"Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin" : Irfan Pathan

[MenInG]

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan on Tuesday spoke out on debate around racism and said “it is not just restricted to the skin colour” and that a person could also face racial abuse on the basis of his/her religion.

“Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too,” Pathan wrote on Twitter.

“It is an observation and I don’t think anyone can deny this,” Pathan told PTI explaining his tweet.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, several international cricketers have come out and spoken on the issue of racism in the game.

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy alleged that he was racially abused by some of his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates during the 2014 IPL.

Responding to it Pathan, who was a part of the SRH squad in 2014, had said that he was unaware of such incidents.

Speaking to the indianexpress.com he had said, “If something like that would have happened then it would have come to notice or a team discussion would have happened on the topic. I am not aware of any such incident and he (Sammy) has to take responsibility for his comments,” said Pathan.

“But I have seen some issues in domestic cricket where our brothers from South India have to face chants based on their appearance when they travel up north. I think the real issue is education and society needs to learn.”

“We still haven’t talked much about racism in India. Sometimes we even call names to our brothers and sisters from the northeast. This problem is deep-rooted and will only go away when we start educating our sons and daughters and that needs to start with proper schooling and parenting.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/s...ation-due-to-faith-is-part-of-racism-6450718/

 

[MenInG]

https://www.aninews.in/news/sports/...to-colour-of-skin-irfan-pathan20200609182844/

 

[MenInG]

Reading above, Indians should be thanking Sammy for highlighting a taboo issue in India.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Very well said by Irfan Pathan.

 

[Rajdeep]

"Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too"

So does he agree that article 370 by virtue of which no non muslim/non Kashmiri could buy house there was racism too?

 

[JaDed]

I think he means discrimination on any grounds and rightly so hope he had worded it better.

 

[CanadianG00se]

In India there is open discrimination in housing sector. There are lot of housing society have restrictions on who will be able to purchase or lease the apartment/condo. I personally know few of such societies where only people from specific community are allowed. I’m sure there must a be a law to prevent such discrimination, but people are still getting away with it.

 

[MenInG]

Now more voices in India speaking about this:

==

Many African footballers in Kolkata would get Darren Sammy’s point. “Kalu”, “kalia” or “Kala aadmi”—different variations of the colour black—is how they are referred to by fans and have been described by some coaches and officials. On enclosed grounds in the Kolkata Maidan, where stands are close to the pitch, Renedy Singh remembers hearing, “Ei, kalia tah ki korche (what is this black man doing)?,” if an African player erred. It was normalised to the point that in 2008-09 an African footballer once told an Indian teammate, “you take care of one ‘kalia’ and I will deal with the other.” Both were representing a Kolkata club that is over 100 years old.

It took Sammy to call out what is a common and casual practice in Indian sporting circles—singling out people with dark coloured skin.

It affected Dhanraj Pillay. “When I started playing for the country, I suffered from an inferiority complex—‘arre mein bahut dark hu, mein kaala hu (I’m very dark).’ How will I talk to everybody else with confidence, especially those with white skin,” said the former India captain whose 339 international appearances include four Olympic Games.

“So, automatically an individual, even if he is a sportsperson, tends to stay within himself,” said Pillay who led India to the Asian Games gold in 1998.

“Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys,” former India batsman Abhinav Mukund had said in 2017 ending a post on racism and how ‘name-calling’ toughened him. On June 3, by when many renowned sportspeople had spoken against the death of George Floyd in USA, another former India cricketer talked about his experience.

“The story of @mukundabhinav, reminded me of the racial jibes I went through in my playing days. Only an Indian legend was witness to it. It only made me strong & didn’t deter me from playing for India & over 100 mts (matches) for Karnataka,” wrote former fast bowler Dodda Ganesh on Twitter. When contacted, Ganesh declined to elaborate.

It is not difficult to understand why Pillay, Mukund and Ganesh have spoken about how dark skin affected them—India has an obsession with fairness.

