We need good Indian-American role models
While I wholeheartedly endorse the political views in your
September editorial, there needs to be more clarity on what makes a
good Indian-American role model. Does one have to be a Hindu or have a
name like Madhusudhananda Venkatanarayanaswamy to be an authentic
Indian? Such posturing would be as narrow and bigoted as the ultra
right-wingers we love to hate. Just ask your Chai Time humorist Melvin
Durai. Or Slumdog star Freida Pinto. Or Bollywood heartthrob John
Abraham. Or the millions of Indians whose ancestors were Christian long
before the West could sell or spell Christianity. Lest we forget,
Christianity did not originate in the West. It’s unfortunate that
“white” and “Christian” are uttered in the same breath. Indian
Christians are just as brown as the Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims,
Jews, Bahais and Parsis whose origins are rooted in Bharat.
Ironically, the Hindutva movement originally envisioned the term
“Hindu” in a cultural and geographical context rather than a religious
or political one. It was inclusive of other faiths before the RSS/BJP
hardliners surfaced with their petty sectarian views of
nationalism—views that are as xenophobic as Rush Limbaugh’s.
Fortunately, most Indians don’t agree with those views, as was evident
in the recent elections in India.
If we’re going to chastise converts and name changers like Bobby
Jindal and Nikki Haley, we should also disapprove of the growing mass
of Indians who concede to a colonial hangover of “white is right.” How
else do you explain the absurd popularity of skin lightening creams in
India? We need desis who don’t blindly ape the West or act servile or
succumb to Eurocentric notions of superiority. We need role models who
reaffirm the classiness of brown in ways that are more than skin deep.
Thayil Ron Jacob
Alpharetta, Georgia
Thank you, Khabar
We have been getting your beautiful, colorful magazine for two
years. It’s an all-in-one package that seniors and youngsters and
everybody in between can enjoy every month.
Your events calendar, Bollywood column, feature articles, spiritual
column and Around Town coverage are some of the items we look forward
to reading in every issue. Also, your display advertisements,
classifieds and business directory provide so much useful information
to readers.
And best of all, we don’t have to pay anything to receive Khabar! Thank you for this gift to our community.
Kishor Jethva
Huntsville, Alabama