National Geographic, Lufthansa and Hindustan Times Contest declaring Gorkha traditional weapon as ‘infamous’
Posted by barunroy on May 9, 2008
Contributed by Ms Jyoti Thapa
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Aardee said
Shocklng that Lufthansa should sponsor a quiz with the infamous NatGeo about our revered khukri.
Infamous roughly translates to -NOTORIOUS akin to the Hindi word “KUKHYAAT”.
I wonder if they would have used this very word “infamous” which means of ill repute to frame a question such as:
Q What is the infamous sword of the Sikhs called?
A Kripan
They would have their offices burnt to ash…but since it is the bhola bhala Gurkhas they can get away by printing hog wash.
THEY – LUFTHANSA/HINDUSTAN TIMES & NAT GEO HAVE TO APOLOGISE to all of us and IMMEIDATELY WITHDRAW this contest.
Would any sensible person put the emblem of the khukri on their caps and berets if it was not FAMOUS or revered. FOOOLS allllll of them.
This from Nat Geo is hard to digest since they are very well researched otherwise.
Lufthansa being German and considering we beheaded a lot of Jerries in WW1 & WW2 I think they need to learn once again what the Khukri is all about…wot say?
Gorkhey Jeep said
You are absolutely rights. I mean whats wrong with everyone these days, it seems everyone is out to get us.
Gorkhey Jeep said
By the way this is supposed to be on today’s paper Hindustan Times – as Jyotidi has marked it!Nice Handwriting Jyotidi. After The Telegraph now its Hindustan Times. I don’t know things that I am seeing today in this blog, the police brutality video and this contest by no other than Lufthansa, Nat Geo and Hindustan Times talk about being discriminated!
Aardee said
No we should mot suffer from persecution mania…but then again we should stand up for ourselves and tell people what their limits are before they start walking all over us. Pride in ourselves is important…not getting a big head though thats not the point.
Gorkhey Jeep said
Tell me Aardee what should we do? I mean look at these things and we can’t do anything. This Sumanta Sen wrote an article about us and we could not do anything. The cops bashed up our elders and we could not do anything. No this…still nothing! My blood boils inside me.
Aardee said
How about sending out a chain mail asking people to react just like those e-mails we get saying forward this mail with your signatures…we could start something like that and send it out to all our friends on our address list. BTW its not just the Gorkhas who are associated with the Khukri – that used to be the name of a INS ship that unfortunately torpedoed in 1971 during the Indo=Pak war…the guys serving on that ship were from all over India- Punjab, Maharashtra and the most famous of them all Capt Mahendra Singh Mulla. Capt Mulla was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for showing the courage to follow naval traditions of the Captian going down with his ship…and the Gorkha Regiments and battalions have had and continue to have 1000s of Indians from all states in the ranks and officer levels. All of them wear the emblem of the Khukri on their headgear…its an insult to alllllll.
Ho ki hoina????
Also Delhi always has a Gurkha regiment in place at all times…thats also tradition…so our Khukri has been famous since forever and will continue to be so in future too…but we need to FIGHT for our respect!
barunroy said
A letter forwarded to the National Geographic Channel!
Dear Sir,
The Himalayan Beacon Online today has carried a story with the title ‘National Geographic Channel dubs Gorkha Traditional Weapon ‘Infamous’. The story is based on your advertisement carried today (9th of May 2008) in Hindustan Times, a prominent Indian English Daily. The Advertisement clearly uses the word infamous vis-a-vis Khukri the traditional weapon of the Gorkhas. Just as a ‘Kirpan’ is holy and a matter of honour to the Sikhs, the Khukri is sacred for the Gorkhas, to call it ‘infamous’ certainly dishonors the Gorkha people all over the world.
http://beacononline.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/national-geographic-contest-declaring-gorkha-traditional-weapon-as-infamous/
We believe, however, that National Geographic Channel which holds such a place of honour in the world, could not knowingly make such a mistake and hence, we are convinced that it is a typographical error where the word ‘famous’ was inadvertently printed as ‘infamous’. Could you, Sir, then ratify the mistake and reprint the same with a written apology ‘citing’ typographical and unintended error’? We, Gorkhas will remain forever grateful to your good self.
