One commenntator described how discriminate in rampant in India....exactly. We treat others badly but we dont change. A friend of mine was telling me how he will never live in a black neighborhood in the US, not even in a rich blk neighborhood because he identifies himself with whites. 2 mins earlier, he was also telling me that he had some problems when he came to the US and took the bus. His words were " can you imagine, even a blk guy treated me bad". Indians expect to treat others badly but not to be treated as such by others. I am obviously generalizing but this is endemic in our society.
There are numerous articles in Rediff about how Singaporeans treat indians badly. Have you seen what Indians do to the Singaporean Indians. If a chinese asks a North Indian if he is indian, the answer is always almost, "I am north indian" as if to say, being south indian is being sub-par. They treat the local tamils with contempt and utmost discrimination. How do you expect the chinese to treat you in those circumstances. Indians hate discrimination by whites because most of the time, they are looking to be accepted by the same whites who ruled us and we call ourselves a great nation ha ha.
clean up your act India, dont treat other Indians badly just because they are Tamil.
RE:Indians discriminate, so whats wrong if British do it.
by aramalla reddy on Jan 30, 2007 12:44 AM
I TOTALLY agree with the above point. We Indian's cry out loud when white people discriminate us, but we forget that we are doing the same with black people or other fellow Indians. I was deeply hurt when I came to know that Indian's in South Africa mistreat black people .We stay in their country, use their resources & mistreat them? for what? coz they are black? People in hot countries are black because they need to protect themselves from burning sun, where as people in cold places need to absorb what ever sunlight they get. so their skins doesn't have any melanin(which makes a persons skin black and respells sunlight).This is a simple reason behind people being white or black, not because white people are chosen? I feel very sorry when I see Indians separating themselves basing on color,Caste,Regeion.This should stop.We can't command respect as a nation unless we first raise above these matters.
RE:RE:Indians discriminate, so whats wrong if British do it.
by rashmi ray on Jan 30, 2007 01:16 AM
I do agree some indian are still so orthodox who still think of being racist. In think growing world of friendship, I think we should ignore this group and focus on the rest who are breaking the ice. There are many Indian who completely ignore this race factor and look forward to work with a human. I strongly believe that this group is growing with my country's economy.
RE:Indians discriminate, so whats wrong if British do it.
by gaurav prakash on Jan 29, 2007 11:21 PM
i agree with this point that many indians are hypocrit.. what we abhore as racism; we do in india as castism... its disgusting to see those same indian shouting loud against the discrimination... we should do so .. but only after putting our own house in order.
RE:Indians discriminate, so whats wrong if British do it.
by sandeep on Jan 30, 2007 01:55 AM
I think you and your friend are suffering from some complex and seeing things in wrong light. Do you know that one of the main reasons people avoid black neighborhood in US is very high crime rate? Try going in black area streets in night and you will see sense pretty quickly. Jade is also of mixed race BTW
Not lived in Singapore so I have not heard of this but in US, I have not heard of any conversation which starts by saying they are North/South Indian. I have had experiences of locals ask me about how Indians range from dark to fair and then I have said typically(I have had friends who were fair but Tamil background) it depends on what area of India you live in. If you live outside India, a lot of folks see bigger picture and start with Indian identity. While you are in India, you tend to see states etc as big boundries and some shallow folks think they are all important things. I have heard of this self defeating attitude of do not complain etc since such things exist in India also. I think it is best for them to see bigger picture. We need to fix these things ASAP but on other hand, have collective response to things which disparage and Indian.
RE:RE:Indians discriminate, so whats wrong if British do it.
by kumar on Jan 30, 2007 10:57 AM
what you say is crap. if you read my comment, it says that my friend wouldn't even move to high income blk neighborhood. These high income neighborhood are low in crimes. We were also having a hypothetical conversation to reveal his hypocrasy. Furthermore, I have heard of indians who didn't want to go study at Virginia Tech because it is in Blacksburg. Blacksburg is a largely white town but because of its name, these people were just scared that it was full of dreaded blacks. To put this in perspective, Virginia Tech is one of the best engineering schools in the US.
