Racist India.

Celebrity Big Brother, Jane Goody and Shilpa Shetty. These are all names brought into the limelight recently. The charge of racism has fanned the sparks and set ablaze age old Colonial Indian resentments. Sitting in India one only hears of how Indians in the US or the Uk are mistreated. We are aware of the skinheads and other forms of racial discrimination. India has always strongly protested apartheid in South Africa. Being exposed to racial discrimination we have become a nation sensitive to the victims of this polluted social behavior.

But cry outrage and let loose the dogs of war!! Neo sports in anticipation of the West Indies - India cricket match came out with ads which are racially discriminating. Agreed National spirit and Unity in the face of a match on home ground will bubble up and we all stand on the soil we patriotically support. Its not a excuse however, to mistreat the West Indies cricketers. Sincerely answer, would any one not racist refuse water to anyone? Would a foreigner in India enjoying a boat ride with a loved one be frowned apon and abandoned just because of the color of his skin? I'm sure if it where a white, Indians being the way we are would have fawned apon the white skinned and not only not offered them water would have brought anythings so desired by the white skin.

Much as Piyush Pandey ("creative" director of Ogilvy and Mather) would deny this and tell anti racism activists to go take a "beep". the fact remains that this discriminating treatment holds true. In a country with illiterate and rural population far surpassing the literate, and with cricket as its primary source of entertainment. These ads encourage and impart a wrong message. That just because these West Indians are darker than us let us deny them water. Australia, England have all played here in India, Pakistan too. But never has such filthy treatment been meted out to them. it is the part of the educated to behave responsibly and send out a message to the many illiterate. Every second Indian teenager with fervor-ous cricketing drive would want to mistreat a black in India, in emulating this advertisement.

It seems that the "creative" flow of O&M has dried up. Some one said that the ad bolsters collective ego. Ego??? is this shabby treatment of guests an ego bolstering matter? does our ego need bolstering? If the same was to happen to the Indian team in West Indies would any Indian have tolerated it????

Lets ask Piyush Pandey!! Cry foul on the treatment of shilpa shetty yet how superflous are we? Just because they are black!! let me see an advertisement with as much reach and popularity as these Neo Sports ads treat a white person in the same way and i would drop my protest. Pandey should be sacked. Enjoy cricket but maintain a certain standard. we don't need to stoop so low. I know a statement i am about to make will earn me a lot of discredit but in the face of this filthy ad. I wish West India wins just to show up the stupid ad.