By IANS
Sydney : The United Indian Association (UIA), a body representing the various migrant community groups of Indian origin in Australia, and its youth wing, the India Sports Club (ISC), have voiced surprise over the racist connotations seen in the word “monkey”, allegedly used by Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh in his spat with Andrew Symonds.
“The Australian Indian community condemns racism and casteism in sport and supports any action taken by the Australian sports authorities like Cricket Australia to tackle this problem. However, UIA are deeply concerned about the three match ban slapped on Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh for an alleged on-field racist spat involving Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds,” UIA said.
“It was surprising that the match referee, Mr. Mike Proctor, has taken the view that Harbhajan Singh made racial comments. It is alleged that Harbajan Singh called Andrew Symonds a monkey during an on-field verbal spat at the SCG and this was considered as racist by the match referee.
“Considering that the ‘Monkey God’ is one of the revered idols of Hindu mythology and worshipped by millions, it is surprising it was considered a racist term. Even more surprising is that the word ‘monkey’ is considered by the match referee serious enough to slap a three match ban on Harbhajan Singh. Many other more unsavoury words exchanged on the field go un-noticed,” UIA president and ex-president of India Sports Club, Raj Natarajan told IANS.
“The UIA and its members feel that the Australian team has behaved in an un-sporting manner which has made the second Test between India and Australia a poor example of the game.
“While UIA and ISC always support the Australian Cricket Team, it has to be said that in the Sydney Test their behaviour was unbecoming of a World Champion Cricket Team when they aimed to win at any cost. On the day, records seemed more important than sportsmanship and fair play. We see this as a sour victory for the Aussies.”