cicatrix,

let me add another article from Gaurdian. Some excerpts:

While their comments were probably made more inflammatory by editing juxtapositions, the stupid hatred of these white women for a brown one was real enough. Put a hidden camera in pubs and clubs most nights and you would pick up similar footage, quiet racists saying things to friends that they would never voice to surveys or TV reporters. The humiliation game-show, quite unexpectedly, has performed a journalistic service.

A comment almost as wilfully stupid as the original anti-Indian remarks was Channel 4's statement that the comments complained of were not racism but the result of a "culture clash". But what is racism if not a culture clash? Cultures clashed in the creation of South African apartheid and the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The argument is not over whether the Big Brother comments were racist - slurs over appearance, accent and sanitation are standbys in the Ku Klux Klan handbook - but whether TV has a responsibility to reflect reality or an ideal.

If I get time, I'll find the clip where actually Jade Goody boyfriend did call her "Paki" during their pillow. I think it has been edited out by Channel 4, but it is out there. BTW, you can find all pristine clips of CBB on youtube, and google videos.

The question is if a high profile actress can be put through this, then who is not vulnerable (if the conditions are not friendly - CBB is a classic cabin fever/ ship board environment where it brings out the base nature of people). People who sail (as sailors or oceanographers) will tell you that confined environment truly pulls out the unhindered self.

Here is a different article on the state of matters racial in today's Britain:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2007-01-19td.html

When Jade got kicked out:

On Saturday, London mayor Ken Livingstone told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think everyone is delighted that we got the result we did last night.

"Otherwise the image of Britain across India, which is the second-biggest investor in London after America now, would have been really damaged and it would have done a lot of harm to people's jobs." [Link]

I agree with Germaine Greer's premise; Shilpa is laughing all the way to the bank.

Regarding "paki". I fail to see what is an insult about calling someone a Pakistani. From what I have read and pictures I have seen, as well as the people from there that I have met, Pakistan seems like a beautiful country with a rich culture and history.

Is it that Indians don't like to be called "paki" because of the long-standing tensions between the two countries?

If someone called me a "paki", I would just be like "thanks".

It's a shame to see that someone like Germaine Greer, once on the cutting edge, has stooped to writing about reality TV.

A sign of our times. The 60's are clearly over.

but whether TV has a responsibility to reflect reality or an ideal.

And yeah, it is called "reality TV" afterall. Why should it portray an ideal? --- that's what acting is for and these people are not supposed to be acting. The whole point of reality TV is to show what people are like in real life, right? So then who can be held responsible for the "racism" or "bullying"? I mean, those two things ARE a part of reality.

Are we to blame those girls for portraying themselves realistically in the show?

Again, Shilpa is getting paid the most out of everybody on it so why are people feeling sorry for her?

She's getting paid for showing up and getting called a few bad names. What an easy job! The rest of us actually have to work for a living....

Someone feel sorry for me instead please!

MoS,

With due respect, you have lost it.

Ask anyone what Paki means? It is not a short name, just like Aussie. Please watch Bend it Like Beckham for reference.

FYI: Shilpa in fact said that she would not even stand her neighboring country, Pakistan be humilated. Was it good politics via CBB? Maybe. Who knows? It has nothing to do with India-Pakistan.

It's great that the lady was kicked out, but surely the good mayor is going way overboard. As an Indian, I'm quite disappointed by the gross over reaction in India. The right response to the whole episode would have been a collective smirk. No offense, but there is much irony in a British person using 'food slurs' on Indians.

MoS: Paki

A word only has power over us if we allow it. And attitude is more important than facts.

If one thinks "paki" is an insult, it is.

If one thinks "paki" is a compliment, it is.

The world IS how we perceive it to be.

He didn't call her a "Paki", called her a "cunt"... I spoke to Channel 4 to confirm this. They cannot lie or OfCom will be on their ass.

A word only has power over us if we allow it. And attitude is more important than facts.

If one thinks "paki" is an insult, it is.

If one thinks "paki" is a compliment, it is.

The world IS how we perceive it to be.

Thank you, MoS. We are all sufficiently emancipated now.

Nanda,
The kind of abuse Shilpa suffered hit a nerve with NRIs. We've almost all had to go through it in some form. You can see how rough it was for Shilpa. I for one am grateful for the Indian reaction, which backed us up.

Same with the word "cunt".

It is how we perceive it.

The vagina is the source of all life. It is the fountainhead of all humanity. It is creativity incarnated in the flesh.

If I were her I would've just taken even that word as a compliment.

I mean, with all the hundreds of thousands she is getting paid to do this show - she got absolutely nothing to complain about.

Regarding "Negro" or "Whitey". I fail to see what is an insult about calling someone a Negro/Whitey because that's what they are - black or white. From what I have read and pictures I have seen, as well as the people I have met, African Americans/European Amerians are a beautiful people with a rich culture and history.

If someone called me a "Korean", I would just be like "thanks" since the caller is obviously making a fool of himself/herself. I hope this was just ignorance on your part, although it seems hard to believe.

Mistress of Spices...

Regarding "paki". I fail to see what is an insult about calling someone a Pakistani

Okay, forgive me if I come across as being obtuse, but I’m going to take a crack at your question about being called ‘paki’. (If you're being totally ironic, please ignore everything I've written and continue on with your day)

I was called ‘paki’ a number of times growing up in Canada, I remember each and every time in detail. It will always carry racist overtones with it. The word carries with it a history of xenophobia and racism. I appreciate your argument, and the way you’re playing with the power of the word... But for me it can’t be stripped of its social history and become a word that warrants a simple ‘thank you’.

Kurma, negro means black and it is not derogatory at all, unless intended to be.

White also is not derogatory, although "whitey" might be, as well as "blacky". But just white or black or negro or caucasian - they are not derogatory - they are adjectives, pure and simple.

Mistress of Spices

Consider this your final warning. Please abandon your incredibly inflammatory and specious line of argument immediately, or you will be banned. You were warned before on another thread.

We do not suffer fools or trolls gladly.

they are adjectives, pure and simple

They are adjectives, neither pure nor simple, as language never is. Your absolutist statements about what words have what weight irrespective of context are absurd.

Kurma, negro means black and it is not derogatory at all, unless intended to be.

If you are very comfortable referring to black people in America as negroes, then hey, I've got nothing to say.

And yeah, it is called "reality TV" afterall. Why should it portray an ideal?...So then who can be held responsible for the "racism" or "bullying"? I mean, those two things ARE a part of reality.

