Madam, - Frank Millar's report on the alleged racism and bullying being directed at Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the Celebrity Big Brotherhouse was on the whole informative and well-balanced ( The Irish Times, January 19th). However, when describing how Jade Goody's mother refused to call Ms Shetty by her first name, Mr Millar exposed the true depth of cultural ignorance prevalent at even the most educated levels of West European society.
Ms Shetty is a devout Hindu, yet Mr Millar referred to her "Christian name".
The media have made much of the "class and culture clash" in trying to explain the animosity between some members of the Big Brother house and Ms Shetty, but the misunderstanding of culture is not restricted by notions of class; we can all do more to make our society genuinely global rather than increasingly Western.
- Is mise,
ANNA KAVANAGH, Mountain Bay, Arklow, Co Wicklow.