Shilpa Shetty didn't win, she brought a shame on our nation by playing the victim, she showed her acting skills in the show which she never did in Bollywood! We expatriates, Indians are trying to keep our mother-nations' legacy running despite all the odds against us, but she just gave a huge slap on our faces by playing the victim of racism. And what is she going to do with all that, she played a trick to be the next popular Indian actress, bagged huge amount which she will show to donate to some people who might never receive the amount...
RE:Shame on country
by nitu gupta on Jan 30, 2007 01:51 AM
hi anuj, you seem to be a very strong hearted and a stone hearted person. every one is not like you buddy. i dont think shilpa brought a shame to our country by being a victim but i think she brought us pride by her calmness and patience thats y she's a winner today. india is full of people who are victims even you must have been a victim once or so, so do you call urself shamless. think about that.
RE:RE:Shame on country
by Bhowmick Anuj on Jan 31, 2007 10:19 AM
Nitu, with all due respect, I respect Indian women a lot, not to mention. Calmness and patience, Hello!! what are we talking here.???..I would rather say 'superb acting skills' and 'cunningness' that's what has helped her reach this feat! We Indians should learn the hard way to success, not achieving something just by playing the victim or earning the sympathy by loads of tears, that's the easy way...if you gotta WIN, then you gotta WORK n STRIVE hard for it. We Indians neednot bother, because 99% of us have proved and still proving stuffs through a lot of hard work...1% 'inefficiency or blot' is acceptable, only thing lets not let this 1% tarnish our Nations' image...
She won the game show big brother by fooling the general public into thinking that she was victimised by her competitors and that she was racially abused , while all this was just a very clever ruse to increase the game shows popularity as well as her own popularity at home. Now because of her sham victory she has Achieved more popularity and money than she would have obtained for a dozen of her B grade trash Hindi films.
Even if we go outside and boast that we have the most cultural diversity in the world, we all know how racist our society is. We have the most diverse manifestation of racism in the world. Caste system and associated discrimination, hindu-muslim tension, birth based discrimination, boy child/girl child discrimination..... come on, fellow brothers and sisters....
Shilpa is getting 2 million dollars for being discriminated. What do your fellow-citizens get for being discriminated.
Cleanliness needs to start from home.. Till we do that, the face of "super power" that the world is presenting to India will just be a joke..
RE:Lets clean the trash in our house!!!
by Sunil Agrawal on Jan 29, 2007 09:25 PM
We may be doing discrimination, but that we do in our own people. We do not discriminate any other race or foreigners. At least with our guests.
RE:RE:Lets clean the trash in our house!!!
by gaurav prakash on Jan 29, 2007 11:25 PM
its funny to read this..... this guy seems to think that killing one's house member is fair game as long as we don't kill outsider... god let my country and countrymen awake... amen
RE:RE:Lets clean the trash in our house!!!
by gaurav prakash on Jan 29, 2007 11:25 PM
its funny to read this..... this guy seems to think that killing one's house member is fair game as long as we don't kill outsider... god let my country and countrymen awake... amen
RE:RE:Lets clean the trash in our house!!!
by Anis Farooqui on Jan 29, 2007 09:44 PM
What a joke!Do we treat black Afro-Carrribean visitors with the same respect that we give to white Caucasians? I have myself seen an African student being teased as "Makad" in a Maharashtrain town which would never happen if he was white.Face it guys, we have to clean up our own house as well.Fight against discrimination everywhere you see..starting at HOME!
RE:RE:RE:Lets clean the trash in our house!!!
by Southie on Jan 29, 2007 10:37 PM
exactly. We treat others badly but we dont change. A friend of mine was telling me how he will never live in a black neighborhood in the US, not even in a rich blk neighborhood because he identifies himself with whites. 2 mins earlier, he was also telling me that he had some problems when he came to the US and took the bus. His words were " can you imagine, even a blk guy treated me bad". Indians expect to treat others badly but not to be treated as such by others. I am obviously generalizing but this is endemic in our society.