I do agree with you on this point in the sense that the 'reality' being show makes it more difficult for us to avoid confronting the very real presense of these kinds of attitudes. There’s a fantastic interview on Ch4 news that brownpeople linked to with Shilpa’s British Asian agent Jaz Barton that brings up the same point:

The interviewer asks of Jaz Barton:
“Isn’t reality tv in the end demonstrating a reality, and isn’t the argument that is being stirred by it rather an important one for people to have?”

“…these three white women who were abusing Shilpa, do they not in fact react and reflect a reality in Britain? And isn’t that an important reality for people to see displayed because in seeing it displayed it may be tackled?”

And yeah, it is called "reality TV" afterall. Why should it portray an ideal? --- that's what acting is for and these people are not supposed to be acting. The whole point of reality TV is to show what people are like in real life, right? So then who can be held responsible for the "racism" or "bullying"? I mean, those two things ARE a part of reality.

Are we to blame those girls for portraying themselves realistically in the show?

Again, Shilpa is getting paid the most out of everybody on it so why are people feeling sorry for her?

She's getting paid for showing up and getting called a few bad names. What an easy job! The rest of us actually have to work for a living....

MoS:

You seem to have a real problem with Shilpa making all that money.

I agree with Germaine Greer's premise; Shilpa is laughing all the way to the bank.

Again, Shilpa is getting paid the most out of everybody on it so why are people feeling sorry for her?

She's getting paid for showing up and getting called a few bad names.

I mean, with all the hundreds of thousands she is getting paid to do this show - she got absolutely nothing to complain about.

Do you have the same problem with Jade?

Shilpa’s style was really unbearable. She has an irritating attitude. Her non-verbal stuff irks me even more. Just follow the whole sequence - where she complains (1:18) about the ‘chicken stock cubes’ ... she is obsessed with chicken throughout her stint! the surprises with eyebrows raised - 'only thing I ordered' ... and then 'why should I be apologetic the way I have been brought up', 'i am not from the roadside' ... doesn't Shilpa Shetty know how many Indians in Mumbai sleep on the roadside, and get killed? ... i don't understand what makes her think she is God's gift to the world. She goes on ... 'i am shilpa shetty for the work i have done for so long' .. give me a break!! what work? some shoddy cheap third grade movies? i am sure shilpa shetty doesn't even know what is a good quality movie. and she is supposed to have 'class'! Please. She has made a lot of money. That's all.

Frankly, "can’t even speak English" or "The Indian" shouldn't even be considered racist AT ALL. Can Danielle speak Hindi? So, why is it racist?

Cicatrix, Jacques is partially right when he says:

The test of our behaviour, of how racist we are, is no longer what the white British think. That started to change with the self-awareness and growing confidence of our own ethnic minorities. But the matter does not end there. The test now, in this instance, is what Indians in India think, how they perceive us.

What matters more is how Indians perceive Indians.

And there are many Indias, and there are many categories of Indians. The sad part is people do not see reason, people do not get into the details. What I find surprising is the velocity of emotional contagion. Everybody got involved! I agree, when Danielle calls her a dog (00:35), that's a nasty blow.

But please admit, Shilpa Shetty is unbearable. Germaine Greer gets it:

She also knows that if she infuriates people enough, their innate racism will spew forth.

And yeah, it is called "reality TV" afterall. Why should it portray an ideal? --- that's what acting is for and these people are not supposed to be acting.

Yes, it is reality TV. Highly dysfunctional and acted out.

However, like cartoons and caricatures, in its exaggeration brings out a kernel of truth. the most interesting point is three/ four (when Jackie was present) women in an unscripted way immediately zeroed in on Shilpa - her name, food, and sanitation. There was no wasting of time, as if it was waiting to burst out of seams.

I am really glad that England acted wisely in their voting, even if it is just a "reality TV"

Btw Cicatrix, great post! I found Germaine Greer’s Gardian article utterly confusing. Especially this part where she conflates a desi being called a “Paki” with an Australian being called “Aussie”...wtf?

Every time someone sends in a complaint to Ofcom about racism in the Big Brother house, the profile of the show is raised and Shilpa earns a bit more of her huge fee. But it's a funny old world, to be sure. You can call her a "dog". Sexism is fine. What you mustn't do is call her a "Paki". As if to be Pakistani was to be worse than being a dog. Our very tenderness on this issue is the flip side of racism, and still part of the same coin. If you call me an Aussie you don't insult me because Aussieness is OK. Pakiness is evidently not OK.

Okay…I don’t even know where to start with that. Making racism and sexism compete for political incorrectness (its not a zero sum game Germaine!), interpreting “Paki” to literally mean someone of Pakistani origi...yikes.

Anyway, I love the Jacques article -- the observation that the test of racism is measured by “what Indians in India think, how they perceive us” is fantastic one.

Technically speaking "bitch" shouldn't be derogatory either, you're either a female dog or you aren't. But obviously it is. Your whole line of reasoning is flawed. I grew up in Canada too and have been called paki many times. It is always used with a negative connotation. One would have to be pretty naive to treat it as anything else.

My last comment was directed at MoS, forgot to mention it.

Once I made a stupid mistake. In CT, liquor stores are called package stores and are often referred to as the "packie" -- i.e. I gotta pick up some beer at the packie. I once said the word referring to a package stores in California and got stares and realized the blunder.

how come non-brits are on this?

i've read a lot about what the indians think etc. but i didn't really hear too much in the mainstream dialogue about what the 2nd/3rd gen south asian britishers think. i would think that the whole reason shilpa was put on the show was to bring in ads to fit the south asian british market. and yet, the whole fiasco seemed to ignore that very important population who most likely would have had a more well-thought out response to the situation than putting out an "incredible india" invite to the weird woman.

Whether or not it was racist is secondary to most viewers of Big Brother.

It is the constant bullying and harassment of a generally polite, well-behaved woman that hit a lot of nerves. Why is bullying, verbal and emotional abuse more tolerated? It is more wide-spread and tackling this behavior must reduce overt racism.

Shilpa was wonderful to watch. Whether or not she is being herself, she acted in a way calculated to make her family, friend and her country proud. And proved that such values are appreciated by most of the population in Britain too.

This just shows how lame reality shows really are.
If you're going to produce "entertainment" that rewards people for being selfish pricks... can really call time out and penalize players who choose the "wrong" way to express their hatefulness?

i've read a lot about what the indians think etc. but i didn't really hear too much in the mainstream dialogue about what the 2nd/3rd gen south asian britishers think.

