The writer is a columnist. He is also a former editor of the Mumbai-based English newspaper Mid Day and the Gujarati paper Divya Bhaskar
aakar.patel@tribune.com.pk
We have no problem with punishing the entire race of Lankans for the actions of their government. And the truth is that we are consistent in this behaviour. For many years now, we have used the same approach with Pakistani musicians and cricketers. This has not been noticed because there is a consensus against Pakistan in our middle class. Our arbitrary you-cannot-play-here order to professionals was fine, as long as it targeted Pakistani players. The Lankan matter has made more people sit up but, as I said, this is not a new thing. When this is so, we necessarily open ourselves up to scrutiny on the charge that we are racists who believe in collective punishment. Who among us can deny we are not, faced with this sort of evidence?
Writing about the latest provocation, leading to the decision to keep the Lankan players out of Chennai, The Hindu said in its editorial:
“For a person entrusted with the task of ensuring law and order, Ms Jayalalithaa, in her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, appeared too eager to surrender her responsibilities. Far from extending assurances on the law and order front, she voiced her apprehension that the participation of Sri Lankan players ‘will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people’ of Tamil Nadu. To drop the Sri Lankan players on this ground is to blatantly discriminate on the basis of nationality and ethnic identity.”
True, of course, but what the paper should have considered was whether what Jayalalithaa was claiming was also true. I think it is. Tamilians would have gone violent if the Lankans had been allowed. In the same way that the Shiv Sena and its voters behave when there is talk of Pakistanis playing at the Wankhede Stadium.
Like some Pavlovian creature, the Indian crowd can always be set off on the right cue. The other thing to observe is how we find nothing wrong in behaving like schoolyard bullies, and at the same time, spout cliches about cricket being a gentleman’s game. It’s nothing of the sort in India. It’s like a circus in Rome: vicious and nationalistic. Why are we so petty and mean? The answer is because we can be. We kick around smaller nations that are our neighbours because we can; there’s no other reason. Meanwhile, really offensive things in cricket rarely bother us because they are done by members of our own tribe.
The Tamilian head of the BCCI owns one of the teams his body governs. He can bend the auction rules to suit his team but this is fine. And who will object? Two of the most respected cricketers in the world, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, are paid Rs30 lakh every month to parrot the BCCI propaganda on television. A third commentator, Harsha Bhogle, also put his hand up but couldn’t conclude the sale because of some problem with the contract, according to The Economic Times.
We have no problem with any of this and it continues. The parties involved have accepted the facts but even after being thoroughly exposed, they say there is no conflict of interest. I would say they are right because conflicts of interest arise only in cultures with a set of principles and morals, which I don’t think we have. I have long ceased to be surprised by the simian antics of the Indian mob. To a writer, this mob isn’t even interesting anymore. It is actually quite predictable whether it gathers in Chennai or in Mumbai or in Jhumri Telaiyya. Indians are the same everywhere, and mostly, we are insufferable.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2013.
COMMENTS (80)
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I blogged extensively about these issues while living in India, both from my own perspective as a Black man in Delhi, but also regarding my observations about the hostility between Indians across status (gender, class, caste), but also against the Northeasterners. One video discussed the Outlook Magazine article I wrote about racism in India and years later I continue to get hateful comments that basically say no foreigner has the right to comment about India. That sort of narrow mindedness both supports racism in India, but also masks India's own contributions to combating racism globally. Here, one only need to consider the supreme influence that Martin Luther King got from Gandhiji, or even the insight Gandhi gained in South Africa when he, as an upper caste, fair skin Hindu male, was treated as 'black'. Or just consider that process of African decolonization that gained motivation from India's successful freedom struggle. To deny that there is a link between the fair skin madness in India, across Asia and Africa, is also to deny that there have been positive advancements. It also fixes us in this moment and discourages further growth.
@Lala Gee: 70 people died in anti-Hindi riots in 1965 in Tamil Nadu. Tamil NAdu's stance was accepted and Tail Nadu is still veru much part of India. Let's compare that to another situation where the same language prblem came up. 3 million people were killed and thousands of women were raped and that country is no longer a part of Pakistan. Spot the difference?
Differences happen everywhere,. How they are handled makes all the difference.
@Vikas: Ahhh, and so it begins. Unleash the curry trolls. No Indian will go to Pakistan according to you, but seems Indians take no issue with trolling around Pakistani sites for a considerable (and unhealthy) amount of time.
@ET Mods
Why my previous reply to @Lala Gee was not published??? What wrong did I tell in that ??? Lala Gee is trying to twist the anti-Hindi agitation movement when the Wikipedia articles he provided doesnt even tell about any bloodshed or mass rioting...
In my country which is a democracy,we have the right to dissent...And we dissented by blocking railways,organizing hunger strikes and gatherings....But thats how every struggle takes place..be it Martin Luther King's march,Gandhi's non-violence movement,Tianamen Square or the recent "OCcupy Wall Street"...
We used protests not violence to get our rights.and when we got the same,we decided to work for the betterment of India...
One final word to Lala Gee, Dont try to teach the history of tamilnadu to a tamilian...
@Ramanujam Srinivasan: Sir, I sincerely hope you still enjoy your favorite author @Lala Gee's writings!
@Ramanujam Srinivasan:
"there is something called Geneva conventions and Srilankan army has clearly violated it."
What about a UN resolution condemning India for the genocide of tens of thousands of Sikhs and Kashmiri Muslims - both fighting for their rights.
@Ramanujam Srinivasan:
"We never tried to force the Indian govt by calling a “Direct Action Day”"
Is ignorance really that common? "Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965" tells different story.
"and when we realised that our language and culture will be given its due in a United India."
It was not given, rather "bought with blood of hundreds of souls".
