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The Spectator
I do not know about Shilpa Shetty and her crocodile tears on Big Brother, but it seems to me that signing on for a show that caters to the lowest common denominator, and one that needs high TRP ratings, is an invitation to all manners of abuse.
Whether the insults hurled at her were racist or not can only be decided if compared to the abuses that the white members of the house hurled at each other.
In any case, this business of racism is a tricky one for starters. Who can tell if some one is abusing you in particular — when they call you a ‘dog’— or they happen to be insulting your race? And is the term Princess necessarily a derogatory one? Or the reference to Indians eating with their fingers? Is it all a form of racist abuse, or the demonstration of people’s ignorance of each other? And can’t we choose to interpret the term Paki any way we want?
Racism exists, of course, and the Indian community abroad would do better if they thought it fit to fight it in the streets and in their offices, rather than on a TV game show.
But who says Indians are not racist either? Not only are we hyper sensitive and prone to a victim-martyr mentality, but we are also blind to our own defects. Our sense of victimisation has also bred a defensive-bullying attitude to races we consider ourselves marginally superior to. Have you ever noticed how racist we are to blacks? Talk to any African student studying in India and you will be horrified to learn of how we treat them in India. We have rude names for black people, are ridden with prejudice and suspicion and pretend that we are vastly superior to them because of our lighter skin tone.
And of course, being prejudiced against another community because of caste or colour is not the monopoly of the English. How atrociously we treat our Dalits, our OBCs and our lower castes, how shameful is our behaviour in that department!
My view in this Shilpa Shetty Big Brother hoo-ha is coming round to the fact that too much is being made of a spurious mindless game show, when all concerned ( Tony Blair for God’s sake!) ought to be spending their time focusing on more real issues.
In fact, the most sensible quote in this entire storm in a C-Cup has been Shilpa’s mother’s. “Let’s not forget that it’s only a game in the end” said the wise lady. “And there’s a life beyond that.”