celebretions over........................

Celebrations over Prashant winning 'Indian Idol' turns sour in Darjeeling as RJ's comment sparks mass outrage

As newly crowned 'Indian idol' Prashant Tamang is bracing up to enthrall thousands of his fans in Kathmandu today, the Darjeeling hills, from where he comes from, are afire with mass protest sparked off by a derogatory remark about 'Gorkhas' by a radio jockey of a Delhi based FM radio station.

General strikes have been called in several places like Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sukna in the past three days in protest of the RJ describing Prashant as "Chowkidar se Indian Idol" (from watchman to Indian Idol).

Radio DJ Jonathan Brady's, who is popularly known as Nitin, commented in a live broadcast on Red FM some days ago that "shopkeepers will now have to make their own security arrangements as Gorkhas have taken to singing."

The Gorkha community (Indians of Nepalese origin) has reacted strongly to the remark by the RJ, protesting the stereotyping as racist and insulting.

This mass outrage led to violent clashes between mostly Nepali speaking fans of Prashant and non-Nepalese locals in Siliguri in West Bengal on Thursday in which more than a hundred people were injured, eight of them seriously, as police had to resort to baton charging and firing several rounds of tear gas to quell the angry mobs.

The clash started near Siliguri hospital when the silent procession Prashant's fans had taken out after submitting a deputation to the Siliguri SDO on the derogatory remarks made by the RJ reportedly blocked the way of an ambulance entering the hospital with a patient. There was a quarrel and the protesters allegedly beat up those accompanying the patient. Bystanders and shopkeepers then sided with those in the ambulance and beat up some of the protestors. Then the situation went out of hand as Nepalese and Bengalis started attacking each other. The mob torched one government vehicle, ransacked shops, damaged rickshaws and cycles and set a car on fire, according to reports.

In the process at least 12 people including a few policemen were badly injured. The place resembled a battlefield and the army had to be called in to control the situation.

Meanwhile, a Gorkha delegation moved Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and West Bengal Chief Minister Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, demanding stern action against the radio channel.

The West Bengal government has promised that legal action would be taken against the FM channel and the radio jockey for the damaging remark.

"We are taking measures to take action against the concerned FM channel," West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was quoted as saying by a local paper. nepalnews.com ag Sep29 07

thanks!