How come a guy with a name like "Jonathan Brady" dare insult a respectable community of India. He must have been left behind by Britishers to torment Indians after they were gone.
Here is an open letter to Nitin aka "Jonathan Brady" from P. Rai, USA
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Hi Nitin,
First of all let me introduce myself. I am firstly an Indian working in an Indian IT company oversees. I am also a Nepali. The comments that you had made (in jest or in all seriousness) on Red FM was brought to my attention by an e-mail that I received from a friend in Delhi. While speaking with my parents in Darjeeling I came to know of how big an issue this has been there. How people are burning your effigies and demanding a public apology. I have heard that there are some committees or bodies who have raised litigation against you. This letter is not a hate mail and if you will have the patience to go through it, it will be an eye opener of sorts.
I will make this short and simple. You had made a statement saying that Prashant had won and since it was the Cricket Match that night, no Nepali would be there to guard your houses and that the road side momo shops would be closed. How kind of you to bestow the honour to the Nepali community of guarding your homes. It is a billion times better than looting and plundering your homes. Since time immemorial people in India have made the ’chowkidar’ synonymous with a Nepali. Bollywood stereo-types are well known and we have had numerous comedians in Hindi movies play the role of a Nepali chowkidaar or ’Gurkha’ with a fake accent and holding a ’khukuri’ in the wrong way. At least one would think the so called creative pundits would have actually seen a Nepali Gorkha ( not a chowkidaar, but I will explain that later) wielding the symbol of Nepali courage and dignity, the Khukuri in the right manner.
Gorkhas are valiant warriors and I don’t need to iterate on this fact. Just Google any site on the history and you will be awed by stories of their valor and courage. Gorkhas are best known for their history of bravery and strength in the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Indian Army’s Gorkha regiments. The Gorkha war cry is "Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali" which literally translates to "Glory be to the Goddess of War, here come the Gorkhas!". And it is to the credit of this fierce and brave race that many battles were won.
Now coming to the Gurkhas or chowkidaars who you so look down upon. They have been guarding your homes and offices and there is nothing demeaning in that. They stay awake all night ( Jaagte Raho!! ) so that you can sleep in peace inside the comfort of your homes. There is little difference between a baton wielding Gurkha on our gates and a rifle wielding solider on our country’s borders in that respect. But to imply that every Nepali is a chowkidaar is not only incorrect but reeks highly of little and dangerous knowledge. One would presume that a famous RJ like you had more knowledge regarding his own country and acted with more responsibility in making such a politically incorrect statement. One would wonder if all Biharis are ’pan wallas’ or ’rickshaw wallas’ or if every Punjabi is a ’dhaba walla’ just because a few have taken to the profession. It is simply ridiculous to make an occupation sound demeaning or worse identify it with an entire community.
There has been mixed reactions regarding Prashant’s victory. On one side the people are jubilant and on the other side some are crying foul. The latter are dismissing it as a well orchestrated win by the Nepali community. However, in the light of the media support and visibility that Amit received, it didn’t take a child to understand that Prashant was being side tracked. It took enormous support from his fans to finally make him victorious. And we are proud of him.
You would be too if you had to overcome such circumstances.
However, this letter is not just in support of Prashant Tamang but the entire Nepali community in India and abroad. This letter is not an assault to your profession or a question to your morality. This is just a letter from an Indian clearing some of your misconceptions. This is the age of information (or misinformation) after all and I guess that by now you would have known the consequences of your actions. The Gorkhas are hard working, honest and big-hearted people and I hope that one day they can forgive you and your scathing comments on their pride. For now I am happy to know that you missed the momos that night. Now that the Indian Idol mania is over, I am sure the road side mom shops you so miss are back in business. So go have a feast...this one is on the house !!!
Yours sincerely,
P. Rai
USA
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