There are numerous articles in Rediff about how Singaporeans treat indians badly. Have you seen what Indians do to the Singaporean Indians. If a chinese asks a North Indian if he is indian, the answer is always almost, "I am north indian" as if to say, being south indian is being sub-par. They treat the local tamils with contempt and utmost discrimination. How do you expect the chinese to treat you in those circumstances.
clean up your act India, dont treat other Indians badly just because they are Tamil
I believe that I am %u2018civilised%u2019 enough to write this article. The timing just couldn%u2019t be any better than this. After watching the %u2018Celebrity Big brother%u2019 reality show on Channel4, reading articles and blogs in the British and world media, I believe that it is time for all to do some serious thinking. I feel that the western society must come into terms of what%u2019s is actually happening within their so called tolerant society. It is very easy to make an excuse that the reality show is after all a television programme and shouldn%u2019t be taken into consideration. This show has been viewed all over the world and discussed by the public and mass media. Sadly, more than 2.3 million teenagers do watch this reality show for the last 7 years in Britain. Don%u2019t the housemates know these facts? Doesn%u2019t the show reveal some reality? In the show, housemates Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd, Jo O%u2019Meara have had %u2018ganged up%u2019 against fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty and made fun of her English accent, nationality, ethnicity, were not prepared to call her by name, were reluctant to eat the roast chicken cooked by her, described her a %u201CPaki%u201D, the disgraced Miss Great Britain Danielle even called her a 'Dog', used %u2018very filthy%u2019 language repeatedly, and even asked her to %u2018Go back to the slums and find out what real life is%u2019. If this is not racially motivated abuse, please define what is %u2018racism%u2019 in your terms? If you say %u2018Oh..no..it is nothing but just bullying%u2019, log into YouTube.com and watch the recorded show and then come back to read this article. It is quite easy to argue and dispute that all these were the result of total ignorance, stupidity and playground type bullying. Grow up!! Bullying and racism are not two difference things. They are indeed the same wine in two different bottles, served to two different people!!
Understandably, the feelings and emotions are now running high on all corners. The British media regulator ofCom and Channel4, which broadcast the show, had received more than 55,000 complaints from the public in just four days!! This issue heads in all local newspapers, news websites, blogs and chatrooms. Blair was forced to comment on this row. The next British prime minister-in-waiting Brown is having tough time in India!! I believe that Indian Prime Minister Mr.Manmohan Singh and Indian President Mr.Abdul Kalam are the only people left to comment on this issue!!!
I live in the United Kingdom, so I would like to see the whole issue in two mirrors. I honestly respect all %u2018Non-Racist British%u2019 in Britain. I am fortunate enough to have few of them as my friends, who understand that the colour of our blood is always going to be red but the colour of our skin is unfortunately not. (We blame it on God%u2019s politics!)
Let me begin with the very root cause of this whole issue. Even the Asians who were born and brought up in Britain are being classified as %u2018British Indian%u2019, %u2018British Sikh%u2019, %u2018British Pakistani%u2019 and %u2018British Muslim%u2019. This is how they are tagged in government forms and documents. How sick these race tags are? Aren%u2019t they British enough to be %u2018British%u2019? This is surely leaving negative impact on the minorities. They think that how much ever British they are, they will always remain as minorities in Britain. This is pure racial dejection. Then, what is the point of talking about that minorities are not integrating well into British society? The sad thing is that nobody seems to care about it including the British government. The same British government, every year does celebrate Diwali and Ed festivals in a spectacular manner!!! Surprised? I personally think that the British government itself is very confused about it%u2019s racial policies or they are playing very tricky %u2018double game%u2019. This is clearly sending the wrong message among majority British. That%u2019s why many think and act that it is OK to racially abuse anybody from the minority community. The result is what exactly the world had witnessed for the last six days in Jade-Shilpa%u2019s race row. It is time for the British government to wake up.
