The Big Brother Race

All's Well That Ends Well.That is what Shilpa Shetty, who won the celebrity reality-show Big Brother, must have felt after winning the contest ahead of 13 other contestants including Jermaine Jackson, the "Big Brother" of Michael Jackson.Over the past week or so this reality-show has been subject to a lot of international scrutiny particularly from India and the Asian community in England,because of the alleged racist remarks by some of the contestants,most notably Jade Goody towards Shilpa.

The remarks by Jade seems to have ignited passions.This came on the heels of the Herschelle Gibbs's racist remarks on the Pakistani fans.Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had also remarked that Barry Richards had made a similar comment on indian cricketers a while ago.Time and again we have seen Indians/Asians being made the subject of racial slurs.It feels really damning to be at the receiving end of these remarks and can put a person down mentally.

Racist behaviour is more visible in cricket.Who does'nt remember the Michael Slater incident in India where the player was clearly shouting at Rahul Dravid asking him to leave the field(umpire told not out) and he even indulged with heated argument with the umpire.But,the guy was let off with a warning.The same behaviour from an asian player would have brought about a ban for a few matches at the very least.We also remember the infamous Mike Denness incident with Sachin Tendulkar who was accused of Ball-Tampering.That was surely a joke from every angle,Mr.Mike.

So, the question arises,is there a way we can penalise a person if he/she indulges in racist remarks/behaviour?We do have officials(or referees) to make sure that the spirit of competition is not broken.But, what if the officials themselves are the problem or what if the complete organisation is itself racist?It was good to see the British come out and raise their voice against the racism.The issue was even brought up in the British parliament urging the politicians to act.It was no surprise to see the chief tormenter, Jade out in the very next eviction.And Shilpa's ratings started to soar.Jade has been offered a 'soul-cleansing' course in india.Somehow, I feel pity towards Jade.Maybe she just said the words in a fit of rage and actually did not mean them.Whatever the case, the damage has been done.Jade is now struggling to save her career after this episode.I for one really hope that she comes out of this mess,a cleaner and stronger person.As for Shilpa, this has turned out to be a double-edged sword.The racism row has led to manifold increase in popularity in the international market which could mean a ticket to Hollywood glory.We will wait and watch.