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India objects to US TV host's joke on Golden
Temple
Monday January 23, 2012 06:10:18 PM,
Arun Kumar, IANS
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Washington:
India has objected to US television host Jay Leno passing off a
visual of the Golden Temple in Amritsar as Republican presidential
candidate Mitt Romney's vacation home, terming it "quite
unfortunate".
Visiting Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said Sunday
he had directed Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao to take
up with the State Department the issue, featured on Leno's "The
Tonight Show" Thursday.
Romney, the super-wealthy Republican front-runner, is under fire
for paying low taxes.
"It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a
comment has been made after showing the Golden Temple," Ravi told
Indian reporters here.
"The Golden Temple is Sikh community's most sacred place. Even our
prime minister went there for praying in the New Year. I believe
that the person who has shown it is not that ignorant. The
American government should also look at this kind of thing," Ravi
said.
"I wish this kind of thing is not shown by any media in the US,"
he said adding though he had not seen the show personally and had
heard about it from the Sikh community.
"Freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others. This is
not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such
a display of an important place like Golden Temple," he said.
"The embassy is fully aware of it and they will take it up," Ravi
said.
The joke on the Leno' show has angered the Sikh community in the
US which has launched an online petition against Leno and started
a Facebook page to express their outrage.
The online petition says Leno has been guilty of derogatory
comments on Sikhs before. It adds that "Jay Leno's racist comments
need to be stopped right here".
"Jay Leno must apologise and promise not to make any direct or
oblique references to Sikhs or their places of worship," says
petition signatory Sian Kaur.
Leno has not yet commented on the matter.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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