After the hue and cry over the treatment meted out to Shilpa Shetty on the UK TV Show Celebrity Big Brother, the Indian Government has decided to step in and find out what exactly transpired during the show. Two of her co-participants are said to have taunted and abused her, as well as passed some racist remarks.

Seen in the backdrop of Dean Jones calling South African cricketer Hashim Amla a terrorist a few months ago, Herschelle Gibbs abusing the Pakistan team, and Barry Richards referring to “Indian fragilities”, one common thread seems to be a cussedness that runs among the white population, who just can’t seem to stomach the fact that non-whites have come up in a big way and dominate a large cross section of activities, especially sports.

I also feel we, as Indians, have long held (and to a large extent, still do) a “whites are superior or a gora sahib” mentality, so even if they do anything stupid, or pronounce names horrendously, we are more likely to just indulgently laugh it off. If the reverse were to happen, we would be referred to as “”third world chaps”, “bloody indians / pakis” etc.