I remain,
yours faithfully,
Barun Roy
Editor,
The Himalayan Beacon
http://www.beacononline.wordpress.com
barunroy said
Dear Friends,
Please write or call the office mentioned:
Regs
CORPORATE OFFICE
NGC Network (India) Private Limited
C/o. Star India Pvt. Limited.
205, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III
New Delhi -110 020
Tel : 011- 66567827
Fax : 011- 66567828
E-mail : feedback@ngcindia.com
nepalidai said
बरुन, त्यो तिम्रो माथिको national geographic लाई लेखेको चिट्ठिमा sacred को सट्टा scared हुनु गयो जस्तो छ। फेरी गलत अर्थ हुन जाला ।
“the Khukri is scared for the Gorkhas”
Aardee said
‘SACRED’ please
barunroy said
Dear Friends,
Good Morning!
The error has been ratified. Talk about making mess out of mistake.
Regards
aksh said
dear friends,
lets everyone write a letter to feedback@ngcindia.com and fight against this justice how can they do this i have written the letter condemming this now its ur turn come on
aardee said
Barun its not just Nat Geo that has posed an indelicately worded question about the Khukri their partners are Lufthansa and Hindustan Times the print partner…check the contest ad…always good to read the fine print.
Copies of the letters should go out to the I&B minister as well as the Advertising council…apart from ofcourse the Army, Navy Chiefs.
As stated earlier note the Khukri is associated with the Gorkhas in particular but also the men in the armed forces that are with the Gorkha Regiments that wear a replica of it on their headgear – these men are from all over the country so it is an insult to all of them too…
Therefore I contend the more people that are made aware of these kind of intended/unintended slights to the Gorkha community the less chances that more such incorrect statements sponsored or otherwise will get printed or aired on the radio/tv…
aksh said
sorry pls read justice as injustice inconvinence regretted sorry
aksh said
thats why i say shoot out letters everywhere be it I&b Minister or thee president himself why is GJMM silent dont they know about this it is an appeal do the needful
aksh said
send hindustan times show cause notice
aardee said
Barun…maybe it would help if you captioned the post as National Geographic, Lufthansa and Hindustan Times Contest declares…that would be the correct heading…as most folks don’t read beyond headlines …
aksh said
i agree with Aardee do the needful barun
barunroy said
Will do so,
Thanks friends
Regs
aardee said
Thanks Barun…
We can even complain to the Advertising Council of India which looks into such matters…
Jm said
Ja
Jm said
############
Profanity deleted | Moderator
|You have been warned for personal attacks on fellow commentator – Moderator|
aardee said
Barun please check JM he is launching into an ugly personal attack on Jyoti….his comments need to be CENSORED.
Tks!
Bishal Rai 'Kirath' said
Being members of the Gorkha community, we are shocked that two super-brand MNCs that operate out of India have chosen to malign and hurt the sentiments of the Gorkhas by terming the “Khukri” a symbol of the Gorkhas as “infamous”.
The Gorkhas and khukri are synonymous. The khukri stands for bravery, loyalty and determination. That the khukri is accorded a sacred place in every Gorkha home and every person that has ever been associated with the Gorkhas, can be borne out by the fact that its emblem is worn on the berets and headgear of all Gorkha Regiments in India/Nepal/UK/Hong Kong and has been recognized the world over since even before WWI. Khukri’s are given as token of friendship and as a mark of respect to all who have associated with Gorkhas.
Five years ago Field Marshal Sam “Bahadur” Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC, used a silver khukri to show his deep affection for the Gorkhas to cut his birthday cake when he turned a sprightly 90.
By posing a question on what is the “infamous” Gorkha knife, Lufthansa, Nat Geo, Hindustan Times have all shown their callousness and insensitivity towards the Gorkhas all over the world.
Were the khukri to be “infamous” do you think the troops and officers in Gorkha regiments would have its emblem on their head gear? Or that the revered Field Marshal Manekshaw use it to celebrate his 90th birthday? Or would the Indian Navy chose to christen their frigate INS Khukri. Or erect a full scale model of INS Khukri in a memorial to the 18 officers and 176 sailors that were lost in the sinking of the Khukri or would captain, Mahendra Nath Mulla, who opted to go down with the sinking ship – Khukri be posthumously awarded India’s second-highest military honour, the Maha Vir Chakra.
