Celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna slams BBC Racism: Goes Viral Again | Vantage with Palki Sharma
Summary
TLDRThe video highlights a 2020 interview with celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, where he called out a British journalist for perpetuating racist stereotypes about India during the pandemic. The journalist suggested Khanna's sense of hunger came from India due to his modest background, but Khanna responded by stating that his hunger stemmed from his experiences in New York. His response has resurfaced and gone viral, resonating with Indians who are frustrated by Western media's arrogance and constant misrepresentation of countries like India. The video critiques ongoing stereotypes and Western attitudes toward developing nations.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The saying 'the internet is forever' highlights how online content, once posted, can resurface at any time.
- 👨🍳 Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, based in New York, went viral due to an interview from 2020 during the pandemic.
- 🍛 Khanna started the 'Feed India' initiative during the pandemic to help those in need, gaining global attention, including from the BBC.
- 🗣️ In the viral interview, a BBC journalist made a stereotypical comment implying Khanna, as an Indian, must have experienced hunger due to India's poverty.
- 💡 Khanna’s response refuted the stereotype, stating that his sense of hunger came from his experience in New York, not India, where his hometown Amritsar has a large community kitchen that feeds everyone.
- 🇮🇳 The response resonated with many Indians, highlighting frustration with Western arrogance and stereotypical views about India.
- 📰 This isn’t an isolated incident—similar instances have occurred, such as a New York Times cartoon in 2014 mocking India's space mission, which resurfaced during the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
- ✍️ Another example was a German publication’s racist depiction of India when it overtook China as the world’s most populous country.
- 🍽️ Khanna’s reply also pointed out that hunger is a significant issue in the U.S., affecting millions of Americans, including over 13 million children.
- 🚫 The Western media often downplays domestic issues like food insecurity, while perpetuating stereotypes about countries like India, and Khanna’s response called this out.
Q & A
Who is Vikas Khanna and why is he going viral again?
-Vikas Khanna is a celebrity chef based in New York. He is going viral again because of a 2020 interview where he responded to a stereotypical comment about India with a powerful statement, highlighting hunger in New York rather than India.
What was the context of the 2020 interview with Vikas Khanna?
-The interview took place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when Vikas Khanna was leading an initiative called 'Feed India,' which coordinated a massive meal drive to help people in need in India.
What prompted Vikas Khanna's viral response during the interview?
-The interviewer made a stereotypical comment implying that because Khanna was not from a rich family in India, he must understand hunger. Vikas Khanna’s response, defending India and highlighting hunger in New York, went viral.
What was Vikas Khanna's key message in his response to the interviewer's stereotype?
-Khanna pointed out that his understanding of hunger came from New York, not India, as he grew up in Amritsar where the community kitchen feeds everyone. His reply challenged the stereotype that hunger and poverty are primarily Indian issues.
Why did Khanna’s statement resonate with the public four years later?
-His statement resonated because it addressed the Western tendency to stereotype India and other non-Western countries, while ignoring issues like food insecurity in the West itself. This has struck a chord with people who are tired of such condescending attitudes.
What were some examples of previous instances where India faced stereotypes from Western media?
-Examples include a 2014 cartoon by the New York Times when India planned a Mars mission and a 2023 cartoon by the German publication Der Spiegel when India overtook China as the world's most populous country. Both were seen as racist.
How does the script suggest Western media often portrays countries like India?
-The script suggests that Western media often portrays countries like India through stereotypes, such as assuming widespread hunger and poverty, while ignoring similar issues in their own countries.
What broader issue does Vikas Khanna’s response highlight about the Western portrayal of hunger?
-Khanna’s response highlights how Western countries tend to overlook significant issues like food insecurity in their own societies, instead focusing on problems in countries like India, perpetuating a biased narrative.
What impact did Khanna’s interview have in terms of challenging stereotypes?
-Khanna’s interview has been celebrated for calling out the absurd and racist stereotypes about India, shifting the conversation towards a more balanced understanding of global hunger issues.
Why might this interview go viral again in the future?
-The interview might go viral again because it taps into ongoing frustrations with Western arrogance and stereotypes about non-Western countries, making it a timeless critique of biased perceptions.
Outlines
🌐 The Internet is Forever
The phrase 'the internet is forever' means that once something is posted online, it remains accessible indefinitely. This is exemplified by the resurgence of a video featuring celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, who gained renewed attention from a 2020 interview during the Wuhan virus pandemic. As people faced hardships during the global lockdown, Khanna launched the 'Feed India' initiative, coordinating massive food drives for those in need. His efforts drew international attention, including from the BBC, who interviewed him during this critical time.
💬 Casual Racism in Media
During the 2020 interview, a BBC journalist casually mentioned that since Khanna wasn't from a wealthy family, he must understand hunger, implying that coming from India naturally associates one with poverty. This statement reflected a stereotypical and racially biased view of India. Vikas Khanna, however, responded calmly and firmly, noting that his understanding of hunger didn't stem from his time in India but rather from living in New York. He explained that in his hometown of Amritsar, there is a large community kitchen where anyone can get a meal.
🎥 A Response That Went Viral
Khanna's response to the stereotypical question, stating that his experience with hunger came from New York and not India, has since gone viral—four years after the interview. This resurgence of interest in the clip reflects a broader frustration among Indians toward Western arrogance and outdated, racist stereotypes about India. His response was seen as a powerful rebuttal to this ongoing issue.