They are tons of them in news print (Timesonline, etc.), and go to youtube, watch BBC, etc. Brit Asians, Brit Africans are all over it. They are the ones along with white Britshers who voted to boot Jade Goody out.

You have not looked carefully.

FYI: Shilpa was put to add glamor, and bring cultural clash. Big Brother knew exactly what they were doing. Last year, their talent scout went to India.

The degradation of colonialism is ending; our nightmare is ending, finally

And one way you can tell is that, now when something demeaning happens to us, there is a needle scratch moment. that needle scratch moment is the point at which we pivot now, and more and more often turn the other way. it took a lot of brutality to get us to accept our inferiority in the first place, and now we're reclaiming our rightful place as fully equally and have no need to apologize for our color, our names, our food, our existence

re #22: does that mean that anytime you find someone unbearable (and not a good actress and highly paid) that gives you the right to launch into a bigoted tirade that takes the usual standard trite potshots at the person's culture - food, hygiene, funny name? and calling someone "the indian" repeatedly in a sneering tone is meant to be derogatory from a smarmy person who thinks purposely mangling or not trying to pronounce someone's name is oh so witty and a clever putdown. same with the tone of voice over her English, which is laughable given that her english is far superior to theirs and they know it, hence their attempt at putting down someone whose native language is not english. if she's so unbearable, how is it that the others are able to bear her without being derogatory (including at least two of the women who earlier left the show apparently, who were able to get along fine with her)?

clearly, there is difference in class and breeding (that has nothing to do with what social strata you come from, given that the danielle girl is supposedly from a "respectable" middle class background. apparently she was given instructions from her agent on what to do and not do in the house. one of her don'ts was don't be racist. why on earth would an agent tell someone that before they even went on the show if they hadn't already displayed some proclivity towards that behavior?) at worst, shilpa may be a bit bossy and diva-ish and annoying, which is a lot better than what you can say for the other non-ladies.

In reference to the word "paki" and its "innocent" usage, my parents left Canada in the early '70s b/c they had been the recipients of that word one too many times. A shame, really....

The fact this issue has get out of control is joke. Look at shows like The Sureal Life and Real World, they have the same crap and racial insults all the time, yet nobody freaks out like this.

I wonder what our 300 million lower caste brother and sisters think of this issue. I bet they would like someone to come to there defense which is alot more important then some B-rate actors.

It just amazing how much us desi love to play the race card and get hurt by any comment they don't like in the West. Yet very few of us have done anything in homeland of people to make things better for our lower caste brothers and sisters who have alot worse then any of us on even our worst day.

The most racist thing I ever saw in my life was in the town of Ludhiana, Punjab in 1996 when I saw bunch of drunk Jatts take turns urinating on some 10 year lower caste boy. One of those drunk idiots was a 2nd cousin of mine who never met before, and I hope I never meet again. What happened to that 10 year old boy is alot worse then what happened to some stupid bollywood actress.

OT Comment.Apologies.
I know SM has the right to ban whoever it wants, but can you guys please reconsider your standards of "trolling"? If nothing else , MoS gives me an idea of how some 'other' people think, instead of a bunch of people saying "yes thats right.. i agree with TFA\Post\comment" in one form or the other. However intelligent\informative the rest of the comments may be, I still wanna hear from the naysayers who disagree with the blog's mainstream opinion and see an intelligent reaction to it. Yes even I hate flame wars, but personally I would have loved to hear back from MoS about what the others had to say about her comment. Maybe its up to us to exercise self-restraint and ignore trollish statements while responding to half-thought-out arguments. Absolutist opinions and devils advocacy aren't really trolling are they? How about ignorant bullheadedness? I think free speech and all that jazz are nice to have and banning should be reserved for the most extreme of cases. But then again, you guys know more about the past behaviour of this specific user so i defer to your judgement.

Oh what the hell...I'll just go sing " What if Voltaire had a blog.." to the tune of What if God was one of us. :-)

"The most racist thing I ever saw in my life was in the town of Ludhiana, Punjab in 1996 when I saw bunch of drunk Jatts take turns urinating on some 10 year lower caste boy. One of those drunk idiots was a 2nd cousin of mine who never met before, and I hope I never meet again. What happened to that 10 year old boy is alot worse then what happened to some stupid bollywood actress."

that is indeed disgusting. i trust you did something about it and that the boy is now leading a much better life (and i don't mean that facetiously).

I was 19year olds at the time and visting India in 1996 at the time. I was able to help the boy run away,

But after that event I have tried to help lower caste people any chance I have. 2 years ago in Vancouver I met a lower caste husband and wife who were working in Vancouver restaurant industry. They had been treated like crap by the desi community of Vancouver because of there caste. They wanted to open there own restaurant, but wanted to move somewhere else.

I gave them a number of somebody I know in my hometown area, and rest is history. So now they have there own place in area that 99% white, yet they feel like part of the community, instead of Vancouver where they were treated like crap by there fellow desi's.

clueless, thanks for your reply.

The fact this issue has get out of control is joke. Look at shows like The Sureal Life and Real World, they have the same crap and racial insults all the time, yet nobody freaks out like this.

I wonder what our 300 million lower caste brother and sisters think of this issue. I bet they would like someone to come to there defense which is alot more important then some B-rate actors. It just amazing how much us desi love to play the race card and get hurt by any comment they don't like in the West.

Yet very few of us have done anything in homeland of people to make things better for our lower caste brothers and sisters who have alot worse then any of us on even our worst day.

Also, it is a BIG assumption that most of us at SM have never done anything to help the situation in India. I am sure a significant percentage of us did what they could given a chance, and are doing what they can through given a chance through charities, etc. All of us probably have our own personal stories, which do not have any connection to the common reality of other people's lives, and so cannot be discussed here. OTOH, we have all heard of Shilpa, so it is natural that discussions about her will go on longer.

At the same time I also often feel that SM has a rather elite perspective and is somewhat divorced from the ground reality of India. But it is an ABD blog, so that is perhaps to be expected.

Racism is a problem in every country in the world today and will be in 100 years from now. Yet from what I've have read its seems like that some people think it only is a problem in so-called white countries.

Sometimes I wonder if there is jealousy among many on this board that countries like Canada,United States, Australia,New Zealand and Most countries in Europe are considered the best places to live in the world and they all have populations that are over 50% white. Most of ancestors come from places that don't have the same standard of living.