@Yuri Kondratyuk: Tamils are basically non-violent people.Even though there was a call for a separate state "Dravidanadu" in 1950s by Anna,Periyar..We never tried to force the Indian govt by calling a "Direct Action Day" and when we realised that our language and culture will be given its due in a United India.We started working for the development of our country.You know there are many great personalities who have emerged from Tamilnadu.
I think the Wikipedia has articles about the Eelam movement.Check tat it was started as a non-violent movement and they were forced to take up arms.Though,we Tamils dont want to poke our noses on another country's affairs. The Indira Gandhi govt coaxed the Tamil politicians to help the LTTE by arming them...Even then,it was just a link between RAW and LTTE,not between the local Tamils who did nothing other than offering asylum to refugees.
After the misadventures of IPKF,LTTE killed Rajiv Gandhi and then the Indian govt changed course by supporting the Srilankan govt.Now,we Tamilians are caught in the middle,the Srilankans accuse us of supporting them,the Tamils accuse us of supporting initially and then left to die,and Indian govt calmly washed their hands and we are given the entire responsibility
@Raj - USA: Currently,Our fight is not for a separate Eelam as such a move should only be brought by a UN resolution like East Timor.Plus,the Srilankan tamils have given up after the defeat of LTTE. But we just want to punish all those who have committed war crimes in Srilanka and all those who are held responsible for that. India initially wanted to be Srilanka's good books by voting against the UN backed probe,but it was due to the hunger strikes by college students,we were able to vote for the resolution. I'm not defending LTTE,but there is something called Geneva conventions and Srilankan army has clearly violated it..This genocide is as worse as the Cambodian one under Pol Pot,The holocaust...We're just bringing the attention of the citizens about it...If a single photo can end the Vietnam war,maybe our struggle can help bring justice
@Ramanujam Srinivasan: I appreciate you admit that the LTTE lost political capital with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and that was their biggest blunder as admitted by them too. Would urge you to be patient. The tide has turned as far as the Sri Lankan Tamils are concerned. . India would be prudent to stay out of what will obviously be a messy situation that is bound to get even messier. Of course India must push as part of an alliance to pressure Sri Lanka primarily about human rights abuses during the war and rehabilitation of the Tamils. The Sri Lankan Tamils for their part must work together to quickly generate a strong leadership which is their single biggest impediment right now. . Tamil Nadu can support the displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka. But again, it would be better for India at the moment to stay out of it as it will make things only worse. I would suggest you read what happens every time some one in Pakistan cries sympathetic tears for a Muslim in India such as SRK.
@Ramanujam Srinivasan:
I am also a tamilian but grew up in Kolkata. I support the rights for tamilians in Sri Lanka and also their cause for more autonomy and equality. However, I am dead against separation and creating a new Tamil Nation. Tamiians in Sri Lanka should be nationals of Sri Lanka and owe allegiance to Sri Lanka. When I was in Africa in the late 70's my boss was a Sinhalese. He was a nice gentleman who helped me a lot in my career. We were close family friends also. At that time, we also had several tamil Sri Lankan friends who were constantly advocating that India should invade Sri Lanka. I was very much against it at that time also.BTW, those days the tamil spoken in Sri Lanka is totally different from that spoken in Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan tamils, used to laugh at us and say that tamil nadu has corrupted tamil language. On the other hand, I had difficulty understanding tamil spoken by sri lankan tamils which they say is pure tamil. Sri Lankan tamils have cultural bonding with tamils from south India. Sri Lankan Sinhalese have cultural bonding with Bengal. I came to know of this from Sri Lankan Sinhalese themselves when I was in Calcutta. The Sinhalese used to send their daughters for Rabindra Sangeet training to Calcutta and I have met 2-3 such families. I do not know if this is still happening. In the 1970's ellam or a separate tamil nation had very little support, even in south India. Although some excess may have been committed by the Sri Lankan government, I still lean towards the Sri Lankan government in wiping out LTTE. I feel that LTTE was equally responsible for the civilian deaths. They were given lot of time and opportunity to change their course but they did not do so.
@Ramanujam Srinivasan:
If you believe so much in karma, why not explain all of the "Tamil" issues with the same principle?
My reply was not even published even though it was more rational and logical than most above replies...why?
As a Tamilian,I'm happy that Aakar Patel published this article in ET....Thats what we needed,Global publicity on a genocide.....
Personally,I think @Lala Gee can write a better article on India than Aakar Patel...Its filled with inconsistencies and bias that will make a Zaid Hamid article well-researched one...
We,Tamils,have always morally supported the Eelam Tamil issue...Unfortunately,the Indira Gandhi regime used our soft corner by using Tamilnadu as a base for anti-Srilankan operations and a few local politicians used it for gaining votes...
However,after karma hit Rajiv Gandhi,Indian govt sided with Srilankan govt and helped them defeat LTTE..But the human rights atrocities committed in Srilanka is as worse as the one commited in Bangladesh in 1971..But,We're puzzled why Indian govt is turning a blind eye to it and our elected representatives are mum about it...
We're not jihadis who bomb Bali,London etc and kill innocent people to protest the human rights violations against muslims.... We just want to make ourselves heard.We are doing everything in a non-violent way to make ourselves.We go on hunger strikes,we banned Srilankan players(I know its not right to the spirit of the sports,but atleast we are sending the message to the world),we are raising awareness all over the world...BUT IN A NON-VIOLENT WAY
The Indian media never highlighted the fasting of students when they were behind Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev all day,but after banning Srilankan players,now everyone is talking about Srilankan issue...
WE WILL NOT REST TILL A UNO BACKED RESOLUTION IS PASSED IN SRILANKA OVER THE GENOCIDE.