Men’s fairness products was a ~400 crore industry in 2015, according to a Quartz India report, and poised to grow by 6-8% between 2018-2023, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com which listed 14 companies operating in the fairness cream and bleach segment. A 2016 report in Mint pegged the total market of fairness creams for men and women at ~ 2000 crore.

“Skin colour inadvertently comes into our description of any person. Many of our gods are depicted as fair and having so-called Aryan features. So there is definitely a prejudice about colour and physical features,” said Kushal Deb, professor of humanities and social sciences at IIT, Bombay.

Rampant casteism

“Casteism is still ingrained in many of us. And somewhere, casteism gets into racism because the upper castes, especially in some of the northern states of India, take pride in having fairer complexion,” said Deb.

Irfan Pathan has spoken about this. “I have seen that in domestic cricket, some of our brothers who come from South India, when they come to play domestic matches in North or West India, they do sometimes get taunts, ” the former India all-rounder told ANI on Tuesday.

Sportspersons from India’s tribal belts too have felt excluded. “Remarks of me being Adivasi were made not in a good way at camps,” said Dilip Tirkey, former India captain, who is from Sundergarh in Odisha.

“Players from tribal areas usually had little formal education and found it difficult to interact with others. When I first made the India team, I was generally ignored by team members,” said the former Rajya Sabha member who has a stadium named after him in Rourkela.

For athletes from the North-east, it’s not skin colour but their features that leads to them being singled out.

Singh, who has had the rare distinction of leading Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, spoke of being in a train to Guwahati at Howrah Station. As cadets of the Tata Football Academy, they had returned from a tour of Germany and hence had big bags.

“A policeman began banging his lathi on the bags and kept yelling at us, saying ‘you can’t travel with such a lot of luggage.’ He didn’t abuse us; he was just rude. But after all these years, I can’t help wondering whether he would have been so mean had the two of us not been from North-east,” said Singh who was 14 then. Both Lolendra Singh and Sushant Mathew, Singh’s companions that day, went on to have long careers in football.

“Train journeys used to be difficult. I remember once I fought with the ticket collector who made some remarks. We were looked upon as easy targets, just because of our different looks,” said Sarita Devi. “Just the stare itself would be so bad that they would check you from top to bottom. I had a temper and when such things happened, I used to fight. Things changed once I became known.”

Playing in Kolkata had its perks, said Singh. “The fans put you on a pedestal and you were never called ‘chinki’. Playing for Bengal meant being respected but I have heard people looking at the Manipur team and asking ‘who are these Nepalis?’,” said Singh. Last month, during an Instagram chat between India captains Virat Kohli and Sunil Chhetri, a user had posted: “yeh Nepali kaun hai (who is this Nepali).”

“Even if Bhaichung Bhutia walks in somewhere where he is not recognised, someone could make a racist comment,” said Singh. Former India skipper Bhutia, who played for both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, scored 41 goals in 82 games for India.

“People from North-east living in different parts of India face racism every day,” said Singh who now coaches in Manipur.

Singh said he is more vocal now about racism than in his playing days. “Indians raising their voice against Floyd is commendable but I would be happier if more Indian families taught children to not differentiate on the basis of colour, what you wear or the way you speak,” he said.

Jwala Gutta too advised sportspersons to be heard. “The thing to learn from the George Floyd incident is how everyone—from celebrities to sportspersons —have condemned the incident…. There is a lesson for us – how to stand united against such atrocities and injustices,” said Gutta who has a world championship bronze and gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games.

Gutta, whose mother is Chinese, is racially vilified regularly. “Such things will not stop me from speaking my mind and raising issues. Sportspersons should be vocal,” she said.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...every-sport/story-WZmcXAhntcNJUjHjix8lDK.html

 

[Hasan123]

He is right. I agree. I think this is something that is being forgotten. Black people aren't the only people who are subjected to rasicm and discrimination.

 

[Saj]

I'm sure some will say this is rubbish from Irfan, but it seems like something the authorities need to look at.