Yet everybody knows how desi are treated in Saudi Arabia and U.A.E and yet there is little outrage as there is for the so-called white countries for things nowhere as worse.

Also look at Japan, and South Korea 2 countries that could pass for 1st world, yet they have very little desi immigration and they don't want desi immigration, yet if place like Sweden or Norway had the same immigration policy there would be much more outrage.

Our very tenderness on this issue is the flip side of racism, and still part of the same coin. If you call me an Aussie you don't insult me because Aussieness is OK. Pakiness is evidently not OK.

Is this person insane? I just read the whole article and its beyond silly.

Also saw the clips on youtube and its very difficult to understand Jade. Jade's accent is for the most part, incomprehensible.

Jade 'donating TV fee to charity'

yeah right :-)

It's great that the lady was kicked out, but surely the good mayor is going way overboard. As an Indian, I'm quite disappointed by the gross over reaction in India. The right response to the whole episode would have been a collective smirk. No offense, but there is much irony in a British person using 'food slurs' on Indians.

Also, let us not forget that Indians too are quite racist by nature. I do not imply everyone here, but if you consider the average ignorant Indian (as we are considering the average ignorant Britisher here), racism and particularly ignorance of political correctness are quite a trait. For example, last year in the UK itself, Rimi Sen made an outright racist comment (link) about black Africans out of sheer ignorance. Specifically, this was her comment: "Rohit Shetty is amazing as a director. He can make even a black African look pretty."

I can even cite examples of my relatives using words like "Negro" (which is illegal in Europe). One of them even used it in public in the US (thankfully it wasn't very loud to cause problems).

The most racist thing I ever saw in my life was in the town of Ludhiana, Punjab in 1996 when I saw bunch of drunk Jatts take turns urinating on some 10 year lower caste boy

The Jatts are sudras or low caste themselves. The poor boy must have been dalit/untouchable.

Indian casteism is far more inhumane than white racism towards desis. No doubt about that. Whites in Britain marry non-whites in significant numbers. Jade Goody, who looks white, is actually a quarter black jamaican. How many brahmins do you know who are married to dalits or sudras?

Yes the poor boy was dalit/untouchable

How many brahmins do you know who are married to dalits or sudras?

More than you know. In fact, a significant number of Dalit leaders, doctors, engineers, businessmen have upper caste spouses. There is huge, similar to African Americans that upwardly mobile sometime marry outward. PPS: This does not deny deep problems though.

A very famous example is BR Ambedkar.

Ambedkar was survived by his second wife Savita Ambedkar, born as a Caste Brahmin and converted to Buddhism with him. His wife's name before marriage was Sharda Kabir. Savita Ambedkar died as Buddhist in 2002. Ambedkar's grandson, Prakash Yaswant Ambedkar leads the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha and has served in both houses of the Indian Parliament.

So now, we are going to have scorecards or self-inflicted flogging, and declare "We all deserve to be called Fuckwallahs?"

This woman oozes class from every pore. Her calmness and poise in the face of adversity is reminiscent of legendary Indian women such as Sita, Rani of Jhansi, Sarojini Naidu and even Mother Teresa. Now, Abhishek Bachchan has a public responsibility to immediately dump Aishwarya Rai and marry Ms. Shetty. I hope they invite him over as a Mystery Guest as she is clearly in distress and needs all the support she can receive. Hopefully, once her inevitable victory has been achieved, the Indian government will have the sense to declare a Public Holiday to celebrate a monumental achievement.

Peace

A word only has power over us if we allow it. And attitude is more important than facts.

If one thinks "paki" is an insult, it is.

If one thinks "paki" is a compliment, it is.

The world IS how we perceive it to be.

What a load of bunk. Can I shoot you in the foot and claim you're perceiving the projectile penetrating your skin and blood leaking from it? The word itself is meaningless, It could be paki, wookie or goblet. The idea is the intent behind the word, when it's historically been used to dehumanize an entire collective, it cannot be withered away by simply "thinking its a compliment" To even suggest it is placing responsibility for the crime on the victim exclusively.

Think about it this way, if I called a person of latin origin a "hisp" or a "spic", which would more likely garner a reaction? Both are equal truncations of the word "hispanic", but which is more powerful, because of a collective historical context?

She is just the girl to raise the pit bull in a dizzy little drip like Danielle and keep her frothing at the mouth long enough for her nascent career as a sweet little Wag to disappear down the drain. When Shilpa is finished with Danielle even Teddy Sheringham will know what a small, dark heart beats within her fetching chest. This explains the slightly cannibal air of self-satisfaction that never abandons Shilpa. She knows what she is doing. She will shred the nerves of all the other women in that house until even Cleo pulls back her frozen lips and shows the fangs behind her witless Mona Lisa smile.

WTF Germaine Greer?

Does the one of the world's most (in)famous feminist writers realise what she's doing in writing this piece?...Granted the Big Brother Shilpa drama isn't just about racism, or make that simple-crude-insult-racism, but by deliberately focussing on her personal dislike of Shetty she doesn't quite cover her tracks in hiding her own racism.

What if someone had called one of the white female contestants 'white trash' or a similar racist insult? Would Greer be word-vomiting the exotica cliches she's hurling at Shetty? I thought I'd seen the last of the BB debate but Greer portraying her as a cannibalistic, crazed savage-woman just tops it all.

If only we'd realised earlier that this is what it takes to open up debates on feminism and multiculturalism and racism. A bunch of D-list celebrities locked up in a house filled with 24/7 camera coverage. And I thought global warming was important! Shilpa, congratulations on a career comeback Posh Spice and Peter Andre could only dream of :)

Sajit, thanks for picking up my previous comments and also for the congratulations. I’m not able to comment on SM during the weekdays as I mentioned before, which is the reason for the delay in my participation and the obvious length of this post. Excellent articles by yourself and Cicatrix anyway, and kudos to both you for keeping tabs on the escalating events surrounding Shilpa Shetty. "Hello" to Kush T too, who generally seems to be on the same wavelength as me on this issue (both on this thread and the previous one) and with whom I agree wholeheartedly.

Firstly, the vitriol directed at Shilpa is indeed racism -- if you'd seen enough footage every day then it's patently obvious. You may not realise how bad it is unless you’ve seen all this; what’s been happening is horrific. The "class" issue is a factor too, of course, but it's made much worse (in the eyes of her tormentors) because Shilpa is not only educated, well-spoken, beautiful etc etc, but because she's also Indian. There's another female contestant in there who isn't so different from Shilpa in terms of her general manners and demeanour, yet she doesn't trigger such a psychotic reaction because she's white. It's as simple as that.