P.S. Mods-Please publish this post...I want the voice a tamilian being heard
One good thing I notice about the article and the resulting debate is that Pakistanis no longer mind being tagged as just another smaller nation that is being kicked around by India. Bravo Mr. Patel, you just have broken through the Berlin wall of Pakistani ego.
@Gp65:
"@Lala Gee: Lala Gee. You know the facts and continue to distort them including he fact that Rajiv Gandhi was killed by LTTE for supporting Sri Lankan government with IPKF presence – which was anything but an act of bullying."
Most of the time I don't say much myself, just quote the trust-worthy content - with online references, of course. So, the question of distorting facts does not arise. Regarding how welcome was IPKF in Sri Lanka, here is, again, a small piece of text taken from wikipedia.
"The Indian intervention was also unpopular among the Sinhalese majority. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa during his presidential election campaign in 1988, pledged to withdraw IPKF as soon as he is elected president. After being elected, in April 1989, he started negotiations with LTTE. President Premadasa ordered Sri Lanka Army to clandestine handed over arms consignments to the LTTE to fight the IPKF and its proxy Tamil National Army (TNA). These consignments include RPG guns, motars, self-loading rifles, T81 automatic rifles, T56 automatic rifles, pistols, hand grenades, ammunition and communications sets.[61] Moreover, millions of dollars was also passed on to the LTTE.[62]"
@Ignorant GP65: Stop reading and following the biased and racist media in your country. Bravo ET for putting such a good article
The responses on this article shows how ignorant majority of Indian trollers are. Not everything is great in their country and love how they are obsessed with ET pakistan section
@The realworld shouldnt be fair for Indians: What a lame response. Which coco land you live in ?
No one talks about Indian atrocities in Kashmir, Gujrat, Assam and the class racism that exist in every level of society.
This article is like a fire to Indian trollers!!!!
Excellent piece of article and a true reflection of racism that exist in every corner and level of Indian politics and government. Indian government have tried to bully smaller neighbouring countries through many acts and means and this is another one.
All the events described in the columns by the author are driven by local politics..India is a democracy..IPL is an easy target..there is nothing racism about anything.. It is just that India has a federal structure which has to abide to the regional demands..
@Razi: @Ahmed Shah: @Jehanzeb: @gotti: @A. Khan: "Please explain how banning Pakistani cricket players from IPL will resolve terrorism around the world or how it will pressure the Pakistani government to do something.
For a country that is trying to portray itself as a world power, India cannot even control a few criminals i.e Shiv Sena within its own country, yet it expects other countries to do the same with their criminals. I hope you realize the irony in what India demands"
About not allowing Pakistani players in the IPL. Firstly the IPL is a private organization and it was the teams that did not choose players. Whether there were polical undertones to it was irrelevant. The indian govt. is not responsible for picking the players. Plus in 2009, the Pakistani govt. deemed India unsafe for its players after the Mumbai attacks thus did not allow them to attend the IPL then. This cost the franachises money. Now suddenly the following years the Pakistani players wanted to come for the IPL cause they saw the money involved. The Pakistani authorities and the players have no right to complain. They are the ones that have created this situation.
I as a businessman would also not choose Pakistani players. I am trying to fill seats in stadiums, sell merchandise, get higher advertising fees etc. 1) Pakistani players will not have appeal in India, less marketable, no way indians are going to buy merchandise from Pakistani players - leads to less revenue 2) Some Indian fans being emotional will not support teams having Pakistani players, probably fill fewer seats in stadiums. 3) Big corporate houses will not want to have some sort of relationships with teams having Pakistani players due to the general negativity it will generate for them. Leads to less sponsorship revenue for the teams. At the end of the day it makes no business sense to have Pakistani players in teams on the IPL
The same goes for the Sri-Lankan players in Chennai. Do you think all the Chennai crowd will be coming to the games knowing Sri-Lankans are in there. Serious atrocities have been discovered of how the Sri Lankan army treated the tamils. People are emotional unfortunately and we need to accept this reallity.The mood of the people has a direct relation to the money generated as well as how these organizations will be viewed at in the future.
Then the security concerns which can exist. Indian crowds have a mob mentality (i think this is comman to the subcontinent actually). Its unfortunate but true and the organisers/teams need to keep that in mind while taking decisions. Yes you can pack the stadiums with security and take a moral standpoint saying we will treat this as a sport. But all it takes is one lunatic for it to become an international incident and result in a politcal incident and a massive economic loss. Better be safe than sorry. God forbid something happens to any of these players then there will be no going back. Also I as an equity investor in this will make sure my investment is safe. The cost benifit ratio is so skewed it makes no sense to risk it.
Lastly, we can try our hardest but sports and politics cannot be separated. Now in India if the perception is Pakistan send terrorists into India and on the other side Indians end up paying Pakistanis money to come play cricket or end up playing any sport in India it doesnt make any sense. The mood of the nation whether we like it or not will impact these decisions of govt, corporations, teams, tournaments etc. Anyone who feels otherwise is not living in reallity. This is harsh but nobody said the world was fair. Also if the Pakistanis, sri lankans think that they are being unfairly treated then they only have their own govts. to blame. You remove the original problem of terrorism and the treatment of tamils in Sri Lanka and then this situation of teams being selective wont arise. Also I agree with some of the retired Pakistani and Sri Lankan players. They themselves should boycott the IPL cause of the way they feel they are being treated. Any self respecting human would do so. If that were the case Pakistanis and Sri Lankans can criticise the India teams, govt. etc all they want. Lets not forget the politicians that are waiting in line to get political mileage out of this situation.
I do not agree that sports and politics should be mixed but its a reallity of life.
