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5th September 1999

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Putting Royal foot in mouth

Those of my vintage might remember that song of some four decades ago which began with the words "Oh to be in England now that summer's here''. I can't quite remember who sang it. Probably Bill Forbes, a vocalist from the then local music scene and one of the early departees from our shores like so many others who didn't like what they saw as the "coming colour" which, in the political spectrum of the day, was blue or red or a combination thereof.

What raised general guffaws when the song hit the airwaves was the accent adopted by the singer. Phonetically put that first line went something like this: "Yo to be in Inger land now that shummer's heerrrr".

Whether this particular intonation was intended to mirror the speech mannerisms of some of those living in what might now be called Prabhakaranland or even those farther North across the Palk Strait, I wouldn't really know.

But this much is certain. It was intended to raise laughs and that it did ,though these days when the slightest racial taunt would be considered politically incorrect and certainly passe, such songs might not have passed muster among the more conscious pop music lovers.

Of course in such places as Hong Kong that British TV series "Mind your language" is still being aired much to the delight of the last surviving Colonel Blimps.

If summer in England is certainly more pleasant than its dreary winters, it is said to be the season for idiosyncratic behaviour generally referred to as midsummer madness, which, I thought was rather unfair to those who are somewhat mentally unbalanced. They may not be all there, if you know what I mean, but there is no malice aforethought in what they say or do.

Midsummer madness, on the other hand, is not always that innocent as some would like to suggest. Nor is it something brought about by a change in seasons and the onset of warmer weather a rather convenient rationalisation which those in the tropics would see as a horrendous implication.

In truth it is simply a generic label covering innate prejudices and acts that would not otherwise be accepted or acceptable in respectable society. Whatever one is prepared to call it, the fact is that even royalty is not immune from the kind of abominable behaviour that football hooligans, especially British hooligans, are capable of in this day and age.

As though there aren't enough shenanigans in the British Royal household, Prince Philip the other day put his Royal foot in his Royal mouth.

One should not be too uncharitable as to suggest that he put both his Royal feet in that orifice. It is not the seasonal madness that afflicts him. It is the foot-in-the-mouth disease which breaks out suddenly and at the most unexpected moments and there is nothing that medical science can do to prevent its occurrence at embarrassing times.

The British media which seems to enjoy disturbing royal ruffles hardly misses a trick when it comes to picking on the palace. London's paparazzi, to coin a word, turned on Prince Philip like a well trained pack for what was perceived as a racist remark and one which the Prince would have considered a joke.

Having previously knocked everybody from the Chinese to Hungarians, the outspoken Prince Philip appears to have offended Britain's substantial Indian community when he said that an unsophisticated and tangled fuse-box he saw during a visit to an electronics factory appeared to have been "put in by an Indian''.

Though Buckingham Palace apologised for the remark soon after, it caused an uproar among the Indians here who have been at the butt end of racial slurs and violence over the years as have other Asians and Blacks from Africa and the Caribbean.

Kumar Murshid, chairman of the National Assembly Against Racism, was "amazed" at Prince Philip's remark. "It was absolutely abysmal and disgraceful of him to say such a thing," he said adding that they expected the Royal Family to set a better example.

Somehow Dr. Shanfi Kauser, secretary of the Islamic Centre in Glasgow had a kind word for the prince.

"He is a nice man and I don't think he has done anything out of malice," defended Dr. Kauser. "On other occasions he has been very complimentary to us."

Asked about this sharply varied reaction to the prince's remark, a veteran Asian journalist here broke into loud laughter.

"You've been around, so you know how our people behave. The same old differences keep coming up. If the Hindus condemn something, don't be surprised if Muslims support it. They are the same old games being played here, only the players are different You'll see, your countrymen are no different. You'll learn soon enough."

If he is right, the British have been clever. The old colonial policy was to divide and rule. It appears that the lessons have been so well ingrained in the once- subject peoples that their descendants haven't forgotten them.

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