Currently, formal complaints submitted by the British public about what's been happening stand at 50,000 and rising – far more than any other programme in British television history. It's not just the racism and the bullying that's the problem, it's the fact that the programme makers didn't intervene until it was far too late. They basically used Shilpa's victimisation, humiliation and constant ridicule as a source of entertainment. It was almost getting to the point where her persecutors were finding the very fact that she was breathing to be “aggravating”; it went far beyond the normal “personality clashes” which occur in reality shows, and has been truly poisonous in nature. Hence the outcry in the United Kingdom as a whole, and not just amongst the desi community either. Even more damning is the fact that the programme makers hassled Shilpa behind closed doors for 90 minutes in order to manipulate her into retracting her concerns that the bullying was driven by racism – the channel has refused to publicise footage of exactly what they said to her in order to (basically) trick her into a retraction, because any admission that racism was occurring and that they refused to intervene would render them liable to criminal prosecution. Apparently they found it very difficult indeed to convince her that nothing really insidious was going on, because she’s very intelligent and not easily led at all. God knows what they said to her.

Shilpa isn't really in a position to accurately comment about whether the abuse she's received has been racially motivated because a) a great deal of it has happened behind her back, and she'll only realise the full scale of what's been happening in 2 weeks when she leaves the house and sees the rest of the footage, and b) unlike most British (South) Asians, she's never had to face this before, so she didn't recognise what was occurring until much later. For the rest of us, it was all horribly, horribly familiar – that sick, stabbing feeling of recognition – hence the furious reaction amongst the British South Asian population in general and huge numbers of the rest of the British population who also find such conduct disgusting. It’s like being in the 1970s and 80s all over again, and it’s been a very long time indeed since this kind of treatment of South Asians was regarded as acceptable on mainstream British television channels. The huge number of complaints from people of all backgrounds, the fact that corporate sponsors have begun terminating their support for the show after viewing the manner of Shilpa’s targeting, the fact that human rights groups, national newspapers right across the board and senior British government ministers have forcefully condemned what’s been happening, and the fact that the television channel itself is now being investigated by the British police as part of a criminal investigation regarding Shilpa’s treatment and could even lose its license, should all tell you something about the severity of the situation. In any case, the question of whether the harassment was racist in nature is now a moot point – the main perpetrator, Jade Goody, admitted last night that Shilpa was indeed subjected to racist bullying by herself and a couple of her fellow housemates.

However, the perpetrators have now begun to realise that something has gone very badly wrong outside the safety of their four walls, and their belated attempts to backtrack are pretty pointless as everyone here can see right through it all; it’s driven by a selfish wish to save their own necks and a fear of what will happen to them when they leave the house, not by any compassion towards Shilpa or genuine remorse (and they don’t yet know that Jade has now openly contradicted their claims that there was no racist intent behind their actions). I’ve lost count of the number of times Shilpa has ended up crying because of the deliberate psychological torture she’s been subjected to – it’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch -- and she doesn’t even yet know the bulk of the poisonous bukwaas they’ve been obsessively spouting about her behind her back.

With regards to the comments by certain people participating on this blog who are using this as an opportunity to smugly stick the knife into Shilpa herself -- I’m more than a little disappointed and coldly angry about the lack of empathy (considering the non-stop coverage of “Macacagate” on SM a few months ago – you could say that this is the British desi equivalent of the whole Macaca affair). So much for “brown solidarity”. What a bunch of cold-blooded, weasely bastards some of you are. As for the self-flogging, irrelevant sidetracking into "caste" issues and so on (along with the whole thing about "authenticity" on Sajit's previous thread on Shilpa), well.....as I said on Anna's xmas thread, "Only on Sepia Mutiny". I really wonder sometimes what the hell is wrong with some of you people. Perhaps it’s just as well that I can’t comment on SM during most of the week anymore.

Whatever you personal feelings about Shilpa as an actress or her supposed error of judgement in agreeing to participate on the show, the footage of her normal day-to-day behaviour & personality during the past few weeks has made it clear that she certainly does not even remotely deserve the appalling, psychopathic, viciously sadistic abuse she’s been continuously subjected to.

Anyway, Danielle and Jo are likely to be the next to be kicked out of the house by the public. Although they are now very worried about the fallout, they still don’t realise exactly how bad matters are and the scale of the backlash they’re going to receive. Not to mention the fact that they’ve just committed professional suicide, along with the impact on their private lives (for example, Danielle's just been dumped by her horrified multimillionaire footballer boyfriend as a result of her actions on the show, although for obvious reasons she doesn't know it yet).

As for Shilpa, ironically she’s now the favourite to win and, although she doesn’t yet know it, she’s become something of a heroine in the United Kingdom. Obviously she’s still unaware of the scale of the support she has in Britain – I get the impression that, until Jade was evicted (with 82% of the votes against her), Shilpa thought that most of the public was against her too and thought the same way Jade and her cohorts did – and she’s become very popular indeed along with being unequivocally viewed as “gorgeous”. Modelling contracts, along with roles in major films and television dramas await her, as discussed here. Several of Britain’s major national newspapers, both “respectable” such as The Times and hugely-popular tabloids, were even giving away free DVDs of her work yesterday, such as her critically-acclaimed film Phir Milenge. Poetic justice indeed ;)

Support from our American desi cousins (and South Asians elsewhere) would certainly be welcomed; if you wish to formally complain to Ofcom (the main British television regulators who are investigating the matter) then you can do so via their website; someone earlier on Sajit's thread kindly provided the URL link. You can also formally complain to the television channel responsible for all this by emailing bblb@channel4.com . Please help us if you can.

I’m more than a little disappointed and coldly angry about the lack of empathy (considering the non-stop coverage of “Macacagate” on SM a few months ago – you could say that this is the British desi equivalent of the whole Macaca affair). So much for “brown solidarity”. What a bunch of cold-blooded, weasely bastards some of you are

aww Jai, don't hate us Umreekans. We aren't living the political moment like you are, live in the UK, so it is hard to get a good grasp of the context of everything. We'll try to be better behaved in future...

I personally was turned off more by the tabloid-esque media and "international" reaction to the situation, rather than a reflection of modern race-relations in Britain....which is why I was curious about the 2nd/3rd gen reaction.

but wow, I was wondering why she had retracted her comments on the racism. That is pretty twisted of the producers to corner her into a retraction.