 

[sshakir411]

This has been debated to death in time paas... yet resident Indians deny it vehemently

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the mentality of certain ppl. Where have we reached ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shame?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/disgusted?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#disgusted</a> <a href="https://t.co/nlLh9vTwS6">pic.twitter.com/nlLh9vTwS6</a></p>— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1278626967231713280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

"Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too"

So does he agree that article 370 by virtue of which no non muslim/non Kashmiri could buy house there was racism too?

I doubt it, that article was there to preserve the peace for being the only Muslim state which was duped out of being part of Pakistan.

 

[Technics 1210]

He is right, racism in India is not based on skin colour in India, it's based on caste.

 

[CricketCartoons]

In India there is open discrimination in housing sector. There are lot of housing society have restrictions on who will be able to purchase or lease the apartment/condo. I personally know few of such societies where only people from specific community are allowed. I’m sure there must a be a law to prevent such discrimination, but people are still getting away with it.

And that is fine. It is like a private book club, which like minded and like cultured people have a right to. If you don't get membership, go find another one which may admit you as a member.

 

[BreadPakoda]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the mentality of certain ppl. Where have we reached ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shame?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/disgusted?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#disgusted</a> <a href="https://t.co/nlLh9vTwS6">pic.twitter.com/nlLh9vTwS6</a></p>— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1278626967231713280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Such a shameful post by another Sanghi.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

And that is fine. It is like a private book club, which like minded and like cultured people have a right to. If you don't get membership, go find another one which may admit you as a member.

Are there specific laws which prohibit Muslims or other communities from buying a house in certain areas of the city?

 

[Runner Up]

Racism is everywhere.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VGbl6KouHcA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[CricketCartoons]

Are there specific laws which prohibit Muslims or other communities from buying a house in certain areas of the city?

There shouldn't be any such laws as all citizens should be equal for the state.

But individuals have the right to form their private societies and clubs and admit members based on their discretion. There are gymkhanas were membership is hereditary (with certain quota for outsiders, who again have to pass the discerning eyes of its members). All fine and dandy.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

There shouldn't be any such laws as all citizens should be equal for the state.

But individuals have the right to form their private societies and clubs and admit members based on their discretion. There are gymkhanas were membership is hereditary (with certain quota for outsiders, who again have to pass the discerning eyes of its members). All fine and dandy.

They should have laws, citizens should be equal but different. Seems to me the lack of clarity is what is causing the friction. If there were laws in place that certain sections of the city were restricted for one religious group only to maintain spiritual hygiene, then there would be less objection.

 

[Thomaskutty]

But individuals have the right to form their private societies and clubs and admit members based on their discretion.

This kind of libertarianism sounds great but it eventually causes a lot of problems in society like ghettoisation. For instance, if US courts hadn't outlawed segragation the 1960s, we probably would have had many white restaurants and clubs in the deep south with a 'no blacks' policy, even today. You never know.

 

[CricketCartoons]

They should have laws, citizens should be equal but different. Seems to me the lack of clarity is what is causing the friction. If there were laws in place that certain sections of the city were restricted for one religious group only to maintain spiritual hygiene, then there would be less objection.

What makes you think that those who cry victim and think that private individuals owe them their property, will not cry if the state enacts a law protecting the rights of these private individuals. These people are never law abiding and will always whine.

Very soon I will have a farm house and it is my prerogative who I employ and who I invite and who I rent it to. I don't owe anyone nothing. I never wrote a constitution on myself that I will be treating all humans equally. To discern and to discriminate is my right as an individual. Although as a gentleman I politely refuse those I discriminate against.

 

[CricketCartoons]

This kind of libertarianism sounds great but it eventually causes a lot of problems in society like ghettoisation. For instance, if US courts hadn't outlawed segragation the 1960s, we probably would have had many white restaurants and clubs in the deep south with a 'no blacks' policy, even today. You never know.

I have a "no male" policy for marrying. Should the state penalize me for discriminating against gays and males as potential spouse?

 

[Thomaskutty]

I have a "no male" policy for marrying. Should the state penalize me for discriminating against gays and males as potential spouse?

