Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter and said “racist rhetoric” against the Guwahati contestant is unacceptable
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on November 16 said racism should be “categorically” condemned after a contestant from Guwahati made racist rhetoric on a dance reality show.
in a clip of Colors TVIn ‘Dance Deewane 3’ which has gone viral on social media, the show’s host-dancer Raghav Juyal is seen introducing a contestant from the North-East, who appears to be making fun of Mandarin, the language spoken by the Chinese people. it happens.
When judges including actors Madhuri Dixit-Nene and filmmaker Remo D’Souza ask him what he is trying to do, the host replies as he casually makes racist remarks on young contestant Gunjan Sinha.
In the 40-second clip, he can be heard saying, “People may not understand their Chinese language, but they do understand their dance.”
The third season of the show, which aired earlier this year, ended last month.
The chief minister took to Twitter and said that “racist rhetoric” against the contestant is unacceptable.
“It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young contestant from Guwahati. This is shameful and completely unacceptable. Casteism has no place in our country and we all must condemn it categorically,” Mr Sarma tweeted.
“Dance Deewane” was judged by Ms. Dixit-Nene and choreographers Tushar Kalia and Dharmesh Yelande. Mr. D’Souza joined the said episode as a special guest.
Special Director General of Assam Police LR Bishnoi has also urged the Cyber Cell to take cognizance.
“HQ Cyber Cell Team @assampolice Please check it out! Sheer ignorance on the part of those involved!” Mr Bishnoi tweeted.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya also expressed his anguish and tweeted, “We have been treated as objects of ridicule from time to time for not looking ‘Indian’ enough Discrimination on the basis of racial profile is hurting.” “NE is not just a storehouse of rich resources or foreign culture. The racist abuses of @colorstv and @theraghav_juyal are condemned and punishable,” he said.
Netizens have condemned the incident and demanded an unconditional apology as well as police action against the show and the host.
Host Clarifies, Says Sorry
While there is no official statement from the channel yet, Mr Juyal (30) shared a video on Instagram in an attempt to “clarify the misunderstanding”.
The host said he wanted to share the “story” behind his mental health and the short clip being circulated on the Internet for those who knew him.
“When kids come to the show, we ask them what their hobbies are. Gunjan said, ‘I can speak Chinese, I have this talent’. And we used to laugh at children’s talk. When we asked her to speak Chinese, she started speaking in a fuzzy language. From there, we’ll ask her to speak in ‘Chinese’ on every episode or to speak in another planet’s language!” he said in the video.
According to Mr Juyal, in the final episode he introduced Gunjan in the same Chinese language before her acts on the show.
“If you watch the whole show, you wouldn’t call me a racist,” he said.
The host, who has featured in films like “ABCD 2” and “Street Dancer 3D”, said he has a deep connection with the Northeast.
“My family is in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. I have friends in Nagaland with whom I grew up in boarding school. I am someone who tries to make things appear politically correct and who takes a stand on injustice and racism. Instead, I am often trolled whenever I take a stand for any religion, caste, culture or creed,” he said.
At the end of the video, Mr Juyal said that he apologizes to those whose feelings have been hurt.
“I am very sorry if I have hurt your sentiments. Neither I nor Colors channel had any intention of such a thing. But before making a clip viral and judging, I really wish you Watch the full show.”
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