I have been thinking of blogging on issues of relatively greater significance and importance than the drivel I write here. I am trying to start now (if this doesn't come off well, this post is going to go off my blog. Maybe I will start another blog for those things alone.)
Shilpa Shetty
She seems like a good place to start. I guess I have entered this space at the opportune moment. It all started with her nomination for a British reality TV show called 'The Big Brother Show'. This show is notorious for the dirt it throws on some of the biggest names on the big screen. It is known for its B-grade, participating, actor population.
Shilpa Shetty is no A-grade actor herself, what to talk of her now famous UP-Bihar 'thumak's . So it seems quite natural that such an actor should vie for such a show. After all, participation entails money, Big money.
All seemed to go on well, until one Jade Goody made things rough for herself and Ms. Shetty. Ms. Shetty had accused her of racist behavior. At once, the cameras zoomed in, cashing in on every second of coverage. Ms. Shetty, meanwhile, shed enough tears to make a crocodile go pale with shame. UK dailies started their front pages with Shilpa-Goody goodies, relegating more pressing matters to later pages.
What seemed more curious was the fact that the Government of India brought this incident into its Parliamentary agenda! One of the highest institutions in the country, seemingly didn't have anything worthwhile to talk about and took up Ms. Shetty for a change. A formal communication was sent to the British Government expressing the displeasure of India at the mal-treatment of Ms. Shetty. Given the status quo on racism in Britain, I guess the Govt. couldn't afford such an accusation at this point of time. It rendered a formal regret statement to the Govt of India and warned Channel4. The channel saw its ratings go down drastically.
Racism has suddenly taken centre stage and governments are doing all that is in their power to keep it low. I bet, such treatment has been endured by many Indians for quite a while now, and I am certain there would have been atleast a dozen formal complaints against the perpetrators. Why was our Government blind to this for so long. Why does Shilpa Shetty command greater importance than all those others whose fate has eternally been tied to Britain? And why should the Government interfere at all? After all she was being paid to endure what she went through. The show in itself is quite infamous for its ill-treatment of celebrities!
It seems quite naive to assume that Ms. Shetty has somehow been wronged beyond repair, and that we must do all that is in our power to make sure that the wrong is corrected. What about the three and a half crore she has earned? What comes next is anyone's guess. She is going to beg the Indian government for a tax waiver.
I would have been happier if somehow, this incident could have made way for stricter anti-racism laws against the common 'alien' in Britain. This could have been the right opportunity to bring to the forefront this issue. But Ms. Shetty took a U-turn where there was none, and escaped withougt being fined for it. She simply took back all her allegations at the end of the show; when she had won, of course. Shilpa, the 'hero', took the dias on the 30th day of the show to be declared as the winner, unanimously. She then went on to declare her 'love' for the audience and the people of Britain. I read arguments from people, saying authors like me have no right to criticize Shilpa because we have no idea what they go through everyday. I fully agree with them; there is only one flaw though. Neither does Ms. Shetty! By taking back her allegations, she has blatantly discarded the plight of thousands of Indians, for whom, her so-called 'Reality TV show' is a way of life! I would suggest to my critics to try and reason out for themselves the fact that Ms. Shetty has been well paid; and for all she cares, all's well, that ends well!
I cannot say whether expelling practising doctors and interns from British medical facilities makes any more sense than this; but it sure brings certain pressing issues to the fore. Indians are being increasingly side lined; forced to return to their own country or flee to some other, in hope of living. The Government has not taken any decisive steps in this direction though; none that have taken to such proportions as the Shilpa-Goody scandal.
The Government would do well to take this up instead.
Shilpa Shetty
She seems like a good place to start. I guess I have entered this space at the opportune moment. It all started with her nomination for a British reality TV show called 'The Big Brother Show'. This show is notorious for the dirt it throws on some of the biggest names on the big screen. It is known for its B-grade, participating, actor population.
Shilpa Shetty is no A-grade actor herself, what to talk of her now famous UP-Bihar 'thumak's . So it seems quite natural that such an actor should vie for such a show. After all, participation entails money, Big money.
All seemed to go on well, until one Jade Goody made things rough for herself and Ms. Shetty. Ms. Shetty had accused her of racist behavior. At once, the cameras zoomed in, cashing in on every second of coverage. Ms. Shetty, meanwhile, shed enough tears to make a crocodile go pale with shame. UK dailies started their front pages with Shilpa-Goody goodies, relegating more pressing matters to later pages.
What seemed more curious was the fact that the Government of India brought this incident into its Parliamentary agenda! One of the highest institutions in the country, seemingly didn't have anything worthwhile to talk about and took up Ms. Shetty for a change. A formal communication was sent to the British Government expressing the displeasure of India at the mal-treatment of Ms. Shetty. Given the status quo on racism in Britain, I guess the Govt. couldn't afford such an accusation at this point of time. It rendered a formal regret statement to the Govt of India and warned Channel4. The channel saw its ratings go down drastically.
Racism has suddenly taken centre stage and governments are doing all that is in their power to keep it low. I bet, such treatment has been endured by many Indians for quite a while now, and I am certain there would have been atleast a dozen formal complaints against the perpetrators. Why was our Government blind to this for so long. Why does Shilpa Shetty command greater importance than all those others whose fate has eternally been tied to Britain? And why should the Government interfere at all? After all she was being paid to endure what she went through. The show in itself is quite infamous for its ill-treatment of celebrities!
It seems quite naive to assume that Ms. Shetty has somehow been wronged beyond repair, and that we must do all that is in our power to make sure that the wrong is corrected. What about the three and a half crore she has earned? What comes next is anyone's guess. She is going to beg the Indian government for a tax waiver.
I would have been happier if somehow, this incident could have made way for stricter anti-racism laws against the common 'alien' in Britain. This could have been the right opportunity to bring to the forefront this issue. But Ms. Shetty took a U-turn where there was none, and escaped withougt being fined for it. She simply took back all her allegations at the end of the show; when she had won, of course. Shilpa, the 'hero', took the dias on the 30th day of the show to be declared as the winner, unanimously. She then went on to declare her 'love' for the audience and the people of Britain. I read arguments from people, saying authors like me have no right to criticize Shilpa because we have no idea what they go through everyday. I fully agree with them; there is only one flaw though. Neither does Ms. Shetty! By taking back her allegations, she has blatantly discarded the plight of thousands of Indians, for whom, her so-called 'Reality TV show' is a way of life! I would suggest to my critics to try and reason out for themselves the fact that Ms. Shetty has been well paid; and for all she cares, all's well, that ends well!
I cannot say whether expelling practising doctors and interns from British medical facilities makes any more sense than this; but it sure brings certain pressing issues to the fore. Indians are being increasingly side lined; forced to return to their own country or flee to some other, in hope of living. The Government has not taken any decisive steps in this direction though; none that have taken to such proportions as the Shilpa-Goody scandal.
The Government would do well to take this up instead.
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