At the end of the day if Pakistan stops sending terrorists into India and ends hostillities this problem wont arise. The same is with the Sri Lankan treatment of tamils. Its a bit simplistic but is a harsh reallity. I do not agree with the way Indian authorities have handled it cause they could have used many other forums to protest their concerns in my opinion but if they did nothing it would just show an acceptance of the status quo from the Indian side
Hopefully the moderators let this through.
ET both these people have written to me directly. Please allow rebutttal. @A. Khan: Sri Lankan cricketers have not been banned from IPL. please read @blackJack's response to get true facts. The Chennai team dropped its 2 Sri Lankan players because passions undoubtedly are inflamed in Tamil Nadu and this could become a lw and order issue which is definitely not in national interest.
@LALA Gee Please keep your responses to the issues in the post instead of bringing the same old half truths repeatedly. You cannot be unaware that India sent IPKF to Sri Lanka in the later 1980 s in aid of the Sri Lankan government and as a direct consequence Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. This hardly sonds like bullying to me.
The Author, Mr. Aakar Patel: @Lala Gee: @Ali tanoli: @antanu g:
The Author, Mr. Aakar Patel:
On the racism and discrimination, I had posed a question a blog authored by Tahir Mahmood on March 30, in another section of ET.
It would enlighten me and many others to have your esteemed views on the questions and statements I have made in my reply to @Ali Tanoli there.
Here is the link to the other section of ET: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/16699/pakistan-was-made-for-all-the-right-reasons-and-religious-extremism-was-not-one-of-them/
@antanu g: On March 21, there was a news item in ET: War crimes: Pakistan votes against UN Sri Lanka Resolution
You were against India voting against Sri Lanka on the Tamilian Issue.
Your comment of March 22 was:
g antanu Mar 22, 2013 - 3:12AM Reply @gp65: it was internal matter of sri lanka… and what about US.. which slauhtered a million iraqis on fake allegations? dont be a slave to US haemogamy….
A week later, now you are taking a different stance. Are you always as confused as this? Do you have a clear opinion on any matter?
@Ali Tanoli: I had replied to your comment in another section of ET. You just kept quiet and did not repudiate or contest my comments. Here is the link to the other section where my reply was posted yesterday. http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/16699/pakistan-was-made-for-all-the-right-reasons-and-religious-extremism-was-not-one-of-them/
Does it mean that my statements were factually correct?
@Lala Gee:
I pose the same question to you as I have for @Ali Tanoli. Please refer to the link above for my question to @Ali Tanoli
SL has not been banned by the IPL, only the government of Tamil Nadu has banned them; Lankans are free to play in all other Indian states.
On a larger issue, why is it considered racism to ban Pakistani or SL teams from IPL? These are just political moves and have nothing to do with racism. In the case of Pakistan, a state that continues to send proxy terrorists to kill Indians, why shouldn't Indian institutions have the right to ban Pak nationals from playing in India an reaping Indian money? Isn't this just a form of economic sanction? It is very appropriate and correct for India and Indian institutions to prevent Pakistanis from making money in India as long as Pakistan continues its confrontational proxy terrorist attacks.
When more and more Pakistani's personally suffer economic loss, only then they will have the incentive to demand that Pak change its anti-India confrontational policies. As for Pak cricket team, they are all closet Islamists who sympathize with terrorists who attack India. May be, now that they are losing out millions of dollars in Indian money, they will begin to question Pak's anti-India policies and campaign to change them. Isn't that the goal of economic sanctions?
In summary, the author is very naive and ignorant of larger issues.
ET Lala Gee has written to me. Please allow response. @Lala Gee: Lala Gee. You know the facts and continue to distort them including he fact that Rajiv Gandhi was killed by LTTE for supporting Sri Lankan government with IPKF presence - which was anything but an act of bullying. Plus in this case it is PL participation that is being discussed and Aakar has madae some factually inaccurate statements. In any event foreign policy goals cannot be described as racism. Indianas in any case are not a different race from Pakistanis and Sri Lankans.
Please quotrefracts relevant to a oven article in your post instead of randomly bringing the same half true facts in every single post.
A very good piece. I am surprised that some of the Indian readers cannot see what racism is. The author pointed out the decision to ban Lankans based on the racially charged people in Tamil Nadu. So it is not just about the government it is about the general racism in India which is also very much supported by the hindu religious beliefs (caste/class system, Achoot etc). My advice to Indian friends is that until and unless you do not recognize a problem, you cannot cure it.
ET - this person had written to me. please allow response. @PhoenixSF90: I agree with most of what you say with a minor modification - I would swap the word vicious with assertive or aggressive. That India is becoming more assertive about its nationalism with growing economic clout is evident. I don't know if it is vicious. Curious - did you feel India was vicious in the Italian sailor case?
(Dear Moderator: I should be given the right to respond to a comment falsely accusing me of lying. Posting 2nd time.).
@Yoghurt lover:
"When India morally supported LTTE, it was not a terrorist organization."
As per wikipedia entry on LTTE (the link was already mentioned, but provided again); this is how you "morally supported" a terrorist outfit. I wonder what kind of organization, apart from a terrorist outfit, would require such military training.
"from August 1983 to May 1987, India, through its intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), provided arms, training and monetary support to 6 Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups including LTTE. During that period, 32 camps were set up all over India to train these militants.[40] 495 LTTE militants, including 90 women were trained in 10 batches.[41] First batch of Tigers were trained in Establishment 22 based in Chakrata, Uttarakhand. Second batch including LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman[42] was trained in Himachal Pradesh. Prabakaran himself visited the first and the second batch of Tamil Tigers to see them training.[43] 8 other batches of LTTE were trained in Tamil Nadu. Ironically, Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Dhanu, who carried out the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and Sivarasan - the key conspirator were among the militants trained by RAW, in Nainital, India.[44]"
"When LTTE took arms and turned to terrorism, India was the first country to ban it. Even before the Lankan government."
