Curry Bashing, Kangaroo Bashing, and Canada Bashing

Original Publish Date: June 17, 2009

I am sure most of you have by now heard of the ‘Curry Bashing’ incidents which recently went on in Australia. Interestingly, I have actually found it somewhat difficult to form an opinion on this subject. Let me tell you why…

Supposedly there were 20 incidents of assaults against Indian students studying in India due to their ethnicity during the month of May…

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/20-incidents-of-attacks-on-Indians-in-a-month-in-Sydney/468521

Absolutely disgusting… it must be horrible for an Indian student to be living in Australia right now… I can only imagine what it might be like for one to have to go out at night with the thought of an assault hovering over their heads. Pretty straight forward, right?Well…

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/we-re-even-more-racist

Hmmmn… to be honest, the writer of this article makes a lot of sense… anyone who has been to India knows of the obsession over fair skin… the castism and regionalism which is still prevalent in many parts of the country, the use of derogatory terms for those who don’t look Indian. For shame… for shame… who are Indians to criticize others??? But wait… there is more:

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Free-Kick/entry/racists-indians-no-way

This is very true… why should Indians show restraint!? For years, people of the subcontinent have been treated shabbily by their European counterparts… its time they started standing up for themselves! Foreigners criticize India, why should Indians back down when they are being targeted outside of the country? The racism which may or may not exist within India is a moot point… well said! Okay, so now the question is, who are the real racists…? Oh wait, I know, it’s the CANADIANS!!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Indians-Abroad/After-Australia-racial-assault-on-Indians-in-Canada/articleshow/4638419.cms

Wow… considering the recent goings on, anyone reading this article in India would probably come to the conclusion that I live in a racist country where I am in danger of being beaten to a pulp any second because of the color of my skin… of course as far as I can remember, no redneck has had the guts to try and slur me in the past 15 years, and when it happened, a couple of my friends and I sent him scampering out into into the school playground in fear of his life... It sounds even stranger considering that I was born in a city where the majority religion is Sikhism, in a region which has countless Temples, Gurdawaras, and Mosques, in a province which has had a South Asian as premier, in a country which has literally dozens of South Asian MPs and MLAs and where pretty much every South Asian festival is joyfully celebrated in some form or another. Damn… now I am totally confused.

Being bombarded with so many different opinions, arguments, and view points, I stop and ponder for a second… maybe, just maybe, it isn’t really that complicated… when it comes down to it, perhaps it is as simple as this:

Racism of ANY form in ANY country or region of the world against ANY ethnicity is simply wrong and should be condoned. Be it beating up Indian students in Australia, monkey chants against Australian cricketers, or assaulting tennis players in Canada, all of the acts are immoral, and there is no excuse for any of them. There is no point in sensationalizing any of the incidents, there is no need for finger pointing or rationalization, there is simply the need for people to realize that we are all human beings, and to discriminate against one another on the basis of our ethnicity is criminal.

Forgive me if I am being a bit too simplistic and idealistic, but is it possible that this is really all it boils down to?