By deliberately choosing to attach the intemperate adjective “INFAMOUS” to the Gorkha knife – the Khukri National Geographic, Lufthansa German Airlines & Hindustan Times have deliberately set out to hurt and cause irreparable damage to the reputation to the heritage and culture of the Gorkhas that precedes the reputation of any of the three brands – Lufthansa, Hindustan Times and National Geographic by centuries and in doing so has also hurt all communities that have been associated with the Gorkhas or the khukri.
We as members of the Gorkha community demand that National Geographic, Lufthansa and Hindustan Times all tender an apology to all Gorkhas every where for denigrating our emblem and symbol of our identity.
We demand immediate withdrawal of the question series in print and on air with the offensive question about our weapon – the Khukri.
We demand a written apology and an on-air apology to all Gorkhas.
If at all this question is to be posed you may consider other suitable adjectives as
What is the FAMOUS, CELEBRATED, REVERED, SACRED Gorkha knife more commonly known as?
Bishal Rai 'Kirath' said
Contact them :
MR. NIKHIL MIRCHANDANI
MANAGING DIRECTOR
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
NEW DELHI
STAR INDIA PVT. LIMITED
205, OKHLA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, PHASE III
NEW DELHI – 110 020
MS MANJARI SINGH
BRAND MANAGER
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
NEW DELHI
STAR INDIA PVT. LIMITED
205, OKHLA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, PHASE III
NEW DELHI – 110 020
MR. WERNER HEESEN
GENERAL MANAGER
LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES
56 JANPATH
NEW DELHI 110 001
MR.RAHUL SHARMA
EDITOR
HINDUSTAN TIMES
HINDUSTAN TIMES HOUSE
KASTURBA GANDHI MARG
NEW DELHI 110 001
Mr. Nikhil Mirchandani – Managing Director – National Geographic
Ms Manjari Singh – Brand Manager – National Geographic
Mr. Werner Heesen – General Manager, Lufthansa
Mr. Rahul Sharma – Editor, Hindustan Times
aardee said
Folks the NGC/Lufthansa HT ad also came out in 09MAY edition of the Hindustan Times in Mumbai page 17. U can check by loggin on to the Hindustan Times website…now imagine how many people must have responded to that quiz contest and how mny even though did not respond to it saw that illframed malintentioned question about the Khukri. An apology and a wipe out of that ad on the net etc is a MUST!!
Jyoti Thapa said
You can write to letters@hindustantimes.com Pl use the opportunity to also highlight the movement. Regards, Jyoti
Jyoti Thapa said
They have made a mockery of the emblem of eleven Indian Army Regiments. Talk about ignorance of a national daily.
Jyoti Thapa said
Mr Manmohan Singh, our honourable PM (wth due respect to my Sikh countrymen) had been fairly passive. Now finally he has decided to take Mr Buddhadeb to task for busting our Indo-US nuclear energy deal. Mamatadi has unfailingly tried to highlight Buddha’s role for most of the chaos in Bengal. The Governor, Mr Gandhi with his power switching off messages had also highlighted the same of the Comm Govt. So folks do not give up as yet. The heat is on.
YK Shrestha said
Dear All,
I have recd. the following response from National Geographic channel.
===========================================================================================
fromWadhera, Jyoti (NGC Asia)
to”Yam,Daisy,Ashish & Anugrah”
date12 May 2008 14:33
subjectRE: Test your knowledge of the word, May 9th
mailed-byin.startv.com
Dear Sir,
This is with reference to the contest section that appeared in Hindustan Times on May 9, 2008. The error in the article was not intentional and we sincerely apologize for inadvertently hurting the sentiments of the Gorkha community. We completely appreciate and agree with your concern and point of view on the same and we will release the ad again with the corrected question.
At National Geographic Channel, we contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to education, exploration, conservation and it is our constant endeavour to provide insightful information to our viewers. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you in future.
Yours sincerely,
Jyoti Wadhera
National Geographic Channel