And you are right. Even if she is beautiful, rich, leads a largely superficial life, that doesn't mean it's ok for people to treat her like crap. I'm glad she has a large cheering-squad in the UK to take out the garbage, so to speak.

She was confronted not only with the Other, but a hugely self-confident Other. What could be worse?

this reminds me of middle school, when one of the indian girls in our class was for some reason deemed the least cool person in our class. she was confident and proud of her heritage which made her anathema to the cool white kids in our class. on the other hand, people like dinesh d'souza remind me of the brown kids who tried too hard to be popular, and did everything they could to distance themselves from their cultural background.

Jai,

With regards to the comments by certain people participating on this blog who are using this as an opportunity to smugly stick the knife into Shilpa herself -- I’m more than a little disappointed and coldly angry about the lack of empathy (considering the non-stop coverage of “Macacagate” on SM a few months ago – you could say that this is the British desi equivalent of the whole Macaca affair). So much for “brown solidarity”.

She went uncoerced on a trashy TV show where raunch and foul behavior is the desired spectacle. Where's your sense of context in your analogy?

Europe used to ignore what the former colonial world felt. There was no feedback loop. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time - the dawning awareness that the “third world” is no longer silent or passive. The realization that “the Other” can speak for itself, quite well, thank you. The acknowledgement that we are here, we are watching you, and we will not be ignored.

Great post Cicatrix. I believe the sentiment I quoted is the crux of the whole issue. In the long run, Shilpa and Jade will be forgotten, but the realization that there are still scars from colonialism is a lesson that should have been learned long ago. The next question is how to get past it. Now that China and India are on the rise, should people who have roots in those countries still feel a grudge against former colonial powers? Further, I think its important to recognize that there might be a bit of an inferiority complex at work. If that is the case, you can't place all the blame on the west. South Asian nations also have to deal with their own issues.

I love this line from the article linked by Jai Singh:

Miss Goody did at least receive support from her grandfather. John Caddock, 68, who briefly went into Celebrity Big Brother with his wife Sylvia, 74, said: "Jade is not a racist. She's got a lot of friends who are ethnics."

Hmmm, never heard that one before.

Jai Singh, specifically what laws are people saying may have been broken here? Could email me (off-thread) to direct me to any sources that talk about this? Thanks.

and the fact that the television channel itself is now being investigated by the British police as part of a criminal investigation regarding Shilpa’s treatment

Criminal investigation! Hello? So what exactly is the British police going to do? Arrest Jade? Bullying an adult is now a crime?

Also if its so bad, why doesnt Shetty just leave? Would she be penalized? Lose her appearance money?

Jai: Nice to see you again. I was wondering about where you had disappeared to. Also how are the Pakistanis in Britain reacting to the whole Shetty saga.

Cicatrix -

The economic factor appears to be the decisive one, but Indian investment wouldn’t be a concern if there hadn’t been an outcry in India about the ethnic slurs.

This lens on the controversy is an interesting one, and calls to mind the ways in which this may or may not be the British equivalent of the "macaca moment," as Jai Singh suggests, and also calls to mind the underlying premises about Indian American political activism in articles like Manjeet Kripalani's, which Siddhartha blogged about yesterday. Is the reaction in Britain to the Celebrity Big Brother row about getting past the long history of racism against South Asians in the UK, discussed by Jai Singh? Or is it more about economic investment in India and the almighty pound? Is the outcry in the UK independent from the outcry in India or shaped by it?

I'm curious what people think would have happened if instead of Shilpa Shetty, an Indian citizen and resident, the recipient of all this abuse in the CBB house had been (1) a prominent Pakistani citizen/resident, (2) a prominent British Pakistani individual, or (3) a prominent British Indian individual. In each case, the reaction in India would almost certainly not have materialized the way it had here. But -- and I guess I'm mostly directing this question to British readers -- is there any reason to believe that the reaction in the UK would have been significantly different?

In the macaca situation, after all, the kid was an unknown, second generation American, and the strong reaction to George Allen came from all kinds of people in the United States, well before anyone in India was injecting the transnational element into it.

So much for “brown solidarity”. What a bunch of cold-blooded, weasely bastards some of you are.

"Brown solidarity", in this context, only applies to browns with American accents. Consider it the typical American insularity and arrogance towards "non-Americans".

Jai, thank you for your insightful post. I think it is impossible for most of us ABCD's/American FOB's to understand the extent of the everyday racism that permeates British culture. I lived in London between the ages of 6 - 11 and spent a long, long time trying to deal with the feelings of being somehow worse than everyone else for reasons that I didn't understand. The frequent racial comments (eg, constant Paki/wog usage, Indians breed like rabbits, sh*t colored skin) from the other kids created a situation where I was ashamed of what I was and everything it stood for. Thank God my parents moved us out of there before the damage was permanent.

Although that was a long time ago, I can't believe that the vestiges of all that animus has gone. I know that just a couple of years ago when I was practicing law I had a British colleague (we were at Kirkland & Ellis, a big US law firm - so this woman was extremely bright and highly credentialed). In conversations with me she used the word "Paki shop" and referred to the fact that I seemed so different from most Indians except for my (outside-of-work) landlord duties, which apparently seemed a fitting occupation. I fight against it, but I still react badly the instant I hear an English accent.

I basically spent most of the rest of my life of my life in the States, and never experience anything like that time in England. Whether it's the "model minority" paradigm (which I agree is bullsh*t) or the fact that there's just not as many Indians to become a racial flashpoint, it really is different here.

But -- and I guess I'm mostly directing this question to British readers -- is there any reason to believe that the reaction in the UK would have been significantly different?

As a white Brit (hello!) I would say that the force and cruelty of the bullying was such that there would have been a significant reaction regardless of the economic situation. It was a childish, unprovoked and vicious attack, and most of us can relate to that from our own childhoods, regardless of race. It was deeply unpleasant to watch, but as a media student I was committed to seeing it through. The media storm was obviously fed by the fact that Gordon Brown happend to be in India at the time, but (despite the low reputation that "reality TV" has) BB viewers have a proven record of siding with the bullied, rather than the bullies. In the aftermath, it's been great to see so many eloquent "talking heads" speaking up in favour of tolerance and understanding.

Greer's article is a mad bag or rambling nonsense. The argument that victims are to blame for their treatment, because they "know what they're doing" to encourage it, is not one a feminist should really be falling back on, imho.

