‘No, I am not a South Asian, I am an Indian’: The Western media’s ‘South Asia’ obsession — a smokescreen to blame India and shield Pakistan’s culpability

The Indian subcontinent was replaced by the word “South Asia” which was purposefully popularized in the 1940s and 1970s by policy-making entities in the United States, such as the American State Department to allegedly serve as overarching term for all countries within the region, including India.

However, in reality, the objective was to negate the Indian heritage and roots of the entire territory, thereby dissociating it from its Sanatan history. It is needless to say that this agenda continues to gain momentum over time. Hence, Diwali has turned into a South Asian festival and Neeraj Chopra is dubbed as a South Asian Olympian.

The bitter pill of compromising Indian identity and, by extension, Hindu culture, would have been swallowed had the infamous agenda stopped there. Nevertheless, the situation was quite the opposite. As if this gross appropriation was insufficient, the designation was subsequently used to disguise the heinous offences of a specific group belonging to a particular religion, country and ideology, with the blame for their actions being unjustly assigned to the whole area, especially India.

Emboldened by the abuse of the expression “South Asia,” which was possibly created for a similar reason, and notwithstanding vocal protests from many Indians, there appears to be no cessation to this outrageous practice. This was clearly demonstrated when the Pakistani grooming gangs in the United Kingdom were exposed for raping, violating and brutalizing minor British girls over multiple decades. However, they were introduced with the same broad term to obscure the truth of their origin and background.

Therefore, it is imperative for all Indians to come together and assert ourselves, for enough is enough. How long can any self-respecting nation withstand the exploitation of its identity, which was initially snatched and then corrupted into something so repulsive and unrecognizable?

I, for my part, can not tolerate being subjected to such a breach of my identity by those whose predominant concern is not the shocking crimes perpetrated by their favored demographic, but to mask them under the umberalla of “South Asia” in the interest of political correctness. Meanwhile, any decent act by a Pakistani, no matter how rare or trivial, will be associated with them by virtue of their name, nation and faith.

On the other hand, an Indian who is convicted of even a small infraction is never afforded the same privilege. Their identity or nationality does not fade into the shadows as “South Asia” takes precedence. On the contrary, their nativity and ethinicity are highlighted to ensure public awareness as political correctness often takes a convenient back-seat in these matters.

Likewise, any accomplishment by an Indian or India is not exclusively recognized for the country but is instead attributed to “South Asia” as if other nations also played a part in the success. The largest democracy in the world is basically employed to shoulder blame and share credit with the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Some jokes, as distasteful as they could be, truly write themselves.

British-Indians furious at Prime Minsiter Keir Starmer

Much like myself and several other Indians, British Indians too seem to have reached their limit and directed their anger towards the United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer who opted to use “Asian grooming gangs,” akin to his government and the media as he defended his performance as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 2008 to 2013, which sparked more criticism of the word.

It reached such an absurd level that even Elon Musk had to call out the British government for its relentless tiptoeing around the cases. He also blasted Starmer for failing to deal with systematic problems concerning the grooming gangs when he was in office. Moreover, Sikh and British Indian leaders contended that such language unjustly stigmatizes whole Asian groups, including Sri Lankans, Indians and others for acts mostly associated with people of Pakistani descent.

The UK’s Hindu Council chair, Krishna Bhan, expressed his disappointment that the prime minister decided to use the term “Asian” to cover up the horrible incidents. “Our Hindu and Sikh girls were also victims of these grooming gangs, and using this vague term insults all Asians,” he pointed out.

“Why should we be classified as part of these gangs? When it comes to grooming gangs, we are Asian. When it’s about Kashmir, we’re Indian. This inconsistency is deeply offensive,” Jay Shah, spokesperson for Friends of India Society International UK also outlined the glaring hypocrisy.

Leaders in the community additionally emphasized how damaging such language is in fostering prejudice and eroding interethnic trust. Politicians were chastised by the Sikh Federation UK for their political correctness and for ignoring the underlying roots of the problem. Unfortunately, the UK government and British media have consistently declined to address the issue directly, despite the severity of these crimes and the unambiguous involvement of Muslim Pakistani males.

Journalist Mehdi Hasan of “non-Muslims are animals” fame, sticking to his track-record, rushed to the defense of the Pakistani rapists and cried “demonisation.” He also charged the Tesla CEO with appeasing the racist far-right following a confrontation over the H1B visa issue, during which the latter supported the influx of highly skilled Indian workers into the US.

