Here's a recent British report of India complaining about "poverty ****":
Diplomatic officials are preparing to lodge a complaint with Ofcom, the media watchdog, about the content of McCloud's Channel 4 series, Slumming It.
In the two-part documentary, the Grand Designs host visited Mumbai's squalid Dharavi slum. It showed children living amongst open sewers, dead rats and toxic waste, and residents scavenging on the city's rubbish dump.
Sources say the Indian High Commission in London granted a filming permit in the belief that McCloud was making a programme highlighting Mumbai's architectural history, and officials were horrified to see the end result.
"We thought it would be about the architecture of Mumbai but it was only about slums, nothing else. He was showing dirty sewage and dead rats, children playing amongst rubbish and people living in these small rooms. He never talked about architecture at all.
"This was poverty **** made to get ratings, and we are upset," the source said.
"Many people know India but for people who don't travel, they will think all of India is like this. Of course it will affect our tourism. It is not representative at all.
"We are not saying, 'Don't show Dharavi', but the show was not balanced. There is so much more to Mumbai and so much more to India."
The original synopsis submitted by the programme-makers said: "Kevin McCloud's passions are buildings and people and he will explore the architecture of Mumbai... Maharashtrian, British, Gothic and post-modern."
The source said: "When the production company applied, they said the name of the documentary was going to be Grand Designs. They said it was part of a 'celebration of all things India' and that he would look at different kinds of architecture. He didn't do any of this.
"Only occasionally did he mention the community spirit and the low crime rate and the fact that rubbish is recycled there.
"People forget that this nation is 60 years old. We are a young nation and it's not easy to bring 300 million people out of poverty just like that."
Slumming It was part of Channel 4's ongoing Indian Winter season. Of the five programmes shown so far, four have been set in the Mumbai slums, including a 'Slumdog' version of The Secret Millionaire.
The source accused Channel 4 of "cashing in on the success of Slumdog Millionaire", the Oscar-winning film which kicked off the season.
McCloud has praised the community spirit in Dharavi, claiming that the British government could use it as a model for "social sustainability". The Prince of Wales has hailed Dharavi as a model for urban planning.
In a joint statement, Channel 4 and the production company, talkbackThames, said: "We have not received a complaint from the India High Commission. The programme explores if city planners and architects can learn from the way Asia’s biggest slum has evolved and developed high levels of sustainability. Kevin McCloud follows everyday life in Dharavi and the film is a balanced and insightful account of his experience there.
"While it raises issues such as acute levels of poverty and the lack of sanitation, the programme also highlights many positive aspects of life in Dharavi such as the real sense of community as well as low levels of crime and unemployment. We believe that the film raises some important points around the issues of poverty, sustainability and city planning and is clearly in the public interest.”
India accuses Kevin McCloud of making 'poverty ****' in Mumbai slum programme - Telegraph
As--Salami--Alaikum Riaz bhai..
Brother.. Do you know.. In our country, whenever some enlightened Netaji suddenly rises to the fact that we are getting all dirty dirty in our cities, the Babus get active.. Work is started at a pace which would put even China to shame
.. The momentum picks up, but the funds run out faster.. Then somewhere mid-way an idea strikes into our babu's ingenious mind
.. instead of auditing the reasons and means, he quietly places his hands to his chest and calls out to himself, "AAALL IZZ WEELL", eats up the remaining funds and takes a deep sleep
.. Next morning it the same old day for him..
Yes, your poor slumdog man does complaint.. He rants, he runs, he cries for something to be done
, and then at the darkness of night, armed with a bottle of DESI DAARU, he get back to their home, beats up their wife and children and before passing off, quietly places his hands to his chest and calls out to himself, "AAALL IZZ WEELL".. Next morning it the same old day for him too
..
This CHALTA HAI attitude by both, the administration and more so the administered has brought the deplorable of this country to where they are.. When every spark of revolution can be quietened by free distribution of desi liquor.. And every conscience can be subdued by an item show by MEMJI.. Who is to be blamed??
The government alone? Or the common slum dweller too, who chooses to live that kind of life for himself.. I'd say, the man who chooses not to rises up to challenges, lazies hard and doesn't dare to join the mainstream of INDIA's Success STORY.. Deserves to rot in the trench he has dug for himself.. Shouldn't he be making hay when the sun is shining?.. Or should the government withdraw from the ATMs and distribute among them..
This is the story of our
poor slum dweller which your often quoted
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE doesn't talk about.. The tortured are equally to be blamed as the torturers..
MY SALUTE TO ALL THOSE INDIANS WHO CHOOSE TO RISE UP TO THE CHALLENGES POVERTY THROWS AT THEM, AND FIGHT THEM WITHOUT BLAMING THE GOVERNMENT AND THE SYSTEM, RATHER THEY CHANGE THE SYSTEM IN THE PROCESS FOR THE BETTER, AND IN DOING SO PAVE THE WAY FOR A GREATER FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR MY COUNTRY...
JAI HIND..
in Maharashtra.
