Editor of Pickled Politics and Asians in Media

I always find it amusing when people resort to burning effigies, especially when they are as badly constructed as this. It's something people in India do every year during the festival of Dussehra so they are old hands at it. But guys, some creativity wouldn't go amiss.

I know readers are probably bored with articles on Celebrity Big Brother, a programme of epic mind-numbing proportions, but given that everyone from Gordon Brown and David Cameron to every British Asian and his/her dog have jumped on this bandwagon, I feel slightly left out. So shoot me, as Jade Goody would say. At least that's a short enough sentence for her not to get grammatically wrong. Ahem.

For a start I believe this whole controversy has gone over the top. But I believe it's worth pointing out some obvious reasons why British Asians and Indians, for different reasons, are annoyed at this spectacle.

For British Asians the sarcastic and underhand bullying of Shilpa Shetty brings up memories of what many themselves, young and old, have faced in the past. It doesn't need for Shilpa to be called a "Paki" - the fact that she is constantly told to "go back" or made to feel like an outsider touches a nerve.

As one commenter summed it up: "For me, this whole incident has brought memories of that back up and unpleasant memories at that. I didn't like Shilpa before she went in and while I'm not saying I do now, she has my respect because while I tried to hide bits of my culture for fear of being bullied, at least she wears hers on her sleeve."

For Indians on the other hand, though misled by their papers to believe she was called a "Paki", the treatment indicates that Britons still see themselves as superior to the Indians they once ruled over. Distant memories of colonialism always bubble underneath the surface.

The director Mahesh Bhatt has even penned an editorial asking why Indians "go on bended knees and lick their boots?". This from a man who is constantly commuting to Britain and even plans to make a film on 7/7. Anyway, the point remains.

But I don't see how anyone can claim to take the moral highground on this issue. This hypocrisy isn't limited to Mahesh Bhatt alone. Bollywood is riddled with its own racism and prejudice towards lighter skin. For an Indian minister to claim, "The world knows that India has throughout firmly rejected all forms of discrimination and racism," is laughable. I'm not sure millions of Dalits in India would concur.

As for making fun of Indian accents - British Asians themselves are usually among the first to participate.

That isn't to say I condone the behaviour of Jade Goody and her chavvy trio, or that people shouldn't have complained. But did Big Brother fans really expect any intelligence or sophistication from such pond-life?

But I want to see Channel 4 keep the programme going. For one, it has helped draw a line between what is now deemed socially unacceptable behaviour when it would be tolerated or even celebrated a few decades ago.

Secondly, and unsurprisingly, white Britons have overwhelmingly condemned the pond-life trio so I'm unfazed by suggestions that a whole new of tranche of BNP supporters will be born tomorrow and feel free to spew abuse from watching it on TV.

And lastly, as one blogger satirically pointed out, "They might not have apologised for Jallianwalah Bagh but they sure did for Shilpa Shetty".

All I ask of the Shilpa Shetty Fans Association is that they build better effigies. They bring shame upon such a creative nation.

Article published on The Guardian's Blogsite