I thought New Zealand was full of politically correct trained persons now. A new broom had swept across the country and it was no longer to be seen as a backward looking former part of the Empire. They even produce most of the lamb now as halal. New Zealand definitely prided itself on being a big jewel in the modern world.They missed out on one person, though! TVNZ breakfast show host Paul Henry, who has gone into a self-centered schoolboy type routine on an Indian woman's name. Sheila Dikshit's name sent him into some sort of kiwi cackle. The video here shows how dire his performance was.
But his real crime was not sniggering at the name. No, it was saying that Ms Dikshit's name was "appropriate because she's Indian". Now that's derogatory and, I think, racist. It's a put down. Not nice, Mr.Henry.
However, that said, I can never understand why a name transliterated should be given the worst possible spelling. If Sheila's name in English sounds more like "Dixit" why not spell it like that. Name's can be very distressing for the bearer. The late great Diana Dors had the real name of Fluck. She decided to change it, much to the annoyance of her father. Her reply was simple. "When I'm famous and my name goes up in lights, I don't want the bulb behind the "L" going out!".
Maybe Sheila Dikshit could fixit to be Ms Dixit?
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