“Racism exists, but I cannot say that I have experienced it. While working with foreigners — like during the making of A Mighty Heart — they served different cuisines to foreign and Indian crews. But that’s more for practical reasons; Indians like to eat their own food.”
Irrfan Khan
Actor
“We Indians think we’re clean and pure; look at how easily we call someone a madrasi or a bhaiyya. We’re too jingoistic, and we attract a little bit of flak very often. We should not take incidents to be the general wave. Indians being successful abroad isn’t reason enough to develop a persecution complex.”
Piyush Pandey
Group president/national creative director, O&M
“After seeing images of Indian supporters burning effigies and asking for the Australian captain’s death, should Australia feel safe touring India later this year or should they boycott the tour? I don’t see Aussie supporters burning Harbhajan’s
effigies or calling for his death.”
Ben
Blogger, Adelaide, timesonline.com
Flip-flop
January 2007
Actor-turned-Rajya Sabha MP, Hema Malini, had to bite her tongue for her diatribe against non-Marathi Mumbaikars. While campaigning for the Bombay Municipal Corporation elections, she was asked to comment on how north Indians were not happy with the way they’re treated in the city. Malini quipped, “If the migrants feel they have problems staying in Mumbai, then they can go back.” Amid uproar, Hemaji went on a hasty damage-control trip, and retracted her remarks saying they had been “wrongly interpreted”.
May 2007
Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit complained about the burgeoning migrant population, saying: “Delhi is considered to be the most prosperous city. People from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states come here. What to do? Yahaan koi kanoon nahin hai ki hum kahe tham jao, mat ao (there is no law here so that we can tell them to stop coming).” Her remarks rocked Parliament. Later, the CM apologised: “I am fully aware of the contributions made by people coming from outside, especially from UP and Bihar.”
May 2007
Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit complained about the burgeoning migrant population, saying: “Delhi is considered to be the most prosperous city. People from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states come here. What to do? Yahaan koi kanoon nahin hai ki hum kahe tham jao, mat ao (there is no law here so that we can tell them to stop coming).” Her remarks rocked Parliament. Later, the CM apologised: “I am fully aware of the contributions made by people coming from outside, especially from UP and Bihar.”
January 2008
Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejinder Khanna announced that from January 15, citizens living in the Capital should carry identity proof. “The decision has been taken to step up security in the wake of recent terror attacks in various parts of the country. The checking would help prevent such incidents,” he said. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar protested that the move targeted Delhi’s 15 lakh migrant workers from Bihar. The L-G did a U-turn and said, “This was just an advice to the common man and not a compulsion.”