Why mention marriage? I was referring to an invidual/business providing a service to another member of the public without discrimination.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Why mention marriage? I was referring to an invidual/business providing a service to another member of the public without discrimination.

I was talking about individuals mutually deciding to engage in an activity while discriminating against others when choosing a partner.

Talking about businesses, why do restaurants turn away destitutes. It is discrimination based on economic status.

 

[Thomaskutty]

I was talking about individuals mutually deciding to engage in an activity while discriminating against others when choosing a partner..

I'm saying if a club/service/business is open to the public but with bans on certain races or religion, that would be discrimination. But you think that should be allowed? I guess the keyword here is being invited to a club/service as opposed to making it open to the public.

As far as destitutes are concerned, restaurants can turn away anyone if the manager feels they're improperly dressed for the place, having a dress code is not discrimination. The main protected classes are usually race, religion, ethnicity, sex etc..

 

[Knight_Rider]

"Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too"

So does he agree that article 370 by virtue of which no non muslim/non Kashmiri could buy house there was racism too?

That’s because its not a land for sale to the outsiders. Kashmir is a disputed territory and only the people of Kashmir (regardless of faith) should ve the right to buy and sell their land. Even in Pakistani part of Kashmir, outsiders from the AJK state cant buy land in Azad Kashmir.

This cant be compared with indigenous Indians (of Muslim faith) not being able to buy land in their own ‘ancestral’ homeland. India belongs to them, as much as it belongs to hindus.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

If it isn't discrimination based on race then it's xenophobia..

 

[Mamoon]

Racism is not restricted to the colour of the skin. Not allowing to buy a home in society just because u have a different faith is a part of racism too,” Pathan wrote on Twitter.

That is not racism, that is religious discrimination. There is no such thing as the Muslim race.

Ignoramuses think racism and discrimination can be used interchangeably without realizing that racism is a type of discrimination.

It is discrimination based on race and not religion, nationality, gender etc. Unfortunately, racism is a buzzword too and it sells.

Nevertheless, opportunists like Irfan Pathan have no credibility. Now that he has retired and is no longer making money from Indian cricket/IPL, the timing is convenient for him to play the victim card.

However, when was still earning millions from IPL, it was not convenient for him to publicly misuse the word racism and moan about discrimination.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Very well said by Irfan Pathan....

This type of racism is very prevalent in sections of Mallapuram in Kerala where only Muslims are allowed to buy land, certain sections of muslim population there wont allow people of any other religion to buy land or property there.

 

[Bigboii]

Very well said by Irfan Pathan....

This type of racism is very prevalent in sections of Mallapuram in Kerala where only Muslims are allowed to buy land, certain sections of muslim population there wont allow people of any other religion to buy land or property there.

Classic example of whataboutism

 

[CricketCartoons]

Classic example of whataboutism

Not at all. Pathan made a generic statement and the poster gave a specific example of it. That is not whataboutism, it is yesthisistruism.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Classic example of whataboutism

Oh ohh my bad didn't know this type of racism was for Muslims only to claim victim hood.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

What makes you think that those who cry victim and think that private individuals owe them their property, will not cry if the state enacts a law protecting the rights of these private individuals. These people are never law abiding and will always whine.

Very soon I will have a farm house and it is my prerogative who I employ and who I invite and who I rent it to. I don't owe anyone nothing. I never wrote a constitution on myself that I will be treating all humans equally. To discern and to discriminate is my right as an individual. Although as a gentleman I politely refuse those I discriminate against.

No one is suggesting you should be forced to employ someone against your will, we are talking about an individual's right to buy a property in any part of Mumbai. Of course if the seller wishes to refuse to sell to a certain religious group that will still remain their right, but in Britain money always talks.

A white household may flee if Mr Patel and family move next door, but there is no unspoken rule that he can only sell to a white buyer. There is freedom of movement in the UK, anyone can buy a home anywhere, and if the neighbours don't like it, they are free to move to an area more to their liking.

 

[CricketCartoons]

No one is suggesting you should be forced to employ someone against your will, we are talking about an individual's right to buy a property in any part of Mumbai. Of course if the seller wishes to refuse to sell to a certain religious group that will still remain their right, but in Britain money always talks.