Amazing lies. It was India herself who provided arms to LTTE in the first place. As I know Sri Lanka declared LTTE as "Terrorists Organization" in 1978, while India did it in 1994, after the failed machinations of IPKF (1987-1990), and subsequent Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 (Jain Commission Report) - courtesy extreme political shrewdness of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
"1500 dead Sikhs in operation Blue Star is a figment of your imagination or it is a malicious lie from you."
I didn't quote the number from my imagination, already gave the link in my comment (here it is again), or read wikipedia entry on Operation Blue Star. Had you not consumed too much "Yoghurt", you'd have noticed it. Start loving Coffee instead.
This article certainly falls way down low even by Aakar's standards. I am a subscriber to the print version of Mint and read him there in addition to ET. . I take exception to the below statement that has no bearing in fact: Why are we so petty and mean? The answer is because we can be. We kick around smaller nations that are our neighbours because we can; there’s no other reason. . For an author to state the above in a Pakistan daily can only mean that the smaller nation he infers to is Pakistan. And that is where he makes a grave mistake. For the purpose of brevity, I will not rehash those sordid details in this post but to put the ownership of this troubled relationship on India is an egregious error at best. . With the exception of Pakistan, where exactly has India been mean? Yes there was an error made by Indira Gandhi in Sri Lanka, but then we lost many soldiers and it is all water under the bridge now. Nepal? Bhutan? Sikkim (Yes, that too was Indira Gandhi) Myanmar? Bangladesh? Afghanistan? Maldives (the tiniest of all our neighbours)?
@Yoghurt lover: They are brainwashed. Hate is only survival for them nothing else. Anyway nice comments.
@gp65: Simply supurb. Love your comments. Keep the good work. Best wishes.
So what race are Sri Lankans? And what race are Indians?
So when a Pakistani journalist points out flaws in Pakistan, all our Indian neighbors show up here and praise him/her for "true journalism". However, when a journalist from there own country points out flaws of there country, it all of a sudden becomes "illogical and poorly written". Pfft, talk about double standards man.
The author deliberately abuses the term racism. So during cold war when USA and others boycotted Moscow Olympics, was that racism ? When sanctions are placed Iran or N Korea, is that racism ? USA bars its citizens from travelling to Cuba , is that racism against Cuba ? Answer is no. Those are political decisions, nothing to do with racism. However, I do not agree with Tamil Nadu CM conduct on this issue.
@K B Kale:
"Aakar, you are an Indian. So write such articles in Indian newspapers or magazines. When you wish to write in foreign magazines, write on incidents that add to India’s prestige. If you google “K B Kale”, you will find my write-ups in Jakarta Post which enhance India’s ‘shaan’. But when I write on e-Sakal, I don’t spare our Government or our leaders. As a person of, may be, your father’s age, I give you this free & unsolicited advice."
That's your skewed view Mr. Kale. As a person of your grandson's age, I give you this advice :
Don't write things that will enhance India's 'shaan' (frankly, I laugh at it. India has no shaan). Write the truth. If you are an honest writer, you will write the truth and also pat on the back of someone who writes the truth instead of enhancing the non-existent 'shaan'.
@Lala Gee:
"Now I got it. Bullying Sri Lanka by instigating terrorism there – “by providing LTTE terrorists training, arms, and funds” – was India’s national interest, and later declaring LTTE as “Terrorist Organization” was absolutely not any hypocrisy at all. One wonders, what hypocrisy is meant then.
What about those Sikh civilians killed in Golden Temple – “at least 1,500″ – during Operation Blue Star of Indian Army. “Just because those dead civilians were Sikhs”, and “not Hindus”, you, and most of the Indian commentators here, always unconditionally supported the operation."
Lala Gee, when you show your repeated ignorance and blind hatred, I itch to use expletives. Because ignorance can be dealt with knowledge, arrogance can be dealt only with arrogance.
However, let me educate you. When India morally supported LTTE, it was not a terrorist organization. At that time LTTE was only seeking legitimate rights for the Tamils from the oppressive, discriminatory Lankan government. When LTTE took arms and turned to terrorism, India was the first country to ban it. Even before the Lankan government.
I hop this sinks into your brain covered by thick beef fat.
1500 dead Sikhs in operation Blue Star is a figment of your imagination or it is a malicious lie from you.
However, among the civilians who died, many were hard-core sympathizers of Bhindranwale. And the unfortunate, civilians who died, it's called very unfortunate collateral damage. Cannot be helped.
Wow- people are so eager to erase RACISM that they want to go to the Stone Ages to prove that they are not different races!! Get a real life people- blacks and whites should hypothetically not be different races- just different COLORS of the skin- some even have the same blood lines- but coz of their very distinctive ways of life (due to the discrimination CREATED by whites) they have developed into 2 distinct races in the SAME country!! Once separated and demarcated with borders and ideologies- people belong to different races- on the scale of a country- racism becomes more defined and observable- 3 countries do have 3 very different lifestyles and practices- so 3 different races!!! Kindly stop living in a fool's paradise!
@Author Spot on Article!!!!!
@gp65: Please explain how banning Pakistani cricket players from IPL will resolve terrorism around the world or how it will pressure the Pakistani government to do something.
For a country that is trying to portray itself as a world power, India cannot even control a few criminals i.e Shiv Sena within its own country, yet it expects other countries to do the same with their criminals. I hope you realize the irony in what India demands.
@gp65:
"In both cases thus, India’s stance is governed by what it sees as its national interest. Nor is there any hypocrisy."
