Anti-Hindu Controversy
In 2001, Tony Brown, made several derogatory anti-Hindu remarks in his talk show on WLS 890 AM that began with the concern among American workers about the influx of software engineers from India. He evoked anti-Hindu canards such as exaggerating the importance of the Caste System in Hinduism, and made remarks about Human rights in India. Protests by Indian-American community leaders led to a public apology by Brown for his remarks against Hindus and Hinduism. In his apology, Brown said:
| “ | The statements I made were derived from either books or articles that I read. Still, I had not considered the possibility of bigots using the information to persecute the Hindu minority in this country.That does not excuse me from the pain that I have caused by not being more circumspect. | ” |
After his apology, Brown also invited Swami Atmajnanananda of the Washington branch of the Ramakrishna Mission and an Indian journalist based in Chicago, J V Lakshmana Rao, to participate in the talk show. Atmajnanananda said one must draw a distinction between caste and casteism. He said:
| “ | The assumption that Hindus are inherently racists is dangerous. Caste does not play a role in one's occupation any more. One should not use the pitfalls of the Indian culture to attack Hinduism. | ” |
Clearing Brown's misconceptions about lower castes "being persecuted in India", Rao spoke of affirmative actions in favor of the lower castes by the Government of India.
Read more about this topic: Tony Brown (journalist)
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