I am not surprised at all on this wildfire racial row. The three Big Brother gang girls are drop of the today%u2019s British society and surely reflect the growing new generation of future Britain. The Big Brother house is actually a small portrait of today%u2019s modern Britain. Don%u2019t mistake me? In a large portrait, this is how the great British society will exactly look like in next 50 years time. I mark my words without a second thought. The abuse and racial comments on Shilpa do 1,000% truly reflect the British and European societies attitude on racism especially on all non-whites. It is time for the western world to publicly admit that racism in all forms and size still does exist in the society. Because, many who receive racial abuse, usually tend to ignore rather than challenge it out. That doesn%u2019t mean they accept it at heart. It%u2019s a serious problem. Worth fighting than %u2018War on Terror%u2019. For all those who are not minority British, it isn%u2019t easy to realise how serious racism can be. Asians living and working in Britain such as students, doctors, nurses, taxi drivers, teachers, shop owners, restaurant waiters, call centre personnel and even community police officers do often go through more or less the same kind of racially motivated verbal abuse. At the worst, get beaten by group of racist thugs. I swear on my words. I am not exaggerating it. I had gone through the same sort of verbal abuse before and still go through it now and then. I have been called %u2018Indian%u2019 on many occasions in a tone, which is definitely not polite and friendly way that anyone would like to be called upon. I don%u2019t like to call any non-Asian like that. The arrogant, ignorant, economically, ethically and culturally failing western society is facing some serious social problems. Racism will top in that list without doubt. Who is going to handle these problems?
The reality show indeed reflects the reality of British youth%u2019s attitude towards the society and living. I am not at all surprised to hear abusive language in reality show. Certainly you could hear them from groups of young boys and girls on British streets. Well..What else would you expect from the boys and girls of today%u2019s British society, where 13 years old lads and girls smoke, drink and use drugs, losing virginity at the age of 14 is just a matter of self-pride, having babies at the age of 15 is OK and becoming common, the average life span of a formal marriage is just over 16 months, many live together unmarried, many don%u2019t know who is their mother or father is and the divorce rate is 40% higher than any European union country. There are various reasons for this social catastrophe. Today%u2019s young British are not well educated, they distance themselves from Maths, Science, and general knowledge subjects, they are very proud of binge drinking, smoking, sex on the streets, honking the car horns and yelling racist remarks. They are ignorant souls and sadly the face of future British society. Who is going to teach them about racial tolerance and respecting people as humans? Their stupid British prime minister is very busy with the arrogant American president on bringing back democracy and peace in Iraq and Afghanistan!!! In this nation, some think that waging war on a country is just like playing a video game. It is OK to think like that in this so called developed country with underdeveloped people. Many British do have big attitude disorder and do think that the rest of the world is still ruled by their great grand fathers & company. They still do believe that the Sun will never ever set on their kingdom. What else I can say? The British public is not aware of what is happening within their country and in rest of the world. They don%u2019t have the necessary urge to learn new skills, acquire knowledge, and stay competitive in the global world. They probably don%u2019t want to know about anything as long as they can afford to buy fish & chips and pukha pies. All they know is to eat, to do binge drinking in 24 hour pubs (Yes. 24 hour pubs!!!), to be illiterate (I bet many can%u2019t read and write English properly) and claim free government social benefits to go on holiday abroad. Can anyone say this is not what is happening in Britain today?
In a country like Britain, racism doesn%u2019t just exist due to ignorance. Ignorance is the result of complacent and confusion. I could sense the fear of failure among British in this rapid world, in which they are struggling to keep up with the changes and challenges. Today%u2019s Britain is steadily losing its ground on economical, cultural, and social front, which were once the proud symbols of British colonialism. The British are confused about their obsessed identity in multicultural Britain. Instead of turning it into their advantage, they are turning it away. One Britain is proud of its multi-cultural society. The other Britain is against all minorities. In general, the British are not willing to accept other cultures into their day-to-day lives. Whereas, the Asians are far more broadminded, tolerant, patient when it comes to living in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society such as Britain. Even though, Asians didn%u2019t integrate 100% into the British society, I would say that they are well on their way towards it or realising the necessity to do it. So, I am prepared to put a bet that before the end of this 21st century, Britain will have an Asian Prime Minister. I am not joking.