Now I got it. Bullying Sri Lanka by instigating terrorism there - "by providing LTTE terrorists training, arms, and funds" - was India's national interest, and later declaring LTTE as "Terrorist Organization" was absolutely not any hypocrisy at all. One wonders, what hypocrisy is meant then.
"Likewise with Sri Lanka the issue is not their actios against the terrorists but against the Tamil civilians."
What about those Sikh civilians killed in Golden Temple - "at least 1,500" - during Operation Blue Star of Indian Army. "Just because those dead civilians were Sikhs", and "not Hindus", you, and most of the Indian commentators here, always unconditionally supported the operation.
@kailash sethy: You know why.Nobody wants to lose his caste in today's politics.It is very profitable to belong to a particular caste or tribe or religion and then through that wield power.It is good subject to talk and bash but not practice.Who will lose his reservation benefit when things are handed on a plate to you.
Are you aware that Indians are barred from participating in the Faisal Bank T20?
@Indian We're all a bunch of racists really. No one's saying Pakistani's aren't. I know many. I know many racist Indians too. Many Indian writers write about it the atrocities Pakistan has committed. It's just that this one is pointing out India's flaws. There's nothing wrong with that.
@sabi: Though I have reservation on Aakar's definition of racism, but I agree with your take on Subcontinent's culture of 'Jihalat'. To give you an example of bigotry and Jingoism that has crept in society- Recently a bunch of Sri Lankan Visitors were attacked & hounded out in Tamil Nadu by a bunch people protesting against atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils; only later did it emerge that the ones who were attacked were themselves Tamilians from Sri Lanka on a tour of Tamil Nadu. Similarly, the Shiv Sena jokers who whenever it comes to relations with Pakistan, claim to speak on behalf of entire India; have been highly proactive in launching hate missions against non-Marathi speakers in Mumbai (be it South Indians or North Indians).
"It’s endemic and representative of the tribal society that India as a whole is. By tribal I mean one that cannot examine individuals without the prejudice of a collective label."
Great to hear this coming from Aakar who has earlier written detailed articles purely based on cast based prejudices. Few example, why Najam Sethi is peace loving (because he is khatri ) while in general Punjabis are more prone to honor based violence. I noticed many Pakistanis are praising him now but they were critical when he wrote about 10 predictions for future of Pakistan.
@Author, The word 'Racism' does not apply in case of Sri Lankans and Pakistanis. Here politics or shall I say political compulsions, mild nationalism, and foreign policy are in action. If racism was the issue then West Indiies Zimbabwe, Kenya and many more countries would not be playing cricket in India. 'Sensitivity' will be a better description. India is full of internal discrimination based on religion and caste promoted and sustained by 'all' communities against the legal constitution. But, in the international arena, there is no 'racial discrimination'.
We usually call Pakistan as "denialistan",.........by reading the comments, I just discovered another denialistan in my neighborhood.
The writer is making mountain out of mole hill. What jayalalitha has said was to not let srilankan players play in the first IPL match, that too in chennai only!!. Her reason being is because there is unrest (strike by college students) going on because of UN resolution, she does not want any ugly incident happening during the first IPL that is happen to be in chennai, tamilnadu. Rest assure, all the other IPL matches, the sri lankan players will be playing and welcomed, after all, three ipl teams has srilankans as captains. Except for tamilnadu state no other state in india has any ill-will towards the sri lanks! The matter with banning pak players is nationwide! There should not be any pak participation in india while master mind of mumbai 26/11, hafeez sayed of LET is walking around freely in pakistan urging more attacks in india. Get real!
@antanu g I can't comment on the facts stated in this article, but I have noticed this trend by many indian commentators here criticizing Indian authors if they take a harsh stand but standing by pakistani authors on similar grounds. But then Indians and Pakistanis are cut from the same cloth, so it's probably understandable.
The MUFC (Modi United Fan Club) trolls have finally invaded the Pakistani webosphere. After invading every last Twitter and Facebook account of every Indian journalist, and vandalizing every social media outlet (to vent their frustration, which is otherwise vented through sexual assault), they thought they could do the same here.
Alas! They failed to realize what the author was actually doing because they were too busy in their quest to Hindutvaize the entire subcontinent by teaching people who separated from them that they only converted by force (as in their view, the Hindu girls in Pakistan are being forced to, today) or to escape the caste-based discrimination (as they told the Bengalis who believe their ancestors converted because of being low-caste and wanted to escape such bigoted discrimination). It's ironic that they tell the Christians the same thing and forcibly revert the newly converted Christians by telling them that they have no right to escape the caste-based discrimination "god" has imposed on you (13th amendment, anyone?).
Even worse is their obsession with their own faith that they believe anyone who converts is only doing so by force because any believer of Hinduism is so obsessed that they would never find an alternate way of life or belief system that suits their personality and needs. I mean, even if the girl says she did it, voluntarily, they don't accept it. But, the real reason is actually them trying to tell their own followers and others, the xenophobic narrative of everyone believing in an Abrahamic faith being either a colonist or an invader (despite both religions existing in the region, even before any such event had been enforced on the "obsequious" warrior castes and children of Asoka, the tyrant).
Anywhoo, the author actually wrote the article to defend the so-called secrets of Indian society that they want hidden from the world, in a day and age of technology. Whilst they are aware of Pakistani society and our differences, they want to keep hidden the differences that they have with the Dravidian Tamils of South India who don't believe in Ram (Vaishnavism) and are actually Shaivites.
They want us to not look at history where Periyar and Jinnah met to show solidarity with the cause of the other. Jinnah was given support for Pakistan while Periyar was supported for is Dravidistan/Dravida Nadu/Dravida Desam/Tamil Nadu.