📰 Repeating Stereotypes in Western Media
The reaction to Khanna's interview taps into a broader trend where Western media continues to perpetuate stereotypes about countries like India. An example from 2014 shows the New York Times publishing a cartoon mocking India's mission to Mars, which resurfaced when India successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole. Similarly, in 2023, a German publication depicted India in a derogatory way when it overtook China as the world’s most populous country. These incidents exemplify the ongoing cycle of Western condescension toward India.
🍽️ Hunger in the West vs. India
Khanna's viral response also highlights the hypocrisy in how Western media often ignores issues at home. Despite significant levels of food insecurity in the US, including among 13 million children, Western journalists rarely acknowledge these problems. Instead, they frequently focus on issues in other countries, perpetuating the stereotype that poverty and hunger are exclusive to nations outside the West. Khanna's reply challenged this bias, drawing attention to the fact that hunger exists in the West as well.
🔄 A Timeless Viral Moment
Vikas Khanna’s interview response, which highlighted the flawed Western perception of India and poverty, continues to resonate with audiences years later. The reason it went viral again—and likely will in the future—is because it addresses deeper issues of racial stereotyping, Western arrogance, and the refusal to acknowledge domestic problems. This moment encapsulates how these patterns persist in global media and public discourse.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Internet is forever
💡Vikas Khanna
💡Feed India
💡Western stereotypes
💡Casual racism
💡Global food insecurity
💡India's global image
💡Media bias
💡Stereotype
💡Social media virality
Highlights
The saying 'The internet is forever' highlights the long-lasting nature of content online, as demonstrated by a viral interview with Vikas Khanna.
Vikas Khanna, a celebrity chef based in New York, became viral again due to an interview from 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.
Khanna started an initiative called 'Feed India' to help those in need by coordinating a massive meal drive from the U.S.
The initiative gained global attention, including from BBC, and Khanna's interview with the network went viral.
In the interview, a BBC journalist perpetuated a stereotype by saying that Khanna must understand hunger because he is from India.
Khanna’s response refuted the stereotype, stating that his sense of hunger came from New York, not India, as his hometown, Amritsar, has a community kitchen that feeds everyone.
This response is celebrated for calling out Western stereotypes and assumptions about India and hunger.
Indians on social media reacted strongly to the clip, showing frustration with Western arrogance and racist depictions of India.
In 2014, a New York Times cartoon depicted India stereotypically when the country was planning a mission to Mars.
The same cartoon went viral again in 2023 after India's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-landed on the moon’s South Pole.
Another instance of Western stereotyping occurred when a German publication, Die Spiegel, released a cartoon after India overtook China as the world’s most populous country.
These incidents highlight a pattern of Western media insulting and perpetuating stereotypes about countries like India.
Khanna’s response to the BBC journalist defended India, while also pointing out the hunger issues that exist in the West, particularly in the U.S.
He highlighted that millions of Americans, including over 13 million children, experience food insecurity, a problem often overlooked by Western media.
The Western media avoids addressing hunger and poverty in their own countries, focusing instead on stereotypes about problems in the developing world.
Khanna's viral response continues to resonate, emphasizing the absurdity of these stereotypes, and it may go viral again in the future.
Transcripts
there's a modern saying I'm sure you've
all heard it it goes the internet is
forever that's the saying what this
means is that once something is on the
internet it will stay there forever
always ready to come back to life and
this has just happened with a video
featuring vikas kanana who's a celebrity
chef based in New York and he's going
viral again because of an interview from
the year 2020 during the peak of the
Wuhan virus pandemic you remember those
big days the world was under lockdown
people couldn't leave their homes
incomes and savings were drying up and
ordinary people were going hungry vikas
kanana was among those who tried to help
he started an initiative called feed
India from the US he coordinated a
massive meal drive to help the needy in
India the initiative was loaded it
gained Global attention including from
the BBC they asked him for an interview
and that interview went viral because of
the following interaction
you've cooked for the Obamas you've been
on TV show with Gordon Ramsey but it was
not always that way was it you are not
from a rich family so I dare say you
understand how precarious it can be in
India the interview made that statement
it's a standard casual run-of-the-mill
racism he just randomly perpetuated some
stereotypes about India Kaa was not born
a billionaire so then he must have
understood hunger he is from India after
all k didn't miss a beat though he
responded with
this I understand but my sense of hunger
didn't come from India so much because I
was born and raised in amiter and we
have a huge Community Kitchen where
everyone gets fed the entire city can
eat there but my sense of hunger came
from New
York that was the reply and it has gone
viral four years after he said it why
has it caught the public imagination
once again again but look at these
social media posts you'll notice the
pattern it shows that Indians are fed up
with Western arrogance with the Absurd
stereotypes and this keeps happening in
2014 it was this cartoon by the New York
Times They put this up when India was
planning a mission to Mars the cartoon
went viral again last year after the
chandran 3 mission when India became the
first country to successfully softland
spacecraft on the moon's South Pole last
year we saw this as well a cartoon put
up by a German publication D spegel it
was when India overtook China to become
the world's most populous country look
at how the German publication chose to
depict India again blatantly racist like
I said this keeps happening time and
again the West keeps insulting countries
like India vikas kanna's response not
only defended India well he also said
that his experience with Hunger came
from New York highlighting the fact that
most of the West likes to overlook
millions of Americans experience food
insecurity including over 13 million
children their fam struggle to put three
meals on the table but you won't see a
British journalist say you not from a
rich family so I dare say you understand
how precarious it is to be in the US
that will never happen the Western media
likes to pretend that everything is fine
at home that the real problems are all
elsewhere and that anyone born outside
the West must have must have barely
survived
starvation it's an absurd stereotype
rooted in racism and vikas kanna's
response called it out that's why it's
being celebrated four years after he
said it and it will probably go viral
again in the future
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)