http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=18&theme=&usrsess=1&id=146260
What is racism? Twang! Celebrity Big Brother has pulled open the can of worms called "racism". After Shilpa Shetty, an Indian actress, was allegedly subjected to racism by her fellow participant, Jade Goody, during their stint in the show, the first reaction was "Britain is racist." Almost all Indian news channels and newspapers featured a crying Shilpa and a scowling Jade, and even politicians did not stand back. The people were so engrossed in this "outrageous" issue that they almost forgot that the Ulfa militants were mercilessly killing many non-Assamese people in Assam. While reading a magazine some time ago, I came across two pieces of news. One was about the alleged racism charges filed against the bodyguards of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The other was about a young Dalit girl who was threatened by upper-class villagers because she "had the cheek" to ride a bicycle to college. She was the first Dalit girl in that area who had reached up to college, and village elites could not stand her "outrageous show of ambition". They told the girl that they would burn her house, but she refused to budge. She now goes to college with a policewoman accompanying her. This brings out the two faces of India, one that is all geared up to fight racism, and the other, which is itself divided along the lines of caste, class and religion. Shilpa Shetty, who was not even counted among India's best actresses, is now "famous". This entire racism controversy not only made almost the whole of Britain vote in her favour and help her win, but also got her many lucrative offers. Perhaps votes poured in for her because the British viewers wanted the "racist" tag to be brushed off them! What exactly is racism? According to the Oxford Dictionary, racism is "the prejudice based on belief in superiority of a particular race; Antagonism towards other races." Racism is a very serious issue and should not be accepted. We should all fight against it. But before that, shouldn't we try to break the barriers of caste, class and religion in our own country? The whole of India is ready to fight against racism, but very few are worried about the "casteism" and "regionalism" which prevails in our society. Some feel that they are even worse than racism, as your own countrymen insult you on the basis of the caste or region you are born in! During a brief visit to New Delhi, I came across a taxi driver, who said that his name was Bhim Singh. However, his appearance betrayed him, as he looked strikingly a Nepalese. When asked, he confessed that he was from Western Nepal, and that his name was Bhim Bahadur Chhetri. As the "Bahadur" in his name was an object of ridicule to the locals, he conveniently dropped his middle and last name and changed it to a more common "Singh". Is he happy with the change? "At least people don't look down at me anymore." There are perhaps more people like him, who are subjected to regionalism on a regular basis. But is it their fault that they are different from the other communities? We proudly tell the world about "unity in diversity" in India all the time. There is diversity all right, but what about unity? Are we truly united? Though we call ourselves "liberal", are we really so? Elders have been preaching the children about "equality" all the time, but we - elders and the kids alike - still don't think twice before we imitate the accent of the people from other communities or tell rude jokes about them. We have also coined names for them, like Gujju and Bong! But all this can be changed. And we can change it. But before that we must change ourselves. While insulting other communities, we do not just insult them, but also insult India. And when we are insulting India, we are insulting ourselves. And if we disrespect ourselves, how can we expect people from other countries to respect us? So the next time, we should think twice before saying something "funny" about "that new boy in our class" to friends. And people from other countries will surely think twice before they comment on India to their friends. Perhaps then Shilpa would not have got the opportunity to emerge a winner! Which way do we go? Turni Chakrabarti, Class IX, Coordinator, Loreto Convent, Darjeeling
