Ariane Sherine: Tired of being asked where I am from
So here's a ready-made answer for the overly curious. Last weekend, I had The Conversation for the 3,897th time — and this time, it took place in central London just two roads away from the hospital where I was born. As usual, it went like this: Stranger: Where are you from? (Translation: You look a bit brown. Why are you brown?) Me: [...]
Gopalkrishna Gandhi: A hum, Hindustani
When President K.R. Narayanan started a spoken sentence with ‘Incidentally...’ his staff knew what was coming. Instructions of moment entered through that one-word gate, as did tickings-off for omissions, errors or even plain thoughtlessness. Careful paper work had preceded President Bill Clinton’s State visit in March 2000. But Narayanan [...]
Gautam Bhatia: Not At Home In The World
"Indian Set Ablaze in Melbourne". "Indian Shot in Arizona Gas Station". "Indian Clubbed to Death in France". The headlines are all similar, but they come from all corners of the earth. In the current climate of racial uncertainty, it is hard to decide if the white world has become more racist or is merely angry at being upstaged by brown [...]
Deep K Datta-Ray: The Truth Standard
The controversy sparked by Shashi Tharoor's comments sometime ago about Nehruvian foreign policy touch on issues far more significant. At stake is our approach to the world and our very identity. The debate centres on the moralising tendencies of Indian diplomacy and India, we are told, ought to ditch morals and become 'pragmatic'. [...]
David Smith: Has Mandela’s long walk led nowhere?
Thousands of people are expected to gather near Cape Town in South Africa on Thursday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release. It will be the centrepiece of commemorations to mark the moment that Mr. Mandela emerged after 27 years behind bars, ushering in a transition from apartheid to multi-racial democracy and his rise [...]
Victoria’s Secret
It could not be a mere coincidence that a gentleman who can still be legally described as ‘Victorian’ a good century after the demise of the crusty Queen-Empress and the conservative era named after her, has exhorted Indians to look poor when we venture forth abroad. As the police chief of an Antipodean province that proudly bears the name of [...]
That’s a rich one
If you come to think about it, the police chief of the Australian state of Victoria Simon Overland was paying a compliment to Indian students when he suggested they “try to look as poor” as they can. In other words, he must have been referring to the natural look of ‘being rich’ that Indians abroad carry these days. It’s understandable [...]
Facts Down Under
The Australian police have charged an Indian who had claimed to have been burnt in a racist attack, as attempting insurance fraud. This follows the police’s claim that Ranjodh Singh, whose body was found in New South Wales last December, was killed by two other Indians. These claims still have to backed by a court of law, but it muddies the all [...]
India for Indians?
There is a sad irony in the fact that even as so many Indian politicians are happy to criticise racism in Australia, so few are willing to slam regionalism in India. So, we must applaud the courage of the few who do. From Mukesh Ambani to Rahul Gandhi, several thinking people have criticised the “Mumbai for Mumbaikar” chauvinism of the Shiv [...]
Don’t Go There
Just don’t go. That’s the latest advice the ministry of external affairs has given students planning to study in Australia. Ever since the wave of attacks on Indian students, the Indian government has repeatedly expressed concern. On January 5, it issued a travel advisory asking students studying, or planning to study, in Australia to take [...]