While referring to Pakistani offenders by their actual identity seems to be totally unacceptable, holding “South Asia” or “Asia” responsible for the crimes committed by them is apparently a shining example of secularism and peaceful coexistence. Furthermore, anyone who chooses to deviate from this script is swiftly labeled as an Islamophobe or a bigot.

More importantly, the mainstream media continues to overlook facts and shield the rapists while damaging the reputation of an entire continent in the new distorted sense of political correctness. “Asian grooming gangs” remain to be in use, disregarding various reports and multiple UK city councils citing the role of Pakistani men, which is untrue and unfairly targets a whole continent.

It is noteworthy, that the government and authorities of the United Kingdom were reluctant to take action against the accused as they did not want to appear racist. Superficial concerns took precedence over justice, truth, safety and the lives of young girls.

Minimizing India’s milestones as South Asia’s

The Indian Space Research Organisation in 2023 successfully executed the third phase of its lunar exploration initiative, Chandrayaan 3. It later achieved a soft landing on the uncharted southern pole of the Moon. This accomplishment marked a significant milestone for India and while the nation rejoiced, its citizens were soon reminded of the reality of having a parasitic neighbour.

“Chandrayaan 3 is expected to land on the moon on 23rd August at around 5:47 pm IST. A huge moment for South Asia and countries regarded as third world,” Pakistani sports journalist Farid Khan wrote on social media drawing an angry reaction from the Indian netizens who slammed him and even made memes on his outrageous statement.

Interestingly, the Islamic Republic and its leaders including Fawad Chaudhry, who was a minister in the Imran Khan government at that time, ridiculed ISRO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the space mission when Chandrayaan 2 did not arrive at its intended destination. Despite the failure of their own space program, Pakistanis derided India, only to claim credit when ISRO succeeded.

To draw inspiration from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shamelessness, thy name is Pakistan.

What could serve as a more fitting example to illustrate the duplicity of such narratives where India bears the burden of its losses while there are many proponents of its successes, particularly the terrorist state of Pakistan which labels the Indian Republic as an “enemy nation” and wants to “bleed it by a thousand cuts” using terrorism. However, there are several takers for this propaganda globally, who persistently spread such disinformation as is observed repeatedly.

Pakistanis have significantly contributed to the severe racism directed towards Indians which is increasingly evident on the internet these days. They subject Indians to various slurs, attack Hindus based on their faith and propagate the most derogatory lies against them. This behavior has become a norm for the Pakistanis.

They stereotype India, blame Indians for the crimes they commit and are essentially devoted lackeys of neo-Nazi elements on social media who are unable to accept the astonishing growth of Indian Americans and India itself. Pakistanis then have the audacity to react negatively when someone points out their true character.

Conclusion

The term “South Asia” was primarily coined by American academics as a “politically neutral term” to describe the Indian subcontinent and to enable Western institutional power centers, such as politicians, policy makers, academics and others, to discuss the area theoretically without compromising the “sensibilities” of other, non-Indian, nations in the region, or to “talk about the region in an inclusive manner.”

It should come as no surprise that Pakistan is at the forefront of the list of “countries” whose “sensibilities” would be harmed if the area was still referred to as the Indian subcontinent. Now, the term has achieved greater recognition among global communities aided by the diaspora of Pakistan in places like the United States and the United Kingdom.

Predictably, an unusual sense of FOMO has gripped the Pakistanis who desire to be linked with the positive news emerging from India while simultaneously envying and hating the neighbour. Pakistan and the international machinery commemorate every achievement of India as a South Asian success and similarly blames the region and even the entire continent for the offenses committed by Pakistanis.

Hence, I have come to terms with the fact that the use of “South Asia” will only increase due to the obsession of the international community with protecting a specific religious group and nationality at the expense of another. Pakistan clealrly wants to have its cake and eat it too.

Yet, as Indians, it is essential that we raise our voices against this blatant violation of our identity by the Pakistanis and their liberal ecosystem. The vilification of “South Asia” or “Asia” for the actions of Pakistan cannot be tolerated any longer, regardless of the political support these individuals receive from their media, political parties or ecosystems in other countries under the banner of political correctness, countering Islamophobia or anti-racism, which, interestingly, is never an issue when it comes to providing the same courtesy to Indians.

Indeed, we find ourselves regrettably sharing the continent, region and even borders with the rogue nation, however, this does not imply that we should be held responsible for its actions.

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