Bollywood and Indian TV have been stereotyping Nepalese/Gorkhali people as watchmen since forever and the latest offender to join the list is the so called India’s largest e-commerce portal, Flipkart. Their latest ad titled ‘Flipkart Assured – Kids Are Back – Sahebji’s Jogging Shoes’ has three kids – a sahebji and two watchmen, one of whom is seen wearing the traditional Bhadgauley Topi and hence, portrayed as a Nepali/Gorkha.
Forget about offending Nepali people who do have access to all the Indian TV channels; the company have offended their fellow citizens as well. The people from the ad agency who created this commercial must have slept during the Geography classes and that’s why they have no idea that there are around 20 million Indian Gorkhas who are engaged in various professions and are living respectful lives in the country where they are still treated as outsiders by such arrogant and unprofessional people.
Obviously, the portrayal of the watchman has outraged the community and it has not been taken lightly by the Indian Gorkhas. Gorkha Youth and Students’ Association of India (GYASA) have filed a complaint letter to the Delhi Police, saying, “Their advertisement makes a mockery of the Gorkha community, and stereotypes us as being Chowkidars, with overly exaggerated and highly offensive (which they may consider as being funny) Hindi accent.”
“Stereotyping a community is the most basic forms of racissm and by promoting their business using racist stereotyping; Flipkar has shown how insensitive they are and at the same time exposed the hypocrisy of our great nation. While we cry for blood when and Indian is ‘stereotyped and racially abused’ in foreign shores, we tend to silently accept stereotyping as an accepted form of comedy when it is done to the minorities of our own nation,” the letter further reads.
We are hopeful that the case is taken seriously and a strict action is taken against the people engaged in the making of the racist commercial.
Watch the commercial below and let us know what do you think of this entire controversy.