Jinnah said he believes there should be four countries in the Subcontinent, namely, Pakistan, Bengalistan, Dravidistan, and Hindustan. It see,s the Indians were able to do a complete blackout on the fourth and only three were to be made.
Up until 1957, the constitution of India was burnt at the speech of Periyar and 2007 was when people were arrested for burning the Indian flag. The recent protests were against India for siding with the Sinhalese and abandoning the Tamils they had themselves created, only to stop the so-called string of pearls by the Chinese. Anti-Indian sentiment among the Tamils roared when they locked down the entire state by closing colleges, universities and protesting. India did pass the resolution but it did them no good. The Sethusamudram where the North Indian Vaishnavites believe the Adam's bridge was made by Raman and the monkeys (bigoted euphemism for Tamils). Tamilians, who are mostly Shaivites don't believe in this or in Raman, so they want it made but the North Indians keep using their Ramayana to subjugate others. Either it is the Babri Masjid, or it has been the Tamils. Tamils don't like them or want them around, which is why they tore down BJP offices.
The author doesn't want Pakistanis to know this, which is why he has presented an apology on behalf of the state of India by saying that the BCCI is run by a Tamil and cleverly only mentions the Brahmin Jayalalitha, who is in power and formed a government with the BJP-led NDA that his Gujarati self supports, but didn't even mention the five time democratically-elected CM Karunanidhi who left the center and is pushing the rhetoric to even go farther to the right and ask for a referendum in Tamil Eelam. Amma is only bound to go to the right of this man, which would lead to a referendum in TN because remember people like Vaiko still exist.
In short, it had been six decades, since the Tamils have been discriminated and colonized by the North Indian police, which even prompted to make the Oscar-winning actor, AR Rahman become a Tamil rights activist, no different than the Kurd Ibrahim Tatlises on Turkey.
ET publish my comment please.
If the exclusion of Sri Lankan cricketers were merely a matter of punishing Sri Lanka government for being too hard on terrorism, then Sri Lanka cricketers would have been expelled from all IPL games, not from just the ones that will be played in Chennai. I would criticize the action only on the ground that banning Chennai from hosting any IPL game would have been a far more appropriate measure to cope with the issue.
Dilettantism at its worst. There have been revelations of atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka and a UN resolution condemning it. naturally feelings are running high in a Tamil-majority state, one way of diffusing the issue was not to provide an opportunity for a major law and order situation to come about when Sri Lanka players took the field. That is all that has happened (perhaps a little clumsily given the rivalry between Karunanidhi and Jaylalitha). Sri Lankan players will continue to play elsewhere in the IPL.BTW, what do you consider the massacre of Tamils in Sri Lanka only because they were Tamils? "...there is a consensus against Pakistan in our middle class.." Terrible, oh this is terrible. What have the poor Pakistanis done to deserve this?
@gp65: India's vicious nationalism is perhaps a more appropriate title for this article. I would go as far as suggesting that if Pakistan was in this very position, it would behave just as 'viciously'. We are essentially a similar race; perhaps subtly different, like the Spanish and the Norwegians, but nonetheless a similar racial group.
India hasn't been 'kicking around its smaller neighbours', it's also taken the international stage with a very public diplomatic spat with the Italians. The author rightly concludes, this is because of India's size and growing clout.
Although, admittedly, India's handling of these affairs isn't the most discretionary or sophisticated. Perhaps a fair reflection of a historically boisterous, emotional country (much like Pakistan).
a completely indian internal matter.... don't care.
Now, we have banned the Lankans (too tough on terror).
Here I agree fully with you. In fact India should have taken a leaf out of the Sri Lankan book and gone after its own 'Terrorists' the same way the Sri Lankans went after all 'terrorists'. I am sure Mr Patel would applaud from the sidelines.
A. We have no problem with punishing the entire race of Lankans for the actions of their government.
B. I would say they are right because conflicts of interest arise only in cultures with a set of principles and morals, which I don’t think we have. I have long ceased to be surprised by the simian antics of the Indian mob.
This is even fairer. Sri Lankan are being victimised in a racist fashion for the fault of their Government.
But to characterise an entire population and culture is not 'racist' at all.
AND, If the dictionary defines racism as,The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, the definition must be wrong.
Are Indians racist? To a certain extent, perhaps. For instance, I still see many Indians who would be repulsed at the thought of their daughter marrying a black man. But what does race have to do with the Lankans? Aren't we the same race more or less? . @Author: As a journalist I am surprised that you did not bring up the real reason for the uproar on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils. Prabhakaran died by the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces 4 years ago. The current escalation of tensions is because of the recently release photos of his only son (a minor) who was brutally executed with multiple gunshots. Please see the photos and go to Chennai to see what ordinary Tamilians feel and if "racism" is involved. . I do agree with your statement on instigating the mob. Politicians have been doing it over and over again with zero culpability and we need better legislation to stop this be it a Raj Thackeray or an Akbaruddin Owaisi.
The Sri Lankans are not banned from IPL. So the basis of this article is as weak as its authors claims. People should not sacrifice their integrity for commercial reasons.
Brilliantly written!
India could have earned respect for itself through magnanimity ad generosity but it chooses itself to be a street thug who is ought to be feared. One wonders what insecurities compel a nation of 1,3 billions to stoop so low that it has to match nation. 10 or 50 times smaller. By doing so it only ends up earning disrespect in the region and on occasions a bloodied nose from puny neighbours. Be generousx not mean, Indian.
