"Touchier than thou
Sunny Hundal
May 25, 2006 12:28 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sunny_hundal/2006/05/competing_to_be_victims.html
It is surely a bizarre state of affairs that we have reached a point
where religious organisations are competing against each other for
victim status.
Last year, in the light of the controversies over the Sikh play Behzti
and Jerry Springer: the Opera, I wrote an article illustrating the use
of language by religious groups as they competed for "most sensitive
minority" status. Well, the saga continues.
Earlier this week, London-based Asia House caved in to a campaign by
Hindu religious groups and cancelled an exhibition by India's most
famous artist, MF Husain. His crime? A painting of Mother India in the
nude.
Hindu Human Rights (HHR), the group behind this protest, previously
tried to organise protests (no one turned up) against a film festival
in London that aired films on the Gujarat riots of 2002, and against
BBC1 dramas.
You may notice the similarity in language to other self-appointed
representatives. Indeed, HHR's campaign was backed by the supposed
representative of British Hindus, the Hindu Forum of Britain, whose
spokesperson, Ramesh Kallidai, has trotted out the familiar line that
Hindus are being maligned in favour of Muslims and other religious
groups.
In my previous article, I wrote: "Instead of working to portray their
religion as tolerant, liberal and understanding, the religious
representatives of today demand ultra-sensitivity. If no one listens
then all manner of comparisons get made and they complain of bias
against their own faith."
This competition for victimhood status has almost become de rigueur.
Part of the problem is that MF Husain himself is guilty of double
standards, having apparently acceded more willingly in the past to
demands from censorious Muslim groups than those from Hindu groups.
But that detracts from the main issue here.
British Asians are in danger of being held to ransom by religious
groups' demands in a way that is already quite well established in the
Indian subcontinent - and certain factors perpetuate this problem.
The first is that politicians, the media and other groups interested
in race relations continue to court these groups, which are given
funding, asked for their opinions and constantly quoted in the press.
In this way, a "group" may be only two people in a dingy office, but
they are afforded instant clout.
The other problem is that independent organisations such as Asia House
never know quite how to respond to threats of protests and hence, in
the name of political correctness, prefer to give way. It happened
with Behzti, with Royal Mail and even Burger King. It needs to stop.
The problem is that even if the younger generation of British Asians
is unwilling to let these clowns represent them, they are constrained
by the complicity of politicians and the media."
--
Michael Gray.
Founding Member and Doorman,
Earthquack's 666 Club.
EAC Rack Monitor, Chamber 5B
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