Kuzhali Manickavel

'Benny Lava' and the buffalax-ing of Indian songs: A weird way of keeping India's perceived exoticism alive

We can’t deny that our songs can be pretty ridiculous. But perhaps there is something uncomfortable about unintentionally being a big part of a joke created by someone else (as with the buffalax videos) .

'Benny Lava' and the buffalax-ing of Indian songs: Was onetime internet trend racist, or harmless fun?

The 'Benny Lava' buffalax was originally labelled as ‘Crazy Indian Video, Real Title Unknown’, as if it was some terribly obscure alien artefact that was of course just-so-Indian-and-so-crazy. Which is interesting because it was actually a pretty mainstream, run-of-the-mill, and ultimately forgettable Tamil movie song featuring a very well-known actor (at least in Tamil Nadu).

Little Black Sambo: A look at the bizarre history of Helen Bannerman's racism-riddled children’s story

Why has Little Brave Sambo (or Little Black Sambo) endured, why do people defend it so passionately and perhaps most intriguing of all, why do people keep re-writing it to try and make it more politically correct?

Little Black Sambo: Why the many attempts to rectify racism of Helen Bannerman's popular story failed

Why has Little Brave Sambo (or Little Black Sambo) endured, why do people defend it so passionately and perhaps most intriguing of all, why do people keep re-writing it to try and make it more politically correct?

The curious case of Hrundi V Bakshi: Deconstructing Peter Sellers' brownface act in The Party

In many ways, Hrundi V Bakshi from The Party is no different from the many other characters Peter Sellers has portrayed and while the brownface is definitely super-awkward, it doesn’t seem to be particularly malicious. Which then leads to the question: why? | Kuzhali Manickavel writes

Peter Sellers' The Party is the go-to movie for expressing anger over brownface: Is the ire warranted?

I don’t really understand why Peter Sellers felt the need to darken his face for the role in The Party. While I don’t think it makes him look Indian, it certainly makes him look greasy and a little blotchy, unless the belief at the time was that Indians, as an entire race, were a greasy and blotchy people | Kuzhali Manickavel writes in her monthly column 'Allegedly Problematic'

Of 'miserable Hindoo ladies' and barbaric tribes: Reading Favell Lee Mortimer's 'educational' book on India

According to Mrs Mortimer, mothers were the bane of Hindostan. Remember, she was never here and it can be safely said that she was never a Hindoo mother herself but again, she doesn’t let that stop her.

Favell Lee Mortimer's Far Off: How a 19th century Englishwoman wrote about India — without having seen it

The author of Far Off, Favell Lee Mortimer, was best known for a book called 'The peep of day, or, A series of the earliest religious instruction the infant mind is capable of receiving' which has been called “one of the most outspokenly sadistic children's books ever written”.