Civil suit against Prince Philip for defaming this Patel?
Posted on October 28, 2009
Filed Under General | 14 Comments
Our beloved President with their Prince.
Morning I get a call. My friend sounds unusual. Did you hear? Me? No! What happened? ‘Patel racism’ by the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip. Really?
Huh! Another racism case? Why is my friend taking this serious, was wondering. Ah! Now, I know, my mate’s surname is Patel and he is also to travel UK. Anyways, I get the newspaper and read the piece.
“Britain’s Prince Philip’s has got into a controversy again — this time, for cracking a joke about the Indian surname Patel.”
“As the guests lined up to meet the Queen and her hubby Prince Philip, who hosted the evening to celebrate this week’s state visit by India’s President Pratibha Patil, the 88-year-old Royal turned to greet business chief Atul Patel. And, after glancing at Patel’s name badge, he was quoted as saying, “There’s a lot of your family in tonight.” ”
Really, what to say? Sounds funny to me, but may be not to others. Some take it really personal and start ruminating negatively. My mate did get offended. It was my prodigious effort and convincing that he finally decided to study in UK last month. Before his parents got his admission, there were many things he was mulling about. “Sam, Shab did suicide after coming from UK”, “I heard they forcefully rape Indians”, “May be because of my name and origin I might be scoffed” ..etc..
Huh, I wished Prince Philip made those comments a week later; at least my friend could have peacefully left. Anyways, I did a lot of convincing again. I told my mate, listen – “This Prince Philip has often been quoted making sordid comments and nothing to take bad. Not all are so. There are a lot of good people there. And Indians there are not scavengers. They have stupendous contribution in the society.”
If the prince can make such a comment when our most respected President is there, well you can expect a lot more. The last time this prince made such a racist comment was when during a tour of a factory near Edinburgh when he said a fuse box was so crude it “looked as though it had been put in by an Indian”.
Did someone forget Jade Goody here?
Want more? Well, who can forget what he told one Bangladeshi in a youth club in London “He looks as if he is on drugs”. That man got so hurt, he said “money made the prince blind and speak so rabid”.
Well, anyways, I have nothing against Prince Philip. The man to whom he made the Patel comment also took no offense. In fact they say Patel is the second most common Indian surname after Singh, and is the 24th most popular in Britain with about 670,000 Patels living there.
Now you know why my mate has decided to pursue, and not leave it half 
So he is flying next week. Wish him good luck! Well wherever you go whatever you do just remain a good human being and am sure you can escape a lot of things. Dont get steamed easily by racists. Avoid such people, and get into the circle of better people. Generally they say UK people are very racist and filled with hegemony, may be, I dont know if it is true or false. But I am sure a positive approach always within you and towards others is always good.
Well did you guys read about that Indian who hacked the Australian govt website because of the escalating racist attacks there? Read it here, am sure you will enjoy If any of you have experienced such, do share the incident as well as some soothing tips. So Adios for now ~ SAM
“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.”
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14 Responses to “Civil suit against Prince Philip for defaming this Patel?”
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What is the using of being a prince if he does not know what to say where. It surely is not a small issue. It is really serious that this happened when our president was there. Our president’s name is also Prathiba Patil. People like Philip are nothing other than monarchs. These people do not have any decency, I think people of UK should not bear such comments. They should protest against this monarch.
Sam I totally disagree with you. In UK Indians are not discriminated. They live comfortably with the rest. You see lunatics are everywhere, may be tomorrow if I come to India, I might also be discriminated? As a European, I would completely deny your statement. If at all any are discriminated then it would be the low class people not the middle class.
I think at the occasion of meeting Indian President, Prince Philip should not have made such a cheap joke.
West is where things like racial discrimination, imperialism, pornography, sex swapping and other evils spread. America and Europe think they are superior to others and can do anything they want. India has never forgot how brutally they ruled us and left giving us nothing.
@John – I am extremely sorry for not mentioning that the natives there themselves condemned this. It is bad on my part for not quoting them. “The prince’s comment was condemned by Republic, a group campaigning to abolish the monarchy, as “deeply embarrassing.” “Making a joke about people called Patel is deeply embarrassing given the timing of the Indian state visit. At best it’s a comment that shows he’s out of touch and out of date,” said the group’s spokesman Graham Smith.
@ Erick – Dear Erick, Can you show me where I said UK is a racist nation? Please read carefully, I never said so. And I totally agree with you that discrimination is everywhere, you might even face the same if you come to India. The middle class surely there does not face discrimination, they have money, power and what not. Its about the people of the lowest strata.
@ Hindustan – Oh cmon mate I never intended to make this a ‘racist’ piece. Dont exaggerate. Also I know that Europe has brutally ruled, but on the other side they have made stupendous contributions to our society
I am in fact thankful to them for: Giving schools, Post, Railways, Abolishing societal evils like Sati system, sacrifice of humans..etc 
By the way you are giving too much emphasis on sex and porn from West. Dont forget Mallanaga V?tsy?yana’s Kamasutra and the various forms of art and literature India had decades back. Indian art consisted of nudity, romantic themes or sexual situations in 6th century BC itself. Have you seen Ajanta caves etc? Even before such topics got popularised in West, we had it. So if the West want they have better things to point and accuse India of, lets not get into badmouthing..lol.
Nothing to lament about. The guy to whom this prince made the statement even said he took no offense. What is more shocking is, he condemned his Indian brethren support and said Britain is his homeland. These guys are shameless and have no respect for anything or anyone Indian.
I think people complaing about Prince Phillip being racist cannot easily take a joke. What he said was not racist – it’s just a comment that a lot of Indians have the name Patel – I think no one could deny that.
