-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOOK RELEASE: Medieval Goa by Teotonio R. de Souza
Will be re-released after 30 years on August 21, 2009 at 5:15pm
at Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry Hall,
near Azad Maidan in Panjim, Goa
http://medieval-goa.notlong.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--- On Mon, 8/17/09, percy ferrao <percyfer...@yahoo.com> wrote:Courtesy times
of india, by Anand Soondas
Don’t make a big deal of Shah Rukh’s detention Anand Soondas Saturday August
15, 2009
After a long time actor Salman Khan has come up with a real gem. On hearing
about Shah Rukh Khan being questioned by US security at Newark, New Jersey, he
said it’s good that the country has such a tight set-up. And that ``there has
been no attack after 9/11 because of this.’’
Salman has a point. SRK might be an icon to Indians and many in the
subcontinent, even to the desi diaspora spread across the globe, but to America
he’s just a visitor. We may be convinced he cannot be involved in anything
that’s remotely violent, but the guard given the responsibility of stopping
something like 9/11 from happening in his country again will want to take no
chances. And what is the possibility that he’s a die hard fan of the Khan and
Bollywood? Very slim.
Interestingly, the same day that SRK was detained in Newark, there came news
that the great Bob Dylan, who was wandering around Long Branch, near New York
City, sometime back, was asked for an ID by two cops too young to know who he
really was. When he couldn’t furnish one, he was taken right back to the resort
where he was putting up and staff there vouched for him. And America is Dylan’s
own country.
Was there a furore? Not that I know of. Not even a little blowin' in the wind.
SRK says he’s ``upset and angry’’ because it was his Muslim name that caused
all this. Thousands of Muslims are made to go through extra security checks
everyday in America and a host of Western countries. Is he equally upset at
that? He's probably just pissed that it happened to him, India's mega star. We
all know how a lot of Muslims have been subjected to prejudice around the world
because many countries see terrorism as an Islamic phenomenon. Yes, it is
uncalled for, unjust and maybe wrong. But America is a country that takes the
killings of its people with the seriousness it deserves, unlike India whose
record on this is shameful, to say the least.
Also, because most of the perpetrators of 9/11 were Muslims, America thinks it
has to be doubly careful where they are concerned. Had the terrorists been
Jews, perhaps it would have looked at Jews with similar suspicion. I was much
more aggrieved at President Kalam being frisked. But that’s a dated debate.
There are two layers to the SRK incident and we must peel them off with care.
One, it is quite ridiculous that Indians feel their icons and superstars are
everybody’s icons and superstars. What the heck? If Jet Li came to India
tomorrow, the man on the street here would probably call him ‘`Chinky’’ and not
give a second look. For that matter, what if Gérard Depardieu came travelling.
How many would know him? Matt Damon was here recently and there wasn’t a
traffic jam in Delhi. These guys are huge back home.
Moreover, America doesn’t have a culture of fawning the way India has. Mike
Tyson was treated like a common rapist and spent most part of his youth in the
slammer. Winona Ryder was sentenced to a three-year probation for shoplifting.
Chinese born Hollywood actress Bai Ling was fined US 200 dollars for petty
theft.
More importantly, we are actually aggrieved because we are ``not like them’’.
Well, guess what. It isn’t a virtue. We should be like them and take the
security of our country and its people with solemn, no-nonsense
professionalism. Frisk Brad Pitt when he lands in India next. Give Tom Cruise
the same dose. Don’t spare Bill Clinton either. Isn’t he an ex-prez just like
Kalam? Who’s stopping you and what’s stopping you? Colonial hangover? Or is it
plain lethargy and callousness. Looks like both.
We are just whimpering over here like hurt puppies because we feel, ``Oh, but
we don’t do it to them’’. Oh no, we don’t. And it’s a scandal. We should. I’ve
seen white men – and women – get away in India with murder. Indian women can’t
get into some discos wearing a sari. And bouncers will frown at you if you are
dressed in a kurta. Have you seen what some of these firangs have on them? No
one bats a eyelid.
So instead of making SRK’s detention an issue, we should think of upgrading our
own security set-up.
There’s a lesson in this. And it is a positive one. A day after our own 26/11,
there was hardly any security at CST in Mumbai. It can’t get worse than that.
The bottom line: Stop fawning, shed the colonial hangover and make no
compromise where the country’s safety is concerned. Can we do that or is it too
much to ask from a country that’s been free for 62 years but was ruled by white
sahibs for 200?
Related stories:
I feel humiliated, says an angry Shah Rukh
India takes up Shah Rukh case with US
SRK detained at US airport for being a Khan
The world sees Muslims differently: Mahesh Bhatt
