In regards to the claims you made of the problematic demonstration of Islamophobia in the Indian community in the show, you stated:
“I have a neighbor—who is Indian— neighbor, who I talk to a lot, and I also have a friend who is half-French and half-English that I talked to about the show and first of all I think it’s great this show is reaching people in Paris. When I talk to them about the show, I get two completely different narratives/opinions about the show. Like, my neighbor, she saw so many problems with it. She talked about how the nuances of Islamophobia: trying to get away from the woman who married a Muslim. Pointing to a narrative of how Indians would’ve rather have you marry a white man over a Muslim. I’m not super well versed about it. My friend from Paris thought it was stupid in the beginning and ended up really liking it. He didn’t see any problems because that was his only experience with Indian Americans. This proves that media in general is super important when it comes to educating people around the world about demographics that they wouldn’t have met. They should be exposed to it correctly...”
Islamophobia is ingrained in the Indian culture. This dates back to the colonial history of India in the 17th century and the ingraining of Muslims as a minority. This led to a Muslim separist movement that eventually led to the creation of the nation of Pakistan, separate from India. Hindus and Muslims do not like each other as demonstrated by history, but I saw the show’s examples of Islamophobia as something to bring to light rather than a problematic situation. The episode in question, “...felt super Indian,” season 1, episode 4, shows Devi’s cousin, Kamala, interacting with a Hindu woman, Jaya Kuyavar, who married and divorced a Muslim man. Jaya states the decision wasn’t worth it; she has been made a social pariah as a result her decision. If anything, the issue of Islamophobia is the truth of the Indian community, Mindy Kaling’s truth, and if anything, Kaling is bringing light to the ignorant racism that Hindus hold towards Muslims. It’s a commentary. Yeah, sure, Kamala ends up choosing the guy she’s to-be-arranged-to over her Asian boyfriend, but hey, they had to give her a set-up plot for Season 2, right? This is still a show.
By the way, although it sounds like I am, I am not her publicist.
