Madrasi

Madrasi is an outdated exonym for the people of South India which is now looked on as an ethnic slur. Ethnophaulistic usage varies from being a derogatory hypernymy to a pejorative slur.

Map detailing linguistic diversity in the Madras Presidency, pre-Independence era
Not to be confused with Madrasa. For other uses, see Madrasi (disambiguation).

Origin and former usage

The term originated as a demonym for South Indians in the colonial period when the Madras Presidency (named for the city of Madras; modern-day Chennai) of British India administered nearly all of southern India.[1][2][3]

Modern usage

Modern use is generally frowned upon and variously seen as either "dismissive of,"[4] or derisive towards peoples of South India; and is seen is a slur than an acceptable exonym.[2]

Its use as a hypernymy to refer to all South Indians is viewed as disrespectful in light of the ethnic diversity of Southern India.[4][5][6] Madrasi has also outright been used as a slur.[2][5][7][8]

Controversy

Allegations of disparagement and racism were raised against Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, for, amongst other things, referring to some of his South Indian employees as 'Madrasis'.[2][7]

References
  1. Himadri Banerjee; Nilanjana Gupta; Sipra Mukherjee. Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta. Anthem Press. p. 211.
  2. "Infosys CEO Referred To Colleagues As "Madrasis", Claim Whistleblowers". NDTV.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. David Theo Goldberg, Ato Quayson (2002). Relocating Postcolonialism. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-631-20805-1.
  4. Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Gary Needham (2006). Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide. University of Hawaii Press. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-8248-3085-4.
  5. "We're even more racist than Aussies". Times of India Blog. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. "Let's talk about racism | North Indians are 'gora-chitta', dark skin is for the South". Hindustan Times. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. "Infosys row: If allegations of racist slurs against CEO Salil Parekh are true, it exposes decay in Indian corporate culture - Business News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  8. "Racist Slurs Indians Use – Consciously or Subconsciously". www.thestorypedia.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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