Even though, the Eastern Europeans are coming into Britain like waves of sea flood. It%u2019s somehow still OK for the British public. Because, the Eastern Europeans are from the so-called enlarged European Union (21st century great political joke) and they are somewhat the same colour as British. Also, the British public and politicians do think that the non-Europeans are culturally and economically invading all corners of Britain today. They are getting jealous of dominant Asian minority. That%u2019s why there are tougher visa restrictions, delay in issuing visas, recent %u2018motivated%u2019 HSMP revision and the increase in number of years to apply for residency in Britain are all indirect means to keep the %u2018Browns%u2019 away from Britain. Let me explain it a bit more. Today%u2019s great British politics, lifestyle, business, economy and national cuisine (Chicken Tikka Masala is the national dish of Britain since 2000!) are being greatly influenced by the Asians. A very remarkable feat that the Scottish, Irish and Welsh trio couldn%u2019t able to do for several centuries and had totally failed. Also, majority of the Asians are well educated, intelligent, smart, beautiful in heart, hard working and economically prospering than ever before. If the first wave of Asian migrants helped to revive the shops and stores on Britain's streets, the second and third generation of Asians are now making their mark on the financial and business world. Now, India is the third largest global investor in Britain next only to US and Japan. Indian companies are taking over many not-so-profitable British companies and turning them into profitable. Thus, creating jobs for the British. Remember richest citizen of the United Kingdom is not a native British but India born Steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. He has recently donated %uFFFD2 million pounds to the cash-strapped ruling Labour party, almost certainly bailing it out of financial crisis. There is a list of endless contributions made by the Asians to today%u2019s modern Britain. It is just impossible to blindly ignore the imposing stature of Asians and Asianism in Britain. Without the Asians, the British public services and healthcare will crumble in matter of days. Without the Asians, the British economy will not survive for more than a month. Don%u2019t the Asians deserve to be treated as %u2018British%u2019 in %u2018Britain%u2019?
On the other side, this whole issue raises the same questions about our own society. Are we Indians really not racists? Is it OK and justified to racially discriminate fellow Indians? But, it becomes an issue when Non-Asians dish it out on us? We actually don%u2019t respect fellow Indians in India and abroad. Don%u2019t we? We have got several racial problems within our country and society. Don%u2019t we all know that the North Indians bully and discriminate the South Indians as %u2018Madarasis%u2019. The South Indians bully the North Indians by calling them as %u2018Biharis%u2019. We are the largest racist society on this planet, which practised and still practising all forms of racism, discrimination and bullying in the name of god, caste and culture. We are talking about it for more than 100 years. Nothing has been changed significantly. When are we going to change it? Let us bring our house in order before pointing out finger at others.
One of India's great strength is its ability to adapt diversity. That%u2019s what India is all about. It is indeed a very quite remarkable for a country like India, where the majority of the population is Hindu. But, our current president is a Muslim, the prime minister is a Sikh and probably the most influential lady in India is sari wearing Italian born Catholic. I cannot think of any other country in the world that could accept such a diversified political scenario. This is truly remarkable and it works very well in India. Whereas, in the US, the Americans are still waiting to have a Black or Hispanic as American president and the US has been a democratic country for more than 200 years!!! Whereas India%u2019s democracy gained it%u2019s status 60 years ago, we have already had several minorities as presidents, prime ministers, chief ministers, ministers, military chief of staff, and supreme court judges. This is the great strength that India has. We are humans first, then Indians, then Punjabi, Gujarathi, Bengali, or Madarasi. Forget about race, religion and colour. So, It is time for us to do some reality test on ourselves. It is time for us to accept that we are really racists and do something about it. When we are going to announce that racism and discrimination in any form, any size is punishable crime and has no place in civilised India? We can. Let us do it now before it is too late.
Our world will become a happy place to live when we love each other in heart and without discriminating anyone by their race, ethnicity, religion, faith, and wealth. Let's grow up. When we are going to be one big loud and proud Indians? It is shame on us if we can%u2019t do it. Share your views.
RE:RISE AGAINST THE RACISM
by Sunil Agrawal on Jan 29, 2007 09:31 PM
Western society was never tolerant. British came to India as bagger. They bagged rights to do business with then world's most prosperous nation. They looted, and divided the nation. They created a bread of black Angrej, who always think West is best and only believe in following British and West. From nursery rhymes to manners they all import from Britain.
