Bangalore agin in the news for all the wrong reasons ..

The Government has arrested persons and also suspended police officials. Some action is being taken. It is also a clash of cultures. Many years back I was staying in a society which had persons  of one particular sect who would go to sleep by 10 - 11 PM. There was a family from South, and an bachelors flat occupied by African students. Both these flat occupants would be awake late into the night. They were peaceful and once in a while one would get to hear the African students laughing or talking loud. However this different behaviour was not liked by the majority in the society and they would be full of charges against both. Ultimately both were forced to vacate their flats by pressuring  the landlords. This happens all over the world.

We are overlooking one basic fact in Inin culture. Indians worship the white color and that is a fact. In fact I have observed that color bar in South is more extreme. This is the genesis of the problem as their is deep bias against the blacks , particularly from Africa, In contrast the whites are adulated, though they kick the Indians.  I wonder how this racial and color prejudice can ever be solved.

When blacks will become as innovative and wealthy as the whites we will change our allegiance.

I feel that it is a combination of all this that has made things come to this level...Earlier when I was in college , we had many Tanzanian students living in our neighboring house and no doubt they were a bit noisy but very friendly with all the neighbors and my parents had kept in touch with a couple of them for a long time. Things are different now with many of them misbehaving and making a nuisance of themselves in most areas where they stay. There are also Iranians who have been in Bangalore for may years but they are much more disciplined and blend in well with the society without standing out like a sore thumb. Again it might be because of color as MG Singh points out that any minor incidents by the white skinned people may be overlooked but when it comes to black skin it gets blown out of proportion !

MG Singh wrote:

We are overlooking one basic fact in Inin culture. Indians worship the white color and that is a fact. In fact I have observed that color bar in South is more extreme. This is the genesis of the problem as their is deep bias against the blacks , particularly from Africa, In contrast the whites are adulated, though they kick the Indians.  I wonder how this racial and color prejudice can ever be solved.

The Bangalore incident is a clear case of mistaken identity. It's a mob fury instigated by Anti Social elements. Such situations are very common. Local mobs and hired goons will capitalize such incidents.

usha manohar wrote:

I feel that it is a combination of all this that has made things come to this level...Earlier when I was in college , we had many Tanzanian students living in our neighboring house and no doubt they were a bit noisy but very friendly with all the neighbors and my parents had kept in touch with a couple of them for a long time. Things are different now with many of them misbehaving and making a nuisance of themselves in most areas where they stay. There are also Iranians who have been in Bangalore for may years but they are much more disciplined and blend in well with the society without standing out like a sore thumb. Again it might be because of color as MG Singh points out that any minor incidents by the white skinned people may be overlooked but when it comes to black skin it gets blown out of proportion !

I agree Usha, in Pune too there are a large number of African students and also students from Arab and Persian countries, as well as youngsters from Fiji Islands and Mauritius who come to study in India. Majority of them are quite friendly and peaceful, mostly sticking to their country members, living together but are also quite friendly and genial with the local people. It is only a handful of them who create trouble, major one being indulging in drug trafficking and harassing local women. But we cannot also deny the unhealthy fixation that we have on the fair skin and looking down at those who do not have. What is worse our people look down at Indians who are from North-East states too, they are also not spared from the prejudice. Overall mindset needs to be changed regarding looks of a person.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

I feel that it is a combination of all this that has made things come to this level...Earlier when I was in college , we had many Tanzanian students living in our neighboring house and no doubt they were a bit noisy but very friendly with all the neighbors and my parents had kept in touch with a couple of them for a long time. Things are different now with many of them misbehaving and making a nuisance of themselves in most areas where they stay. There are also Iranians who have been in Bangalore for may years but they are much more disciplined and blend in well with the society without standing out like a sore thumb. Again it might be because of color as MG Singh points out that any minor incidents by the white skinned people may be overlooked but when it comes to black skin it gets blown out of proportion !

I agree Usha, in Pune too there are a large number of African students and also students from Arab and Persian countries, as well as youngsters from Fiji Islands and Mauritius who come to study in India. Majority of them are quite friendly and peaceful, mostly sticking to their country members, living together but are also quite friendly and genial with the local people. It is only a handful of them who create trouble, major one being indulging in drug trafficking and harassing local women. But we cannot also deny the unhealthy fixation that we have on the fair skin and looking down at those who do not have. What is worse our people look down at Indians who are from North-East states too, they are also not spared from the prejudice. Overall mindset needs to be changed regarding looks of a person.

I was thinking of the same thing Kalyani, a nation where anyone looking slightly different due to geographic location becomes a target needs to do some serious rethink ! Even now I see people looking at East Indians with suspicion and as if they have no morals because the girls are smartly dressed and move around freely. If a population can crush the spirit of one's own people, what more can one expect  with regard to foreigners especially blacks ?