If he were at a gathering of Welshmen and made a similar comment about someone called Jones or Evans (very commong Welsh names) would that be racist I don’t think so.
Now if he said you Indians are useless or something like that then I would agree that is a terrible, untrue and racist thing to say. But he said nothing like that.
You must also remember that he comes from a much older generation where people are not afraid to make generalisations about other people. That’s not because he’s royal or rich its because his from that generation.
I remember some older members of my own family in the UK used to refer to South Asians as “Paki’s” – I understand that’s probably highly offensive for Pakistanis and even more so for Indians. But when they said such things it was not because they hate Indians that’s just the way they were brought up in those days unfortunately.
Real racism is not a comment about people’s names, its about having hatred in your heart towards other people for no reason other than they are a different race. I think when Prince Phillip or even my relatives say such things they do not hate Indians they are just perhaps a bit unwise in their language.
Also please do not blame the British or the West for all the evils of society. I will not deny that many bad things are there as Hindustan says, but as Sam says they are not unique to the West they exist almost everywhere these days. The sex change capital of the world now is Thailand I believe and racial and (other kinds of) discrimination happen everywhere.
I used to be proud of the British Empire and all the good it did in places like India like building schools etc. However having met some Indians I see they do not see it the same. So I recognise that Britain did a number of bad things to India while it was there and I apologise to all Indians for that, but please do not blame us for everything. I once attended a lecture on Pakistan and she spent the whole time blaming Pakistan’s modern day problems on the British, which I thought was a bit cheeky. Sure you could say that maybe 10 years after independece, but 60 years later isn’t it time to take responsibility yourself.
Sorry this post is a bit long and if I annoyed anyone but it’s so rare to get a post about the British on here that I was compelled to put a bit of the British side of things. I could write more but I have other stuff to do and I think this is long enough for now.
By the way I agree with Erick. I do not think the UK is racist towards Indians as a society. Indians have made great contributions to our society and are very well integrated despite differences of culture, religion etc. In fact if you go into a small shop or to see a doctor you can almost gurantee that it’s run by an Indian – my last doctor was called Patel by the way
. The richest man in the UK is also an Indian so I don’t think Indians are hard done by at all in the UK – that’s because they work hard and value education unlike many British people unfortunatly.
I’m very happy we have so many Indians here, in fact whenever I return to the UK after leaving it I’m happy when I see many Indians once again. That may be a bit strange but I don’t think its bad.
However I do not think Sam’s article was implying the UK was a racist nation, just that some Indians like his friend are afraid that it is.
People like Hindustan who lacks any rationality will have to find an answer for why India is still the same even after the Britishes left 60 years back. WILL, you have asked a very good question, and many Indians including me are ashamed that we still blame the West and Britishes for all our woes. It is time we take our responsibility and act mature. Its already 60 years and our poverty, unemployment etc have only increased.
On the racist comment of Prince Philip, although it can be taken as a joke, I might seem prejudiced here to accuse the monarch for being a vulgarian at many ocassions. Sam has only mentioned a few and one of them that strikes me is ‘the fuse looks so crude that it seems fixed by an Indian’. He has made many several racist comments against South Asians and South East Asians. However, I have been to Europe 4 times, and I have loved the place, people and have not seen or faced any discrimination.
I very much agree that it is time we Indians stop blaming others and take responsibility for our inadequacies. What really worries me is the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India. I am afraid if this communal evil progresses, many educated liberal Indians as well will be brainwashed to consider anything ‘foreign’ evil. The latest trend seen in India is the bashing of Christians on cooked up claims that Christianity is foreign. This happening to a religion existing from 2000 years in India? Hard to digest. God only can melt their hearts!
I am ashamed of people like Sam who are so loyal to the Crown than his own motherland. Stop praising them moron. They have ruled India for hundreds of years to benefit the Crown and to increase its colonial achievements. They recklessly exploited India’s natural resources and drained the wealth of common citizens. They divided the country on the lines of caste to suit their personal interests. They did nothing for the benefit of India. Post and Railways were introduced not for locals, but for their people to benefit more through better communication and transportation. Study history before writing crap.
Great. Another clueless guy with a clueless comment. I was wondering from which state is this “Delhi University History Professor” from. Now, after knowing from your IP that you are from the great land of Orissa – I have lost my curiosity on such a comment of yours. People of your state has committed the most horrendous crimes against the Christian minority. First in 1999 the burning alive of one Australian missionary (Graham Staines) and his two sons mercilessly in a station wagon. You killed that man who devoted his entire life serving the lepers whom you wouldnt even dare to care. Second last year’s gruesome murder of 60 Christians on grounds that they were involved in conversion. Till today that state or the entire country has not proved a case of ‘forceful conversion’ in any court of India. It hurts me to see the extremity of your jingoism that is destroying the secular and cultural mosaic of our country. Will write more on this on my next post..!
Sam you are too ignorant of things happening in Britain. Here is a news I came across today.
At least 10 students, including six of Indian origin, were injured in two separate incidents in London after a gang of white and black youth attacked Asian Muslim students at a University campus last week.
Police said they are investigating the “two racially motivated incidents” that occurred on November 2 and November 5 at the City University in north London.
Six of the 10 students attacked in the incidents sustained serious injuries, including four who had stab wounds, a spokesperson of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies said on Tuesday.
Go get a life dude. Britishes left 60 years back. I think they forgot to carry you back. Your slave mindset has never left you. Why not you quit India and go to where you are loyal. Have you ever been to UK? From your writing it is very clear you have hardly seen India.