My Name is Khan

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Flying while Brown: Reality lesson for “My Name is Khan” star Shahrukh​

Shahrukh–the “King of Bollywood” was making a film about racial profiling in America. He was detained and questioned for hours in Newark Airport. They US immigration just wouldn’t let him go. This is one of the most recent cases of harassment of “brown” people in America. Books like “Civil rights in Peril” describe the thousands of fake high profile cases that ended up in indictment and deportation for minor infractions.

“I was really hassled — perhaps because of my name being Khan,” he said in a text message to reporters in India. “These guys just wouldn’t let me through.”

Shahrukh’s latest film reflected the Bharati experience in Australia and the UK also. Many Bharati see it as “not my problem”. However in Australia the racism took a direct hit at people from India. In the UK, the Bharatis, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Bangladeshis, Lankans, Afghans were all under one category. The same epitaph was used for all Asians. Internet Bharatis who don’t have a clue use the same epitaph for other South Asian–dispalying their stupidity and ignorance.

Khan’s upcoming film ”My Name is Khan,” a movie about an Indian Muslim setting out on a journey across the United States, is certain to get a boost after the incident.

It is not the first time that an Indian entertainer with a Muslim identity has been asked to step aside for additional scrutiny. Actors Aamir Khan and Irrfan Khan have had similar experience. So has the Canadian-Indian writer Rohinton Mistry, a Parsi, who once cancelled a book tour of the US soon after 9/11 because he felt he was being needlessly profiled. Other Indian visitors, not necessarily Muslims, have felt singled out. Times of India

Even Defence Minister George Fernandes’ ”patted down” or ‘’strip searched”. The incident has international repercussions because it paints the US as a country which is paranoid about foreigners and has taken racism to the highest level of intolerance.


The Times of India did not treat it as an insult to India. The commentaries in other Bharati newspapers were mild. We wonder if Amitab Bachan or Abhishek Bhachah had been detained, would the media reaction be so mild?

Reveerand Noemeller living in Nazi Germany once said.

“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.” New York Times

The hubris of Meghnad Desai displays a lack of morality. His arrogance and unsympathetic attitude towards Sharukh Khan should be condemned at all levels.

But not everyone appeared upset.

Meghnad Desai , an Indian-born economist, a member of Britain’s House of Lords and the author of books on Indian cinema and globalization, joked in an interview in New Delhi that the whole thing seemed like a publicity stunt for the new film.

“The U.S. government was an inadvertent accomplice to 20th Century Fox, which is investing millions in this movie,” he said, chuckling, referring to a joint venture between Hollywood and Bollywood to distribute the film. “This was a no-no for India-U.S. relations. Anyhow, there will be no bigger story in India tomorrow. Or maybe for the next few days.” By Emily Wax Washington Post Foreign Service, Saturday, August 15, 2009; 1:54 PM.’King of Bollywood’ Detained at Newark Airport. New York Times

Meghnad Desai’s comments is part of the problem. An article about racial profiling and racism in Switzerland solicited the usual Bharati response. This concerns Muslims not anyone else. The commentator was too stupid to know that the Swiss laws were designed against all foreigners, not just Muslims ones. Indian computer coolies working in Zurich would be just as affected by the Swiss laws as Turkish day laborers.

Shahrukh Khan is not an Indian actor. His art belongs to the world. The entire planet should speak up against his detention.

 

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Bollywood star downplays incident at US airport
16 AUGUST 2009

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday downplayed being questioned at a U.S. airport, saying it was part of a necessary but unfortunate procedure.

Khan, one of the Indian film industry's biggest stars, is in the U.S. to promote his new film, "My Name is Khan," which is about racial profiling.

He told Press Trust of India news agency that he was detained because his name came up on a computer alert list at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. However, U.S. customs officials told The Associated Press that Khan was questioned as part of a routine process that took 66 minutes.

"I told them I am a movie star," Press Trust quoted Khan as saying.

The reported detention made top news on TV stations in India.

Khan told reporters in suburban Chicago on Saturday that he did not want an apology from the U.S. government. Asked about what happened, he simply said: "I think it's a procedure that needs to be followed, but an unfortunate procedure."

Khan made his comments after appearing at an Indian festival in Rosemont and did not mention the incident in his remarks to the crowd.

U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection spokesman Elmer Camacho said Khan was not detained.

"His documents and papers were checked, which were found to be in correct order, but it took a little longer because his bag was lost by the airline."

Jen Friedberg, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said the agency did not request that Khan be detained.

In New Delhi, U.S. Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, said the U.S. Embassy was trying to "ascertain the facts of the case — to understand what took place."

"Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and global icon, is a very welcome guest in the United States. Many Americans love his films," Roemer said Saturday through an embassy spokesman.

Khan, 44, has acted in more than 70 films, and has consistently topped popularity rankings in India for the past several years.

Source: The Associated Press

 

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Khan not singled out because of his name: US
16 AUGUST 2009

NEW YORK: The United States on Sunday denied the allegations that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was detained and questioned for two hours at the Newark airport or that the actor was singled out because of his name or Asian identity.

The allegations "happen to be incorrect," the spokesman of the US Customs and Border Protection here Elmer Camacho said.

The spokesman said Khan was inspected because his baggage had not arrived.

"His documents and papers were checked, which were found to be in correct order," Camacho said.

After a "normal" check at the airport, Khan was taken to a different room where he was waiting for his turn since many other people were already there. The entire process ended in one hour, the spokesman said.

Source: PTI

 

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Security checks no big deal: Salman