Comments on: It’s Hard Out There For An Indian Idol

By: Indserial

Indserial — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:33:31 +0000

nyone know whether other South Asian languages are found on banknotes outside the subcontinent? I would have guessed Trinidad (40% desi), Guyana (44%) and Fiji (38%), but not so.

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 18 May 2008 23:52:32 +0000

Vola..! too many comments. but… belonging to a different doesn’t matter on indian shows… you gotta speak good hindi, sing well, look charming… like chang does. His looks being chinese is noticed… you cant blame some one for pointing that out. if some one says I look indian.. I say yes man. I do. if some one asks me “Espanuel?” I dont get angry at them.. I just tell them sorry, im from india. it’s as simple as stating a fact…

By: BhaskarC

BhaskarC — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:06:42 +0000

I think our nepali friend gtaragiven a good insight...thankyou gtara, tell them that we are never racist towards any chinky.

BhaskarC.

By: BhaskarC

BhaskarC — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:16:17 +0000

Why no one says the same for the contstant Prashant? He is also like a Chinese no? But because Chang has said that he is Chinese, that’s why you are discussing so much about him; had he said he was Nepali, no one would have talked about him so much…I say why did Chang say he is Chinese in the first place? He should have said he is Indian, and why did the judges ask about the origins, both were wrong; but maybe both are right and races do exist, but there is no such hatred here, anything is respect..and do not create that topic between Indians and Chinese, we are races that are much matured in this respect than whites who have created their racism with others..let Americans live in their foolish race, race, race thing..we are not to apply this fools-study in India, India is totally a different and much more liberal country than the U.S, I think.

By: BhaskarC

BhaskarC — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:01:36 +0000

Hey, dont bend your head too much on this…this is not racism as you know, Chinese in India are rare, and mostly people outside of Calcutta dont know them…but its not that Indians are unused to living with the Mongol kind of people, nor do Indians feel any hatred towards them or condider to be racist towards them…what if he is Chinese, have you never seen a Bhutani, Nepali, Burmese living in india, we all have have grown up with them. Racism is what it is in America where they really hate others, we dont hate any Chinese, we are just curious, and maybe our curisosity looks wierd at times, but they are different so they are talked to in a different way, but not that we dont accept them…you cannot just be blind, no? He is a Chinese Indian so what, he is one of many types living in India? Believe me, they dont feel bad, nor are they poor chaps, if he is Indian and grown up here, he knows our heart very well and more than you even. So get out of your box of America-brand race classification and get into the real world where there is no such thing as racism, still there is a clear mark between things.

BhaskarC.

By: gtara

gtara — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:30:26 +0000

I am a Nepali from Kathmandu, and during my boarding school days in Darjeeling many of my classmates were Chinese--from Tangra, Calcutta. They spoke Hindi like it was their mother tongue. Some of them even spoke a Hindi-ized version of Nepali that they'd picked up from the Nepali workers in their tanneries. So, it's not surprising to me that Chang speaks such impeccable Hindi.

Onto a "chinky story" now.

I suppose I look like a Chinese or a Tibetan or whatever, and this whole "chinky" thing is not new to me. I've spent a major portion of my life in Darjeeling, Bangalore and Delhi. I don't remember ever being labeled "chinky" in Darjeeling. In Delhi and Bangalore, I would be lumped together with all the other chinky people--Mizo, Naga, Sikkimese, Tibetan etc. But I don't recall ever being called a chinky out of spite. Maybe the chinky experience is different for Indian chinkies. In fact, I've found that this contemptuous attitude towards chinky looking people is actually the most pronounced in my homeland--Nepal. That's just my take.

I've also lived in the US and in China. In the US, my chinky look didn't really seem to bother most people I hung out with. Most Americans thought I was either a Lao, or a Hmong, or a Chinese or, again, whatever, but I didn't think it was such a big deal. It seemed like my African American friends had a much harder time than me, in general.

But China was a whole different thing altogether. I found out that if you were a chinky-looking foreigner, then you wouldn't be treated as well as the other "foreign-looking" foreigners or the Han Chinese for that matter. It's not like I wanted to be a neo-imperialist in China or anything, but the treatment I received there sort of brought home the chinky-experience full circle. In China, I was not considered a "Lao Wai" since I didn't fit the profile the Chinese had in mind, and thus sometimes, the treatment I received at tourist hotels or at work wasn't all that great. I also found out that since I didn't speak Mandarin, many Chinese thought I was a Miao, or Hu or whatever, and thus I was kindly accorded the kind of treatment one metes out to creatures deemed inferior.

So, that's my chinky experience. I would not defend the use of "chinky" as a racial tag, but I guess the Indian fans of Chang actually think that chinky is an endearing term. On fan-forums, they call him "my Haka noodle," my "Chinky star," etc. and I'm sure it's not meant as an epithet. The tone implied is all important, and Chang's fans seem to have changed this oft-used epithet to mean something good.

By: rashmee

rashmee — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:36:42 +0000

things like racism actlually should not be bought up in shows like reality one…. this is a show after all…. and for publicity people can drown themself up to any level….what a shame!!!! factors like indian or not….shouldn’t really matter in here….Chang is born and bought up in india….yes he is a chinese…so what?? when audiance are liking him that means people are voting him entirely on his singing basis… among all, me and my family like chang……why??? beacaus he is a great singer as well as a performer…that’s it….. lets keep everything aside…….remember just one thing he is a human being first then comes the rest good luck chang…..

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:07:36 +0000

Prema in post #183, since your wrote “Such silly lies keep fooling only indians”, it seems to me you deliberately listed ineffective propaganda, whereas I recommended effective propaganda as the best way to combat anti-brown colorism. I think a good models of how minority communities use effective propaganda to reduce prejudice include how the jewish community has effectively reduced anti-semetic prejudice in American society (from the 1930s to today), and how the gay community has effectively reduced homophobia in American society (from the 1970s to today). It seems to me that it includes media watch organizations (like sepiamutiny), and production of positive entertainment and information mass media. Of course building better schools, hospitals, etc. in the indian subcontinent is also very, very important.

By: Rahul

Rahul — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:57:58 +0000

I am amazed how, in one day, you have solved the rift dividing northies and southies

I do what I can. Next stop Colombo! "Just one more thing." I am not talking about a shambling guy in a trenchcoat.

By: brownFOB

brownFOB — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:49:25 +0000

@PS, Dude dont try arguing with Prema. She is convinced that Indians are the n***ers of Asia. Let her wallow in her self-hate and self-pity. With no or little evidence she is convinced that all Asians look down on Indians. Let her live out her fantasy.