying it, it does not necessarily involve putting all your cash on the desk and counting it, but if you state that’s the only money you can count on during your stay (as opposed to using a credit card for instance), then there are no two ways about it. You must be able to prove you have enough money for the duration of your stay.
Note that at the other end of the spectrum, bringing in too much cash and not declaring it it also something they are after, so not knowing your situation, it may be difficult to know which end of the spectrum they were trying to cover.