This author was born with India/Hindu-hatred running in his blood stream. Why has he never - ever - written about the atrocities committed against Hindus in other countries, notably in Pakistan where crimes against minorities, especially the Hindu population, are considered to be a matter of national pride? India has, at least, courts where one can charge offenders. Pakistani judiciary and the police, not to mention the religious fundamentalists such as mullahs and their roadside thugs, will never protect the minorities. They have a long, historical and pro-active hatred of minorities. India is a secular country and despite the occasional differences between Hindus and Muslims, both communities coexist well. India has had four Muslim presidents, a vice president, a foreign minister, several highly successful Bollywood actors, and not to forget the scores of successful Muslim businesspeople, artists, writers and MPs who occupy important positions in society. This farcical op-ed piece is a complete distortion of the ground realities in India. Ask any Indian Muslim if he would like to live in Pakistan. The answer will be a resounding "No". May be, the author should migrate to Pakistan and experience first-hand discrimination and threats every minute of his life.
why Indian authors don't write about casteism and untouchability in hindu culture/religion. Its worst form of racism in human history ever created. People can't go to the same temple even though born to the same religion. People can't use the same water as upper caster people. Whites in west realized their mistake and did the necessary correction but these upper caste till today don't understand the pain they have created in the mind and hearts of lower caste people. Shame on these people
Pakistan should ban indian players from PSL (whenever it starts in this century). One minute, no Indian player will go to Pakistan. :-)
I as a pakistani love this guy who brings truth about India everytime.
Yes and another example of racism is that the poor Italian sailors will now have to stand trial - just because of their race. Tsk..tsk.
By the way for your reference a small definition.
"rac·ism The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as... Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief."
So last year no such prejudice existed against Sri Lankans but this year it does. In December when Pakistan cricket team played in India no prejudice existed against them (are they a different race - Mr. Patel?) but now it is. A very convenient switch on switch off racism that seems to be practiced here. Not by Jayalalitha but by UPA who is ruling at the center. Tamil anger preventing the whole team from participating is just a joke. When Shiv Sena threats did not stop Pakistan from playing in India now and also during world cup - where finals were after all scheduled in Mumbai hen you cannot blame Jaya lalitha. The accountability lies with the UPA government in the center.
Dear Author,
No doubts that Indian society is very racist, with deep seated biases. But the examples you have summoned are not exactly "racism". They are examples of how local politicians use emotional issues to charge the atmosphere and try to maintain dominance by taking the societal discourse farther away from governance issues. You just seem to have fallen in the usual media trap of glibly using emotionaly charged keyword - "racism" - while explaining events not related to it, just like people who you seem to abhor.
"India’s vicious racism"
I read the whole article multiple times and could not find evidence of racism. Are you saying India has suddenly become aware of the race of Sri Lankans?
"First, we banned Pakistanis from the Indian Premier League (too soft on terror). Now, we have banned the Lankans (too tough on terror). This upsets some of us who think the decision was wrong. I’m writing this mainly for them. There is no point in feeling emotional about this sort of irrational behaviour unless you see it as episodic"
Surely you can agree with India's foreign policy decisions because each of us has a different take n what is best for Indian national interest. But the decisions are not irrational as you claim. India does not go around the world beating drums about leading a global war on terror. India rightly is concerned that the people who foster terrorism in India against Indian citizens have the space to do so in Pakistan. Likewise with Sri Lanka the issue is not their actios against the terrorists but against the Tamil civilians. These actions have a very immediate and direct imapct on India that you are too smart not to be able to see.
In both cases thus, India's stance is governed by what it sees as its national interest. Nor is there any hypocrisy. Inia has not asked for civilians to be bombed i Pakistan just for terrorists to be prosecuted with full force of the law. If Sri Lanka were to have that approach to deal with remnants of terrorism, surely India would have nothing to say about that.
"Two of the most respected cricketers in the world, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, are paid Rs30 lakh every month to parrot the BCCI propaganda on television."
Jealous that no one is willing to pay you such amount eh? I don't follow them, so I don't know if they are spouting propaganda. Remember they are being paid big bucks not because they are toeing someone's line but because they have earned their spurs as top notch cricketers. If they are abusing their respect and popularity, they will soon lose credibility and following. I would be surprised if they would kill lucrative commentary contracts for another 15-20 years by compromising integrity and spouting propaganda. EIther which way, people are not going to be taken for a ride just because Shastri or Gavaskar say something. Een almost 40 years back when the media options were far fewer, people did not get swayed by non-stop propaganda on AIR and Doordarshan during Emergency.
The amount of factually incorrect content that several Indian journalists post on ET is truly deplorable. Lankans have not been banned from the IPL - in fact, Mahela Jayawardene is the captain of the Delhi Daredevils team, and Lasith Malinga is the key strike bowler for the Mumbai Indians. Two Sri Lankans have been dropped from the Chennai Super Kings team because passions are running high in TN and the crowds are unlikely to be very hospitable, especially when half the matches are played in their home ground. This is regrettable, but is a local issue that has nothing to do with Indian racism, the BCCI head's team ownership, Sunil Gavaskar's salary or any other random excuse that Mr. Patel wishes to concoct. Second, racism is a word that is bandied about rather loosely, may I gently advise that a dictionary can prove invaluable in such cases. @ET - pls do not reject or cut out parts of this unnecessarily as has been the frequent practice in the last few weeks.
India is democratic afterall where there is no racism exist at all...
so daring a piece aakar... sadly we are no better than our neighbours when it comes to hypocricy.... sadly our media and journalists.. barring few rare ones like you..act as the government mouthpieces.... very soon you will be targeted by commentators from our country for giving a bad name to it while applauding the Pakistani journalists for their writings against their own country.be prepared.
Wonderful piece Aakar. Unfortunately, the same mob that you have talked about will abuse you here in the garb of 'objective' criticism. Some of them will not even bother with that and just unleash their raw nationalistic bellicosity on you... "how dare you castigate the Indians and that too on a Pakistani newspaper." But let me say that you are spot on.