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TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh takes a swipe at ‘racist joke’ at British Curry Awards

“Why has India never won the World Cup? Because every time they get a corner, they build a shop on it.” He also called out to the award organisers for having an “all-white judging panel”, with a “white host” (comedian Hugh Dennis) and “90 per cent white performers”.

Dr Ranj Singh, British Indian TV presenter

  PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

 British Indian TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh slammed a ‘racist joke’ by a ‘white guest presenter’ at the recent 2022 British Curry Awards, reported IANS.

 The 43-year-old NHS doctor posted the offending clip on his Twitter on November 30, where a male presenter is seen on stage saying: “Why has India never won the World Cup? Because every time they get a corner, they build a shop on it.” He also called out to the award organisers for having an “all-white judging panel”, with a “white host” (comedian Hugh Dennis) and “90 per cent white performers”.

“I cannot stay silent… Dear @BritCurryAwardsa please, let’s talk about this. I’m not berating you as I know you have good intentions and are doing your best. And you have raised so much for charity. But we are better than this,” Singh posted on his Twitter handle.

In an open letter, Singh said that he was not the only person who felt “uncomfortable” at the awards ceremony. “I was honoured and privileged to be invited as a guest for the British Curry Awards tonight. Firstly, thank you to this brilliant organisation for doing their best to celebrate our Asian community,” the BAFTA award-winning presenter said.

  • He added that he was proud of his Indian heritage, the Indian community and those who came to the UK before him, which is why he cannot stay silent on such things.

  • “We are not beyond criticism (and that includes me). But we are open to learn and grow,” he wrote with a heart emoji.

“However, when the host is white, the judging panel is entirely white, the performers onstage are over 90 per cent white, are we really representing our community fairly?” Singh asked.

He also criticised the organisers for auditioning a piece of work by former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. “And to top it off, we have a racist joke on stage, and are auctioning off a piece by Winston Churchill whose relationship with India (and Bengali people specifically) is problematic?” he rued.

In the 2021 census, which was released on Tuesday, the number of Persons of Indian origin in the UK increased to 3.1 per cent of the total population from 2.5 per cent (14.12 lakh) recorded in the 2011 census.

Singh, who stars on ‘This Morning’, concluded his post by saying: “We are better than this. We are a magnificent people. We have done so much and still have so much to offer. Let’s do better together.”

He added that he was proud of his Indian heritage, the Indian community and those who came to the UK before him, which is why he cannot stay silent on such things. “We are not beyond criticism (and that includes me). But we are open to learn and grow,” he wrote with a heart emoji.

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Roma Ghosh
Roma Ghosh
Roma Ghosh has recently retired as Associate Professor for Media Studies from an international university. She was with the Times of India as a correspondent for many years. Her passion is cooking and she has been doing recipes and photo shoots for Women's Era for the last 15-odd years.

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