"Over 120 years after Sherlock Holmes' novel, the racist stereotype of the savage Andamanese persists."
The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : The ‘wild' people as tourist stops: The revelations in the U.K. newspaper The Observer that police have been complicit in the “human safaris” in the Andamans was truly disturbing. The sort of descriptions presented in 'Sign of Four' - Sherlock Holmes novel reinforce ignorant, racist stereotypes of indigenous peoples which are then exploited by governments and companies to steal their land, or mislead members of the public into trying to spot these “wild” and “bestial” people while on holiday — ergo the “human safaris."
Over 120 years since The Sign of Four's publication, the same ignorant, insulting stereotypes about the Andaman Islanders are being trotted out and they still find themselves treated like animals at a zoo — or on safari.
The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : The ‘wild' people as tourist stops: The revelations in the U.K. newspaper The Observer that police have been complicit in the “human safaris” in the Andamans was truly disturbing. The sort of descriptions presented in 'Sign of Four' - Sherlock Holmes novel reinforce ignorant, racist stereotypes of indigenous peoples which are then exploited by governments and companies to steal their land, or mislead members of the public into trying to spot these “wild” and “bestial” people while on holiday — ergo the “human safaris."
Over 120 years since The Sign of Four's publication, the same ignorant, insulting stereotypes about the Andaman Islanders are being trotted out and they still find themselves treated like animals at a zoo — or on safari.