Peace.

The importance of Shilpa Shetty:

A tally by the BBC said "Celebrity Big Brother" had generated 300 newspaper articles in Britain, 1,200 in English-language newspapers (including this one) around the globe, 3,900 foreign-language news articles and 22,000 blog postings. Around 40,000 people - the highest on record - made complaints to the television standards regulator. Six cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, commented publicly on it, and for many of higher intellectual pretensions, there was a further agonizing question. [Link]

Jai - this might well be a Macaca moment for the UK, but the context is very different from Macaca gate in the US, which might partially explain the lack of a similar reaction on this side of the Atlantic.

In the US, the Macaca comment was made by a very popular senator who was considered a front runner for the Presidency. HR Sidarth did little to attract that sort of attention - it's routine to have your remarks taped by your opponent. And he wasn't making a dime for his work - he was a volunteer, not a highly paid star.

In the UK, all of this is happening as part of a reality TV show. The problem is that in the US, there is strong suspicion of anything that happens on reality TV - unless we know otherwise, some of us assume it's all an artifact of editing. And we're only seeing tiny YouTube clips of it anyway.

Until I heard from my British friends, I was agnostic as to whether she was getting bullied, or whether this was being generated in the editing room. And yes, Shetty does have reasons to invite the sympathy of the audience and play the victim, which increases skepticism.

So you're right - we're not as up in arms over this as we were over Macaca gate. It just seems odd that the police are getting involved and major politicians are speaking out ... all over a reality TV show, and in particular over the behavior of Jade Goody - a celebrity whose only claim to fame was earlier Big Brother. That's why we're not posting about this daily.

Thanks, Andie (hello back!). If you, Jai Singh, or anyone else has insights about the legal dimension, whether they involve broadcast regulation or criminal law, I'd be grateful for an email or comments on this thread.

It maybe different here - I'm a Canuck and from the things I've heard on this board we have it a lot better than Yanks - but that should not stop us from supporting Brit desis when stuff like this happens. Besides, there are no real borders anymore. This Shetty episode hit the newspapers here too. I for one sent off a complaint to Ofcom (though God knows what they will make of the address and phone number on it...)

I lived in London between the ages of 6 - 11 and spent a long, long time trying to deal with the feelings of being somehow worse than everyone else for reasons that I didn't understand. The frequent racial comments (eg, constant Paki/wog usage, Indians breed like rabbits, sh*t colored skin) from the other kids created a situation where I was ashamed of what I was and everything it stood for. Thank God my parents moved us out of there before the damage was permanent.

I have read that call center workers in Bangalore find brits to be the most insidiously racist of all callers in their interaction with the indians trying to help them. What makes the brits so contemptuous of desis? I suspect that the pakistani terrorists being bred in the ghettos of England are reacting to the racism desis encounter there. The first generation of pakistanis and indians in the UK, mostly punjabis, encountered some truly brutal racism when they first immigrated to the UK. They were spat on, yelled at, chased through the streets and beat up by skinhead thugs in a "sport" called paki-bashing.....

The point of view which says 'but we don't understand what it's like over there' as a justification for apathy is simply not acceptable - if it were, the indifference of so many whites to the racism around them would be acceptable. I can't count the number of times I've encountered this type of apathy in otherwise nice, normal white liberals. If we desis in the States and Canada display a similar level of apathy to the obvious distress this episode has caused Brit desis, how does that make us different from such apathetic whites?

It still amazes me that Indians are so touchy about "racial abuse". Life in India is full of racism everyday.
Clueless, gives an example of it in #22. Just go to any paper and you will read about racist instances like that on a daily basis.
Then this cry baby pulls out a cheap race card. How pathetic!! I f@cking hate it when Desis pull out the race card. (I have been called "Mohammad go home" in the US, in 1995.)

Kush in #1,

Put a hidden camera in pubs and clubs most nights and you would pick up similar footage, quiet racists saying things to friends that they would never voice to surveys or TV reporters.

The reason I hate Desis pulling out the race card is that, it is admitting that Desis are lower in the pecking order of race. The same reason why a lot of you dont like the model minority term. Such as what Siddhartha said in other thread

First, because you refer to yourself as a minority. Minority is, in part, a state of mind.

RC, minority is in part a state of mind, but race is a little different. Race is something that at least in large part is imposed/applied on you by the eyes of the world, of other people, of powerful interests, etc. So what you call "playing the race card" -- a cliche'd term, by the way, that is every bit as useless and distracting as the term "model minority" -- needs to be understood in this context. For you to point out that people feel free to treat you in disparaging ways and with impunity on the basis of the color of your skin, is a perfectly valid point to make if it is indeed what is happening. Making that statement is every bit as important, in that case, to your dignity and self-respect, as is not thinking of yourself as a "minority." Indeed, the two make sense together.

Even though the broad analogies made in the article are probably off the mark, the spectacle of this debate may shame some of the dodgy stereotypes out of colloquial vocab of the average Brit. Assigning a moral value: good.

However, less we forget the source, this is reality tv, so if it looks like shit, don't be surprised that it smells like shit.

The economic factor appears to be the decisive one, but Indian investment wouldn’t be a concern if there hadn’t been an outcry in India about the ethnic slurs. Get on board, people! This isn’t really about parsing the racism of “the Indian” or whether Shilpa irritated you personally. It’s about how casually people in the third world, “foreigners,” were dismissed and ignored. It’s about how that is finally, maybe, changing.

This is HUGE. The economic factor appears to be the decisive one, but Indian investment wouldn’t be a concern if there hadn’t been an outcry in India about the ethnic slurs. Get on board, people! This isn’t really about parsing the racism of “the Indian” or whether Shilpa irritated you personally. It’s about how casually people in the third world, “foreigners,” were dismissed and ignored. It’s about how that is finally, maybe, changing.

Let's put things in perspective here. The world will respect India when Indians start respecting themselves. As a second-generation Indian, I find it offensive the amount of corruption and that little is done to improve the condition of the common man. I find it offensive that Indians, such as dalits, are treated better in the West than in their own country. These unfortunate facts are more important than what three people say in a reality show. I guess the huge outcry by Indians and the hypocrite indian government, is because India is really a slum characterized by unsanitary conditions, social disorganization and pollution everywhere.

I see this incident as a case of bullying, nothing else.

Vir Sanghvi's views
on india's over-the-top and yes, hypocritical, reaction, but why it's also satisfying to be the preachy one to one who preached down to you for so long.

