Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Fan behaviour

I applaud the views expressed in the article “Deal with it now” (Oct. 19) on the treatment of Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds by some Indian cricket fans. We from India always take America to task when a racist incident in the U.S. is in the news. We also believe that Indians are above all such behaviour. It is a shame that we stand on a moral pedestal but do nothing about the few ill-informed people from Vadodara and Mumbai.

Subramanian Ramamurthy,

I think the media are hyping the antics of a few. If we take action against such small things (monkey gesture is not a racist taunt), the Aussies and English will complain about anything and everything.

In Australia, England and South Africa, blatant abuse is hurled at Indians, West Indians, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis, and no action is ever taken. While I have no qualms about the Indian authorities taking action against hooliganism, I feel it should be uniform throughout the world. We have suffered racial abuse throughout our life, so we know what it means.

D. Sridharan,

I think too much is being made out of the gestures made by a few in the crowd. No doubt, monkey gestures are in bad taste but I have serious doubts that the general public in India can think of making racist remarks. We are a country of many languages, culture and religious practices. In spite of sporadic instances of violence in the name of religion and caste we, as a nation, are tolerant. It is also necessary for the ICC to curb the unbridled behind-the-stumps comments allowed in the name of aggression. We must remember that some of the crowd behaviour is, in fact, a reaction.

S.G. Subramaniam,

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

LTTE attack in military context
A fine initiative
Pakistan and its prisoners of destiny
India’s new image crisis in East Asia
Carbon sequestration for better dryland productivity
How to succeed in the new world of pro-am journalism
Corrections and clarifications
Quota for minorities
On Modispeak
Fan behaviour
How chimpanzee groups learn different skills

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu