Please, no “M-word” here…

Windsor in UK has been the centre of some small-scale (relatively speaking) rioting centred around a “Muslim-run dairy which has become an unofficial prayer centre for workers. Nothing wrong with that you would think – but there is obviously more to it than has been reported..

But the strange thing is the extreme reluctance of reporters and newspapers to print the “M-word”.

London Lite (Daily Mail’s publication) e.g. reported (5^th Oct ’06) that, “extra police are being drafted into the Windsor area today after three nights of violent clashes between white and Asian youths”

Who are these “Asian youths” could they be Chinese, Japanese or from South East Asia, Mongolians?

Not clear …the report goes on to note that “Windows of the makeshift mosque and dairy vehicles were smashed. Residents said that Asian youths came from Slough to fight the white gang”.

“Dairy manager Sikander Khan, 50, said his predominantly Asian workers were worried after the fire-bomb attack”. OK, I may be dumb but Khan does not sound like a Chinese or a Japanese name to me.

The report continues: “residents feared a mosque would make things worse…”

Get the point? Could this be linked to British Hindus’ yearning for a separate identity rather than simply being lumped as “Asians”? and what about Indians? are we “Asian”? The last time I studied geography we were…but somehow I find it hard to believe that any of us (Indians) were involved in these incidents.

Can the media gather the courage to stand up and speak the truth clearly and fearlessly?