Let's put things in perspective here... I guess the huge outcry by Indians and the hypocrite indian government, is because India is really a slum characterized by unsanitary conditions, social disorganization and pollution everywhere.

I find it amusing that you call for perspective and then characterize India as a slum. Perhaps you need to gain another perspective? Or at least view your own a wee bit more critically.

We're not going to gain respect if we keep criticizing each other (ourselves) so harshly.

sorry, the correct link for Sanghvi's article: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1905830,0008.htm

the argument seems to be; only a 100% perfect society can criticize another. so since there aren't any, everyone should just keep quiet and work on their own sins and uncomplainingly absorb any ill-will/bullying/racism, especially if one is being paid (whether on Big Brother or on your own job - because both are jobs in the end) towards oneself as a sacrifice for all the sins your own society has perpetrated on others since the beginning of time.

India is vastly more complicated that most Westerners, Americans, and if Cisco is anything to go by, second-genners, think.

As a Sri Lankan, I can't claim to know all that much about it. But India's immense scale, complexity, and defiance of generalizations become pretty obvious when I visited a year ago.

I'm looking forward to reading In Spite of the Gods, an economic analysis of India by an Financial Times reporter. The linked review says it:

offers an Imax view of a nation so enormous that it embraces every possible contradiction. Always it seems to be teetering on the edge of either greatness or the abyss. Right now the future looks inviting.

No von Mises,

She went uncoerced on a trashy TV show where raunch and foul behavior is the desired spectacle. Where's your sense of context in your analogy?

The guidelines for participation on the British version of the show explicitly do not allow any kind of bullying or (especially) racism towards the other housemates. To put it bluntly, Shilpa didn't sign up for that crap. I'm not a lawyer, but it makes me wonder if Channel 4 and Endemol are liable for breach of contract (amongst several other things).

Anil,

Jai Singh, specifically what laws are people saying may have been broken here?

Channel 4 is not allowed to transmit racist material (unless it's some kind of investigative documentary, for example), so the fact that they allowed racism-based bullying to occur unabated for several weeks without intervening, despite the fact that the victim was clearly in extreme distress because of it, renders them liable to criminal prosecution. Also, Jade Goody and her cohorts could be liable to prosecution for perpetrating the racial harrassment of Shilpa.

But -- and I guess I'm mostly directing this question to British readers -- is there any reason to believe that the reaction in the UK would have been significantly different?

No. Not when one considers the scale of what Shilpa was inflicted to. It was basically 24/7, and considerably beyond simple "bitchy banter".

AlMfD,

Criminal investigation! Hello? So what exactly is the British police going to do? Arrest Jade? Bullying an adult is now a crime?

See above. Bullying an adult for racial reasons is indeed a crime in the United Kingdom. Also, as mentioned before, it's not just Jade who's the problem -- there are 2 other white female housemates who have also participated in the racial harrassment of Shilpa -- one of whom has been undeniably racist multiple times -- along with Jade's boyfriend Jack.

Also if its so bad, why doesnt Shetty just leave?

I expect she'll answer that question when she finally leaves the house, either via eviction or by winning. It's generally regarded that one of the major reasons is that she doesn't want to give her tormentors the satisfaction of successfully driving her out of the house -- which was apparently one of the intentions of the "three witches"; Shilpa was regarded as their biggest rival to win, so they wanted to give her so much trouble that she'd eventually "break" and walk out of the show. Unfortunately, they went a little too far.

Would she be penalized?

I believe so, based on the precedents regarding two other housemates who recently walked out. They might make an exception for Shilpa though, considering everything she's gone through (speculation on my part).

Jai: Nice to see you again. I was wondering about where you had disappeared to.

Thanks man. I'm only around for the weekend, though ;)

Also how are the Pakistanis in Britain reacting to the whole Shetty saga.

The same as the Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans here, as far as I know.

Ennis,

It just seems odd that the police are getting involved and major politicians are speaking out ... all over a reality TV show,

- British laws have possibly been broken.

- The level of racism-motivated sadism towards Shilpa has gone far, far beyond what you would normally expect on a "controversial" reality show. It stopped being merely "entertaining" a long time ago and crossed the line into vicious unwarranted psychological persecution.

- It's been at least 15 years since any deliberately racist material was allowed on mainstream British television and depicted as "entertainment".

- Officially, the kind of behaviour directed at Shilpa has been regarded as completely unacceptable within mainstream British society for a very long time. Apart from the fact that it touches a lot of nerves with British South Asians (and others from various ethnic minority groups here) who have experienced this sort of abuse in their own lives, along with members of the majority white community who have either witnessed such behaviour and/or virulently object to it, it was Channel 4's silence on the subject and lack of intervention until the public and political outcry which has made matters even worse. You may not realise how bad it's been unless you've seen all of the relevant footage -- what's happened in front of Shilpa and what's gone on behind her back. Desis in Britain stopped taking this kind of bukwaas a very long time ago, and we sure as hell aren't going to sit and watch a fellow South Asian being persecuted like that on television, irrespective of whether it's a "reality show" and irrespective of whether it's an Indian actress rather than a "regular" person. Not when it was having the horrendous effect on Shilpa Shetty that has been evident during the past couple of weeks. It's much worse than you may think. In short, it stopped being a game pretty quickly and has gone to far greater extremes than that. And there are still at least 2 other racists in there who have been doing some serious backtracking to save their own necks and are still obviously unrepentant about their actions.

Ok, I am not a big Ms. Shetty fan, but that said, there is really no justification or acceptability when it comes to racist behavior. I don't care how much money you make, or whether you signed up for a stupid (and crappy) TV show.

I think folks should really spend some time in the UK before talking about how this was a trivial event. Also, the justification that this happens on U.S. tv and is "no big deal" is not useful; I would argue that these events should be a "bigger deal," but that's OT. The things happening on UK Big Brother are not trivial in a country where the racial structure/hierarchy is completely different. In many ways, desis have been treated similarly to the way African Americans were treated during the late Jim Crow era in the U.S. I don't think it's helpful to try to analyze this from a U.S. perspective, particularly not around race or TV.

Anil, the laws you should look for are the Race Relations Acts. They were passed in 1958, 1962, 1965/68, and the big rewrite was in 1976. Subsequent amendments were passed in the 1990s and in 2000/2001 (I think), around the same time as the asylum amendments. Among other things, it is illegal in the UK to incite racial hatred, particularly via broadcast networks.