A white household may flee if Mr Patel and family move next door, but there is no unspoken rule that he can only sell to a white buyer. There is freedom of movement in the UK, anyone can buy a home anywhere, and if the neighbours don't like it, they are free to move to an area more to their liking.

There is no such rule here as well. It is all about individual choice, the hallmark of western civilizations. The right to sell or not comes before the right to buy. Some people don't respect this individual choice and cry victim as if they are being denied what is theirs.

I dont make friends with certain ethnicities and religions, not because I hate them, but because there is nothing in common, and I find them boring (of course they might find me boring too). So I don't like to form any relationship, even business relationship with them. This is not bigotry or phobia, just a matter of taste.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

There is no such rule here as well. It is all about individual choice, the hallmark of western civilizations. The right to sell or not comes before the right to buy. Some people don't respect this individual choice and cry victim as if they are being denied what is theirs.

I dont make friends with certain ethnicities and religions, not because I hate them, but because there is nothing in common, and I find them boring (of course they might find me boring too). So I don't like to form any relationship, even business relationship with them. This is not bigotry or phobia, just a matter of taste.

You are talking about hallmarks of western civilisation, but if he lived in England, Irfan could buy the best house in Westminster assuming he had the money. Mayfair Road and Kensington Palace are littered with Arabs along with their burka wearing wives presumably, doesn't matter if the neighbours have different taste. A man only can dictate on his own property, not the whole neighbourhood.

This is western civilisation, what you have in India appears to be something quite different. Why is it Muslim superstars like Pathan and Shabana Azmi complain they aren't allowed to buy in prime areas of Mumbai? If there is no law preventing them as you assert, then what is there to stop them?

 

[Knight_Rider]

This statement aside, irfan pathan is a hypocrite:

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trolls won't stop me from speaking out: Cricketer <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IrfanPathan</a>, who is suddenly in the limelight for being vocal on social issues <a href="https://t.co/b0A2cUL2pv">https://t.co/b0A2cUL2pv</a> | By <a href="https://twitter.com/kathakalichanda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kathakalichanda</a></p>— Forbes India (@forbes_india) <a href="https://twitter.com/forbes_india/status/1281180133294895110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Syed1]

Poor guy used to give his all for India. I actually really liked him as a bowler, and adversary. Who can forget his hatrick on first three balls of test. It's sad that he constantly has to prove his patriotism towards India.



Thank you Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. We can never thank you enough.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Poor guy used to give his all for India. I actually really liked him as a bowler, and adversary. Who can forget his hatrick on first three balls of test. It's sad that he constantly has to prove his patriotism towards India.



Thank you Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. We can never thank you enough.

Last three balls of first over.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/im-her-mate-not-master-irfan-pathan-responds-to-critics-after-receiving-hate-over-wifes-blurred-picture/761804

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan on Tuesday responded to the critics after receiving 'hate' over a blurred picture of his wife. "I am her mate not her master," said Irfan as he slammed those pointing fingers at him for not allowing his wife to reveal her face on social media. The cricketer took to Twitter to share a sharp message.

Irfan's wife Safa Baig recently shared a picture of herself, Irfan, and their son Imran's picture on Instagram from her son's official account. A section of users didn't like the fact that Safa had chosen to blur her face in the picture and criticised the former Indian cricketer.

Irfan took to Twitter to respond and clarified that his wife chose to blur her face on her own. "This picture is posted by my queen from my son’s account. We are getting lot of hate. Let me post this here as well. She blurred this pic by her choice. And Yes,I’m her mate not her master. #herlifeherchoice," he wrote on Twitter while sharing the same picture.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This picture is posted by my queen from my son’s account. We are getting lot of hate.Let me post this here as well.She blurred this pic by her choice. And Yes,I’m her mate not her master. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/herlifeherchoice?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#herlifeherchoice</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xy6CB2kKWA">pic.twitter.com/Xy6CB2kKWA</a></p>— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1397222446328131595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>