Posted:
I read the second article published in two major English dailies in India in a week. Last Sunday it was HT and this Sunday TOI. Both the articles state that Indians are amongst the most racist in the world. And if this was not enough they further point out that we practice the worst kind of racism in the world. I thought it would be interesting to garner different perspectives on the issue.
The excerpts are
(From TOI: As the man pressed the handgun against a twittering artery on my neck, the crawling train stopped with a jerk and his face became clear in the sweep of white light slicing through the coach. Then he spoke in a blood-curdling baritone: "I got a gun. You got something, brother?" I slipped two $100 bills into his left hand. He looked out, slunk through the sliding doors, turned back and said, "Thank you, bro." With his green eyes piercing my face, the police officer asked me to describe the mugger. "Black man, about 6 feet, good built and glowering eyes," I said. "This could be almost any black man in America. C'mon mister, move on," he snarled. Robbed by a black guy and humiliated by a white cop on a damp night in Chicago, as I dragged my feet through the snow and a frosty gale, I wondered if they are all racists. Do they hate us, the brown-skins?
In Birmingham, I met a middle-aged Indian man who wanted to slit the throat of his daughter because she had a black boyfriend. In Glasgow, I saw a Pakistani girl being kicked and dragged into a car by his brothers from the house of her white boyfriend. In Manhattan, I saw a black boy being punched because he gate crashed a Basement Bhangra party. In the evening I would be at Glassy Junction, a Punjabi bar in Southhall. At both the places, the chatter was always the same: the white man is an evil and the black man is a devil.
Apart from ridiculing the vegetarians as 'ghass-phoos' eaters, Imran Khan, that famous, Oxford educated, sexy, sultan of swing, is infamously on record for referring to India as the south "where we Pathans have always gone to screw women". And in our part of the world, the alleged twice-borns carry a seething hatred for the lower castes and born-agains.
We practice racism in a subtle manner. Through caste and religion, we have institutionalised and legitimised racism. That's why we have a culture of hate wielded by an equally strong culture of silence. That's why we leave no opportunity to abuse a black man.)
(From HT The moment an Indian comes face to face with another for the first time, all it takes are a few subconscious seconds for an ethnic profile to be formed on either side: Punjabi — rich, friendly, brash. Tamilian — affluent, reserved, intellectual. Bengali — middle class, arrogant, culture vulture. Goan —gregarious, laid back, fun.They're all stereotypes of course.The Northeast states, too have pejorative terms for outsiders, and several have seen attempts at ethnic cleansing directed against 'mainland Indians'.
And if you're outraged at the manner in which all Asians are being tarred with the terrorist brush abroad, hear what Samuel Fatai, a 24-year-old Nigerian studying at Delhi University, has to say: "I've been called kalu, Habshi, Negro, all sorts of names. I've felt insulted so often on flights — airhostesses have a way of letting you know how unwelcome you are, and Indians excel in it. I have been strip-searched at most Indian airports even before 9/11."Says Fatai wryly, "Indians don't want to make friends with a black man. Unless, of course, they get cocaine at discounted rates.")
Do we agree with the contention or is it just another of those hyperbolic reactions the journalists ventilate in their long suppressed desire to be adjudged fair by the clout of world's dominating 'white' media.
Reading the articles at certain issues you cannot but agree. There are some arguments, which evoke counter arguments and justifications but not denial.
I am purposely not posting the complete articles here. Those interested can read the articles on TOI and HT websites, Sunday editions.
PS: I tried using the search button (on 2-3 forums) but its not working & gives error msg 😕 . Still tried to sift thru 2-3 pages but its exhausting.
The excerpts are
(From TOI: As the man pressed the handgun against a twittering artery on my neck, the crawling train stopped with a jerk and his face became clear in the sweep of white light slicing through the coach. Then he spoke in a blood-curdling baritone: "I got a gun. You got something, brother?" I slipped two $100 bills into his left hand. He looked out, slunk through the sliding doors, turned back and said, "Thank you, bro." With his green eyes piercing my face, the police officer asked me to describe the mugger. "Black man, about 6 feet, good built and glowering eyes," I said. "This could be almost any black man in America. C'mon mister, move on," he snarled. Robbed by a black guy and humiliated by a white cop on a damp night in Chicago, as I dragged my feet through the snow and a frosty gale, I wondered if they are all racists. Do they hate us, the brown-skins?
In Birmingham, I met a middle-aged Indian man who wanted to slit the throat of his daughter because she had a black boyfriend. In Glasgow, I saw a Pakistani girl being kicked and dragged into a car by his brothers from the house of her white boyfriend. In Manhattan, I saw a black boy being punched because he gate crashed a Basement Bhangra party. In the evening I would be at Glassy Junction, a Punjabi bar in Southhall. At both the places, the chatter was always the same: the white man is an evil and the black man is a devil.
Apart from ridiculing the vegetarians as 'ghass-phoos' eaters, Imran Khan, that famous, Oxford educated, sexy, sultan of swing, is infamously on record for referring to India as the south "where we Pathans have always gone to screw women". And in our part of the world, the alleged twice-borns carry a seething hatred for the lower castes and born-agains.
We practice racism in a subtle manner. Through caste and religion, we have institutionalised and legitimised racism. That's why we have a culture of hate wielded by an equally strong culture of silence. That's why we leave no opportunity to abuse a black man.)
(From HT The moment an Indian comes face to face with another for the first time, all it takes are a few subconscious seconds for an ethnic profile to be formed on either side: Punjabi — rich, friendly, brash. Tamilian — affluent, reserved, intellectual. Bengali — middle class, arrogant, culture vulture. Goan —gregarious, laid back, fun.They're all stereotypes of course.The Northeast states, too have pejorative terms for outsiders, and several have seen attempts at ethnic cleansing directed against 'mainland Indians'.
And if you're outraged at the manner in which all Asians are being tarred with the terrorist brush abroad, hear what Samuel Fatai, a 24-year-old Nigerian studying at Delhi University, has to say: "I've been called kalu, Habshi, Negro, all sorts of names. I've felt insulted so often on flights — airhostesses have a way of letting you know how unwelcome you are, and Indians excel in it. I have been strip-searched at most Indian airports even before 9/11."Says Fatai wryly, "Indians don't want to make friends with a black man. Unless, of course, they get cocaine at discounted rates.")
Do we agree with the contention or is it just another of those hyperbolic reactions the journalists ventilate in their long suppressed desire to be adjudged fair by the clout of world's dominating 'white' media.
Reading the articles at certain issues you cannot but agree. There are some arguments, which evoke counter arguments and justifications but not denial.
I am purposely not posting the complete articles here. Those interested can read the articles on TOI and HT websites, Sunday editions.
PS: I tried using the search button (on 2-3 forums) but its not working & gives error msg 😕 . Still tried to sift thru 2-3 pages but its exhausting.
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