There are undoubtedly two issues to the temporary delay experienced by Bollywood actor ShahRukh Khan upon his arrival in the US Saturday. First of all, it seems fairly obvious that the actor was detained solely because of his last name, Khan, which generally indicates that one is of the Muslim faith. It certainly puts the lie to the US line that there is no profiling done when it comes to detaining travelers arriving in the US. There is plenty of evidence available that the US has become extra and, likely, overly vigilant in investigating Muslims entering the US. The other issue involved, however, seems to be the one about which Indians have taken the most offense. ShahRukh Khan is an international star, a huge idol to millions of Indians, and should not have to put up with the numerous annoyances of daily life that afflict the vast majority of the world's inhabitants. In India, there is a tradition that those of Khan's stature are able to detour certain exigencies of daily life that all other Indians are subjected to. In a society that is traditionally so class conscious that it still comprises higher and lower castes with attending rights and attitudes, perhaps it should not come as a surprise that a super wealthy and much-loved cinema star is considered above the mundane laws and security measures that, unfortunately, govern international travel these days. The bottom line is, however, that Bollywood is still Bollywood and outside of the Indian community, in the US its popularity is still limited. Bollywood, perhaps, has convinced the Indian population that its press releases and its trumpeting headlines about Bollywood's international appeal are entirely true. Clearly, when it came down to, at least, one immigration officer in New Jersey, the name ShahRukh Khan did not mean a whole lot more than a name on a watch list. The problem is not that ShahRukh Khan was stopped by immigration officials. Mr. Khan is no better or different than the rest of us. The real problem is that he appears to have been a victim of religious profiling. In that, also, he is no better or different than the rest of us. __
